Professional Cookery students get masterclass in chocolate making from expert chefs at W Edinburgh
A group of Professional Cookery students recently got a taste for life working as a pastry chef at one of Edinburgh’s most iconic luxury hotels, as they were given a masterclass in chocolate-making by the hotel’s top chocolatiers.
W Edinburgh’s Executive Chef David Lilley and his team visited the College’s EH15 Restaurant last week to provide students with the knowledge and techniques needed to master the use of chocolate it in their desserts, as well as giving them an insight into life working in the industry.
The Level 7 Patisserie and Confectionery students were taken through the process of making chocolate bon bons, gaining first-hand look at the style, techniques and equipment used by professionals at the top of their game. To finish off, Chef David set the students with a challenge of creating their own petit fours.
Chef David and Pastry Sous Chef Benji Magro also revealed how W Edinburgh became the first in its global family of hotels to invent its own chocolate, providing an insight into their chocolate-making journey, from initial planning stages, through to experimenting with different cocoa percentages, and then finalising the product to be used in their restaurant. The students were then given the opportunity to taste the chocolate.
The masterclass was a particularly enjoyable experience for W Edinburgh's Christina Hindle who returned to the College for the first time since completing the Level 7 Professional Cookery (Patisserie and Confectionery) two years ago.
Christina said: “It’s great to be back at College as a working chef to help pass on my knowledge and the experiences I’ve had to the students. I’ve worked for the W Hotel for about a year now and have recently been promoted to Demi Chef De Partie which means I work part of a team helping the chefs and senior chefs with basic tasks, running functions and all the prep for the restaurant. I still have a lot to learn but I am loving it. I love the buzz of seeing all the things you’ve made – it’s an incredible feeling.
“I originally started on the NC Bakery course and then progressed to the Level 7 Professional Cookery (Patisserie and Confectionery) and I loved it. It was during lockdown so we got to take the things that we had made home to our families so they could taste what we made – it was an incredible opportunity to learn all the basics and have the freedom to use ingredients that you’ve never used before.”
Christina even had some parting words of advice for students studying on the course, stating:
“As a student you get so many opportunities at the College and you should take as many as you can get. I took any opportunity I could and it’s landed me where I am now, so if anything comes up, no matter how small, just go for it!”.
Professional Cookery lecturer Kellyanne Cockburn said: “I would like to thank David and his team at W Edinburgh for coming in to take our students through the chocolate-making process and speak to them about each of their journeys in to the industry.
“It was also wonderful to see a familiar face in Christina back on campus and it’s great to see how well she is doing now she is working in industry – she is a great example to our new students of how hard work and dedication can pay off.”