Ask Italian speak with Rugby College catering students

Representatives from one of the UK’s most popular restaurant chains have been sharing expert guidance with students at Rugby College about cooking up a career in the hospitality industry.

Dawn Robertson, resource manager, and Samuel Devan, regional chef trainer at ASK Italian (part of Azzurri Group), gave a talk to catering students at the college’s recently opened on-site restaurant ‘Courses’. The students asked questions about career progression, pay in the industry, how ASK sources its food and how the business helps its staff to develop.

Chris Dowling-Fennell, 19 from Southam, is a Level 1 Professional Cookery student at Rugby College. He said: “It was interesting to hear about the fresh food and how they look to source it to make the dishes as traditionally as possible in their restaurants.”

Chloe Windebank, 17 from Bishop’s Itchington, is also on the Level 1 course. She added: “I love cooking and

I want to one day own my own restaurant, so to hear about how restaurant chains of that scale work was really interesting.”

Dawn and Samuel provided insight into how ASK Italian sources its ingredients and food from producers in Italy. They also discussed the range of career paths in hospitality and how the businesses supports people to move from the kitchen and front of house team to senior level management.

Dawn Robertson said: “We want to give young people an insight into what it is like to work in the industry and how they can really move their career forward. We could speak nationally at events but we are passionate about getting out into the heart of local communities and directly reaching those young people.

Courses Restaurant at Rugby College is open to the public and helps to provide hands-on industry experience to prepare students for working in the hospitality industry.

Tracey Gibson, head of catering at Rugby College, said: “This was a fantastic opportunity for our students to get a chance to find out what it is like to work for one of the country’s leading restaurant chains.

To find out more about catering courses at WCG visit www.wcg.ac.uk/study