Jockey Club Catering and Investec launch competition for local college students to design menu for Investec Derby Festival
Jockey Club Catering and Investec, have launched a competition with South Thames College inviting its Hospitality and Catering Academy students to create menus to be served at next year’s Investec Derby Festival (5-6 June 2015), held at Epsom Downs Racecourse.
The initiative has become part of the 2014-15 curriculum for all VRQ Level 2 diploma students at the academy. They will design and be in with a chance to create their menu at this year’s prestigious Investec Derby Festival as part of their qualification. The winners, selected by Investec, will see their menus served within the Festival’s Investec hospitality areas, hosting more than 1,000 guests during the two-day event.
The competition is expected to involve 50 Level 2 students who will have the opportunity to tour the venue and design their bespoke menus in partnership with Jockey Club Catering at Epsom Downs. Each participant will present their ideas to a judging panel, made up of senior Investec representatives and Epsom Down’s chefs, with successful students taking part in a cook-off in the following stage. The winners will be announced in early December 2014, ahead of the event which takes place in June.
Helen Hutchinson, Catering General Manager at Epsom Downs Racecourse said: “We are committed to working alongside our local community and this is a great opportunity to engage with the next generation. It’s our first time partnering with a local college and we look forward to introducing fresh talent and helping to develop more great chefs into the industry.”
Raymond Van Niekerk, Global Head of Marketing at Investec said, “We are extremely proud of the Investec Derby Festival, it celebrates the can-do spirit, energy and determination that produces real winners. This competition reflects those values, and it was a pleasure to meet the students taking part in this challenge. We can’t wait to see the out of the ordinary results.”
Steve Cannell, Head of the Hospitality & Catering Academy at South Thames College, commented: “Working on such an inventive project lets our students gain valuable understanding of the many sides to catering. Being part of the high-profile Investec Derby Festival will really push our students – it’s exactly the sort of challenge that develops their catering skills and their awareness of the business. We are proud to be able to show off the talent at South Thames and show that the college can work with great partners like the Jockey Club and Investec to deliver unique opportunities for people who have the ambition to succeed.”
Held at Epsom Downs Racecourse, the annual Investec Derby Festival is considered to be the greatest flat race in the world. 2015 will mark the 236th year of the event and expects to attract over 100,000 visitors across the two-days. Investec have committed to sponsor the prestigious event until 2021.
The Jockey Club is the largest commercial group in British horseracing, made up of 15 racecourses.
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Notes to Editors
The Jockey Club
The Jockey Club has been at the heart of British racing for more than 260 years. Today the largest commercial group in the sport, The Jockey Club runs the largest racecourse group in the UK, made up of 15 racecourses: Aintree Racecourse; Carlisle Racecourse; Cheltenham Racecourse; Epsom Downs Racecourse; Exeter Racecourse; Haydock Park Racecourse; Huntingdon Racecourse; Kempton Park Racecourse; Market Rasen Racecourse; Newmarket Racecourses; Nottingham Racecourse; Sandown Park Racecourse; Warwick Racecourse; Wincanton Racecourse.
Jockey Club Catering
Jockey Club Catering (JCC) is a joint venture between Jockey Club Racecourses and Compass Group UK & Ireland providing food and beverages across The Jockey Club’s 15 racecourses. Operating at many of racing’s events, including the Crabbie’s Grand National at Aintree, The Cheltenham Festival and Investec Derby Festival, JCC offers the full range of customer focused food and beverages and prides itself on using its local, national and international suppliers to deliver the finest hospitality throughout racing as well as conferences, weddings, meetings, exhibitions, which all require tailored catering solutions provide by JCC.
Investec
Investec is an international specialist bank and asset manager that provides a diverse range of financial products and services to a niche client base in three principal markets, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Australia as well as certain other countries. The group was established in 1974 and currently has approximately 8,300 employees. Investec sponsors the Investec Derby Festival, English Test Cricket, the England & GB Women’s Hockey teams, the South African Women’s Hockey team, the Investec Rugby Championship and Investec Super Rugby in New Zealand.
Compass Group UK & Ireland
Compass Group UK & Ireland is part of Compass Group PLC, a world-leading food and support services provider with annual revenues of £17.6 billion in the year to 30 September 2013, and £1.8bn of revenue in the UK & Ireland. We operate across the core sectors of Business & Industry, Healthcare, Education, Defence, Offshore & Remote and Sport, Leisure & Hospitality with a broad client portfolio.
Across the UK & Ireland, our operations span approximately 10,000 sites and include workplaces, famous sports and leisure venues, schools, hospitals, oil rigs and remote locations with much more in between. We employ more than 60,000 people and every day we serve millions of customers, provide services at hundreds of office buildings, clean thousands of square miles and protect tens of thousands of people.
South Thames College
South Thames College is one of London’s largest colleges with campuses in Merton, Tooting and Wandsworth, It opened its £5.7m Hospitality and Catering Academy, based at the Merton Campus, in September 2013. Renowned chef, Bruno Loubet, is the Hospitality and Catering Academy’s chef ambassador - providing a link between the college and industry.