The popularity of new dining experience Simon Rogan at home, with its customers has meant that the team of chefs creating the weekly menus has grown. As a result, the team behind L’Enclume and Rogan & Co have been searching for additional kitchen space close to their Cartmel base to enable them to meet ever increasing demand, especially with new delivery areas announced across Cumbria last week.
Hearing about the team’s need for extra space, Richard Axford, head of Kendal College’s Hospitality School, offered to assist the Michelin starred brigade and provide them with an interim solution by giving them access to the College’s professional kitchens during the College’s summer recess.
In return, Simon and his team readily agreed to work with the College’s culinary team on their return in September and provide additional learning opportunities and support to the students studying hospitality and catering.
Under normal circumstances The Restaurant at Kendal College, run by year one, year two and year three catering and hospitality students, supported by their highly experienced lecturing team, provides its guests with access to top quality food and service throughout the year. This provides the students with invaluable experience in a real-life pressured environment offering lunch, dinner, and a programme of guest chef nights, as well as providing catering for private functions and conferences.
But because of Covid-19 social distancing measures in restaurant environments, the College team will be unable to cater for the numbers they normally serve in The Restaurant at Kendal College when they return in September.
With this in mind and as part of Simon’s commitment to fostering future learning and development with the Kendal College Hospitality School he has happily agreed to help the students create a simplified version of his Simon Rogan at home service.
This will help the students to continue to learn, to further develop their skills, gain a valuable insight into a very different culinary facet and help them to continue to deliver a quality service to meet the needs of their regular The Restaurant at Kendal College guests in the event they are unable to secure a table.
Richard Axford said: ‘’It’s always a pleasure working with Simon and his team, their willingness to share their knowledge with our students has always been hugely impressive. They always seem to go that extra mile when they are with our students, which is why I had no hesitation in offering up the college professional kitchens during the summer recess to help them in the short term. In the longer-term relationships like this will hugely benefit our Hospitality School students and help put them head and shoulders above their contemporaries. This is one of the many reasons why Kendal College has been ranked as number one FE College in the UK.’’
Simon Rogan commented: “We are grateful for the help Kendal College are providing by loaning us their professional kitchens this summer. In return we’ve committed to further nurture, develop and foster talent in the existing student cohort and future students that come through their doors. It goes without saying we’ve always been committed to bringing out the best in our people, just as we do with the people we work alongside. Nurturing local talent is hugely important to us, it helps to set us apart and defines the role we play in the local community in which we operate and that can be seen in practice, in the form of Kendal Culinary alumnus Ashley Monkman, who is now part of our team at Henrock at Linthwaite House.’’
