College of FET Hospitality Campus excel at prestigious chef competition in Northern Ireland

College of FET Hospitality student Olga Lezdina, who took second place at Chefskills Senior Classes DAERA Northern Ireland Chef of the Year 2022. The live event was held in iFEX 2022 Titanic Exhibition. Picture: Brian Arthur.

As the largest and most prestigious culinary competition in Northern Ireland, this was the perfect platform for the learners at the Hospitality Campus to showcase their skills

Learners and apprentices from Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board’s College of Further Education and Training, Hospitality Campus were delighted recently as they took home multiple awards at the Salon Culinaire at IFEX, at the Titanic Exhibition Centre in Belfast. 

Celebrating its 25^th edition this year, the event is an opportunity for chefs from both the education and industry space to test their skills against the very best.

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As the largest and most prestigious culinary competition in Northern Ireland, this was the perfect platform for the learners at the Hospitality Campus to showcase their skills under the guidance of their mentors, competing for a variety of awards. The talented team spent weeks getting ready for the competition, honing their skills in their respective categories and over the three days they took home a total of five awards.

Olga Lezdina won silver in the Senior Classes DAERA Northern Ireland Chef of the Year 2022 and earned a certificate of merit in the Chef Skills Open Class Plant Based Chef Challenge. Megan Watkins also took home silver in the Student & Junior Class IFEX Young Chef of the Year category. A third silver medal went to Louise Casey in the Chef Skills Open Class Restaurant Innovation Dessert of the Year and Kate Neilon earned a certificate of merit in the Student & Junior Classes Student Culinarian of the Year 2022 category.

Head team mentor Chef Will King and Instructor Chef Kieran Shaughnessy, were thrilled with the team’s results. Speaking about the awards, Bernadette Enright, Campus Manager, said, “This competition was the perfect opportunity for our learners to upskill, build confidence and learn from their peers in the industry. These five awards are down to hours and hours of preparation and so much hard work and passion from our learners, under the guidance of highly-skilled instructors at the Hospitality Campus.”

Speaking about the team’s achievements in Northern Ireland, Paul Patton, Director of Further Education and Training, said, “This is a great achievement for the College of Further Education and Training, Hospitality Campus. Well done to the participants, winners, instructors and managers.”

For more details on programmes and traineeships at Limerick and Clare Education & Training Board’s College of FET Hospitality, go HERE

For more stories on Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, go HERE