Cookery Students Rise to Catering Challenge
Five students from UHI Argyll are enjoying the sweet taste of success, having catered for over 300 guests at two Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS) launch events last week.
The students, studying NC Professional Cookery were tasked with the challenge of providing the catering at the official openings of both the Seaweed Academy and the CCAP ARIES Centre at SAMS, Oban.
-min-651x488.jpg "NC Professional Cookery students standing at the buffet they have created for SAMS launch events")
NC Professional Cookery students Gabriel, Naomi, Katy, Dylan & Zoltan.
Using local produce, from Argyll venison, to hand-dived scallops and langoustines, the students laid on an impressive spread for the guests and keynote speakers.
In keeping with the theme, some of the items on the menu even incorporated seaweed, such as the Argyll smoked salmon and sea lettuce roulade, carrot and dulse muffins, and the venison with seaweed chutney.
The students hard work didn’t go unnoticed, with many guests commenting on the innovation and quality of the menu.
The Seaweed Academy is the UK’s first dedicated seaweed industry facility. It will be operated by SAMS, in partnership with SAMS Enterprise and UHI Argyll, and will deliver immediate economic benefit to Argyll and Bute. Already used extensively in food ingredients, agriculture, cosmetics and pharmaceuticals, seaweed farming has a low carbon footprint, using no fresh water and with minimal land-based infrastructure. It is hoped the new academy will stimulate the growth of UK seaweed aquaculture and, using the latest research, increase the competitiveness of UK products globally.
The Culture Collection for Algae and Protozoa (CCAP) holds around 3,000 strains of microscopic organisms. The nearly 100-year-old collection, one of the oldest and most biodiverse in the world, will be at the core of a new centre for algae production and analysis, the CCAP-ARIES (Algae Research, Innovation and Environmental Science) Centre. The state-of-the-art facility will help scientists around the world to discover new products and medicines and to understand the natural world in a changing climate.