The heat was most certainly on in the training kitchens at the College of West Anglia on Tuesday 7 May, as catering and hospitality teams from the College of West Anglia, West Suffolk College, Cambridge Regional College, Colchester Institute and City College Norwich competed for the title of ‘A Passion to Inspire’ winners, 2016. The heats and final of ‘A Passion to Inspire’ stand out from other hospitality and catering skills competitions because of their focus on every aspect of the process, from students’ knowledge of produce, to designing and costing their menus, and exceptional front of house presentation and service of food and drink. The competition also seeks to bring added benefits to the participating students and colleges by creating new links between professional chefs, suppliers of local produce and further education – and giving the chance for all students to have a go and be inspired. To reach the final, the teams of three students from each of the five colleges had to come through an earlier round of heats, with over 80 students being involved and inspired. The student teams were each made up of two chefs and one front of house member. Prior to the final, each student team was paired with a top local chef as their mentor for the final. A Passion to Inspire is designed to create strong links between cookery schools and local employers. This is the second year in which the College of West Anglia has been involved with the competition. Representing the College of West Anglia was level 3 catering trio, Danielle Joseph (18), Jamie-Leigh Arlott (19) and Casey Ford (19). They gained their place after winning the local heat on Monday 22 February. The teams prepared a three course meal, to be served by a front of house team member with one of the three courses containing an element that was prepared at the table. Their food was judged by some of the best employers and chefs across the region: Shara Ross - general manager of Hotel Felix , Mark Poynton –Chef/Patron of Restaurant Alimentum , Eric Snaith - Head Chef at Titchwell Manor, Russell Bateman – Head Chef of Colettes - The Grove Hotel, Nick Mills - Director at Brasteds , Paul Foster - Chef / Patron of Salt, and Nick Claxton Webb – Head Chef at Congham Hall. This year’s special guest was Adam Smith – Acorn and Roux Scholarship winner, with four AA rosettes at the Devonshire Arms to his name and now moving to The Coworth Park Hotel (part of the Dorchester Collection). He said: “I was the same age as these competitors when I took part in my first catering competition. It’s good to be involved with these sorts of events as I think it is important to help inspire the next generation of chefs. We always need to bring new people into the restaurant workforce, so it’s imperative that the younger generation are excited about food and ‘A Passion to Inspire’ encompasses that.” Nik Claxton-Webb, head chef at Congham Hall and a judge on the panel, said: “I got involved with this competition quite a few years ago to see what’s going on in the training kitchens at these colleges. It’s a great way of us working together to find creative students. We’ve seen a lot of creativity and innovation in the room and some really good food.” Aside from taking the prestigious culinary title, the winning team, Cambridge Regional College, also won a chance to attend this year’s Skills for Chefs Conference in Sheffield, on 6 and 7 July, with accommodation. The event will be attended by fantastic chefs such as Nathan Outlaw, Richard Bainbridge, Graham Barrett, Rob Kennedy and Mick Burke to name but a few. Full details of winning prize: Four places at skills for Chefs (including Lecturer – value £2,000 ), Lunch at Alimentum and a Stage , Accommodation and dinner at Titchwell Manor – The winning plate for the College from Plates UK – all finalists get chefs jackets (chefs) and aprons from Russums, farm visit with Norfolk Quail , College farm visit to Dingley Dell Pork Farm, Day out with Nurtured in Norfolk, A Fantastic day at Infusions4Chefs development Kitchen – ICE, Special Vouchers from Anglian Free Range Eggs, A trip to Steelite Plates UK in Stoke. Matthew Dawson, 18, was on the winning CRC team. He said: “This was my first competition and overall it’s been a really good experience. It’s been difficult and quite stressful but still really fun.” The College of West Anglia team had a chance to work with local chefs, networking with potential future employers such as Nik Claxton-Webb from Congham Hall and Eric Snaithe from Titchwell Manor. It also gave local businesses such as ‘Norfolk Quail’ and ’Nurtured in Norfolk’ from Toftwood a chance to showcase their produce to their future local chefs. The CWA team was made up of Casey Ford, 19, from Downham Market, Danielle Joseph, 19, from King’s Lynn and Jamie-Leigh Arlott, 19 from Spalding. Despite not winning CWA team member Casey Ford, 19, said his team worked really well together and he enjoyed the experience. He said: “Jamie-Leigh and Danielle really wanted to enter the competition and I volunteered to be their front of house. “We were given a list of ingredients, price list and budget to stick to and from that the girls created our menu; infusing flavours together. I was nervous; in terms of nerves, this competition was on par with my driving test but it’s a great thing to be involved with and the girls have worked so hard!” The winning team, Cambridge Regional College, was made up of chefs Gemma Steele and Alice Clayden and front of house Mathew Dawson. The Merit Winners were City College Norwich, who received £25 for each team member from Clare Bullen of Anglian Free Range Eggs. [gallery columns="5" ids="8488,8487,8486,8484,8483,8476,8478,8479,8480,8481,8482,8475,8474,8473,8472,8470,8471,8465,8464,8466,8467,8469,8468,8463,8462,8456,8461,8455,8457,8454,8460,8459,8453,8458,8452,8447,8448,8449,8450,8451,8445,8444,8443,8442,8441,8440,8446,8434,8435,8436,8437,8438,8439,8433,8432,8431,8430,8429,8428,8425" orderby="rand"]