Posted: 08/03/2022
Doncaster College’s training kitchens recently played host to fantastic training all in preparation for the international World Skills competition in Shanghai this October. Our very own chef lecturer, Burnt Chef Ambassador and WorldSkills Educator Simon Barton worked alongside Nestle Senior Confectioner John Costello in order to train their Patisserie and Confectionery squad for this year’s competition.
While this year’s squad only contained one member, the talent and drive in Ben Metcalfe is abundant, and there is no doubt he will do well throughout his training with every hope of getting to the finals. Ben is no newbie to WorldSkills competitions and secured his current position in the Confectionary Department at Harrods through making connections at a previous competition. Sam, who was a student at Trafford College, came to Doncaster for this first round of pressure tests and training to show training manager John and assistant training manager Simon, what he can do.
The aim of this pressure test is to allow the two professional chefs to see any gaps in Ben’s skills, and develop him to his full potential. For this Doncaster-based pressure test, Ben worked to an old WorldSkills brief and created a range of confections and petit fours. Following this training Ben will then move on to train more with John and finally complete his journey in Ireland where he will create a range of cakes, confections, petit fours, and display pieces to be judged and scored by Simon and John.
If Ben’s work is of a high enough standard in which it is deemed worthy to compete, he will be scored highly and will move on to go up against 24 other top countries in the finals in Shanghai, China.
When asked about WorldSkills and opportunities such as this competition, Simon Barton commented “Working with WorldSkills UK is a very exciting opportunity which I am really enjoying, WorldSkills UK is an excellent project for students and apprentices to take their career even further than they ever thought possible, it opens up doors for young people no matter where you start in life.
I am just at the beginning of my journey with WorldSkills UK, and I can’t wait to see where it can go, there is no better feeling than knowing you have helped to change someone’s life by giving them the tools and opportunity to show the world what they can do.
In the short time that I have been with WorldSkills UK, I have already had the opportunity to work alongside some incredibly talented people who really do care about these young people’s futures.”
Everyone at Doncaster College wish Ben luck throughout this journey and we hope to see him representing the UK in the Patisserie and Confectionary finals later this year.