Education Cooking up success


Design award for new campus


MIDKENT College’s Medway campus was named “Best New Build” at Medway Council’s recent Culture and Design Awards. College principal and chief executive


Stephen Grix collected the award alongside representatives from Kier Build - the company responsible for the campus’ innovative design and construction. The state-of-the-art site, which took


two years to construct, was up against some intimidating contenders for top prize within the same category. Now principal of the college’s Maid-


stone campus, Oxford graduate Jane Jones oversaw the site’s construction. Run by Medway Council in partnership


with Medway Renaissance, the Culture and Design Awards celebrate Medway’s thriving cultural sector and highlight the importance of quality and diversity in building and landscape design.


SCOTT Goss, head chef at the prestigious Swan restaurant in West Malling, teamed up with catering students at MidKent College’s Maidstone campus for the second time in less than a year. The top-notch cook, whose brasserie


earned a place among just 18 restaurants selected to appear on Gordon Ramsay’s The F Word in 2009, worked alongside students in the college’s student-run The Apprentice Restaurant, before returning last month to give the same learners a second taste of his world-class cooking. Level 3 hospitality and catering


students worked alongside the respected chef to prepare a spectacular menu - comprising classic Mediterranean bouillabaisse, stuffed saddle of lamb, and poached pears filled with chocolate ganache and cinnamon mousse. On his first visit to the college, Mr


Goss said he was “keen to give Kent’s most promising young chefs a chance to experience life in a top-quality kitchen.” On his return to the campus in November he said: “The students were so fantastic last time I was here that I


wanted to come back and work with them one more time. In six months they’ll be ready for the real world.” Programme area leader for hospitality


and catering courses at the college’s Maidstone campus, Jackie Stone, said: “The students loved it and were buzzing afterwards. It’s brilliant for them to work alongside someone so respected and skilled, and it’s great for him too,” she said. “After all, he’ll have first pick of our students when his restaurant is next recruiting.”


Natalie is Special ALTHOUGH she completed her public services course at college only last summer, Natalie Markham has already trained as a special constable with the Metropolitan Police. Having spent eight weeks on the beat,


the 19-year-old go-getter returned to her former college, where she shared her experiences of policing London’s streets. Talking to public pervices students at MidKent College, the former Rainham School for Girls pupil said: “Although special constables work in a voluntary role, a recruitment freeze is currently in place for regular officers so competition is tough. “Everything I studied on public


services at MidKent College is relevant to the job I do – from leadership, to discipline and diversity.”


Mid Kent Living 23


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