Winning trainee chefs cook up a Fair Trade feast

Three winning learners who are on a catering pre-apprenticeship programme hosted a very unique dinner party for Welsh business leaders. 

The Fair Trade dinner party was held at Ocean Park Cafe, ACT Training’s training cafe which offers a real life working environment for trainees, enabling them to build catering skills and practical expertise before they progress into the working world as Apprentice Chefs.

Ayesha Jayne Connor, 18, Vince Carpe, 18, and Ben Keattch, 21, who are on a catering programme with ACT Training, Wales’ leading training provider, beat off competition from an in-house cook-off to become chefs for the dinner party.

The three-strong trainee team devised and served up a menu made from Fair Trade, locally sourced and organic ingredients.

The trainee chefs catered for 18 guests that comprised top business leaders including: Felicity Rees, CEO of Rees Element Executive Search; Rhodri Thomas, Training and Development Manager at Cynnal Cymru and Andrew Rosser, Director of iTeach.

Guests enjoyed Fair Trade cocktails made from Fair Trade orange juice and Welsh Champaign and a three course set menu of organic samosas and bhajis, vegetable paneer and chicken tikka masala followed by a chocco-banana dessert.  

One guest commented: “What a delightful evening with excellent food, excellent service and great company for a very good cause.”

At the end of the evening, guests were asked pay what they thought the drinks and meal was worth. The learners raked in over £340, which has been donated to Fair Trade Wales.

Elen Jones, National Co-ordinator at Fair Trade Wales said: “It has been a fantastic opportunity to work with ACT. Their leadership to ensure that the young people they work with understand how the world works and where our food comes from is inspirational. As the world’s first Fair Trade Nation, we take justice and sustainability seriously in Wales and with the Wellbeing of Future Generations Act, we should see this thrive. If everyone in Wales plays their part in supporting and using Fair Trade, our small nation can have a massive impact on the lives of international farmers around the world.”

Andrew Cooksley, Managing Director at ACT Training said: “Our catering route is geared for aspiring chefs and we give them all the support they need to make their career ambitions a reality. The Fair DOs dinner party is just one example of how we provide our learners with unique opportunities to help them stand out in the job market. I am extremely proud of their efforts and they created a top class dining experience which really impressed our special guests and helped raise the profile of ACT.”