STUDENTS on a Vale-based hospitality course found themselves under the scrutiny of a Michelin-starred chef when they demonstrated their culinary skills.

Four Cardiff and Vale College teenagers stepped up to the plate to conjure up a menu fit for Penarth-based Welsh chef, James Sommerin’s taste-bud delight.

The celebrity chef visited the level 2 hospitality and catering students as part of the college’s employer panel initiative to double mark their work.

The employer panels mean industry experts can visit the college and judge see whether or not it meets industry needs and ensures students are ready for the world of work as soon as they leave college.

The assessment means they can instantly add value to an employer which will, in turn, make them more employable.

Dishes presented on the table, by Megan Flanaghan, Cavell Beer, Ross Broad and Michael West were risotto croquette; mushroom veloute en papillote topped with julienne vegetables; pot roast loin of pork/faggot (sauce); gratin dauphinois – as required by their VRQ2 (vocation related qualification).

Level 2 hospitality student Megan Flanaghan, 17, said: “It’s something special to have a Michelin starred chef how owns his own restaurant come in and test you on your work and you food. It’s been amazing and I think I’ve done well.”

James Sommerin said: “It has been hugely interesting and from an employer’s point of view extremely encouraging as well. It must be pretty daunting for students to have somebody come in to the college from outside and mark their work but they have all done extremely well and some of their cooking has been extremely good. I think it’s really important for places like Cardiff and Vale College to have people from the industry come in because over the years I have found that colleges can be a little bit behind the times. But here everyone is extremely up to date and it’s been great to see some of the classical methods being used because I don’t have a classical background.”

CAVC deputy head of tourism, hospitality, sport and public services at CAVC, Eric Couturier said: “It’s great that James has taken time out of his busy schedule to forge a close link with Cardiff and Vale College. Over the next year he will come in to the college to deliver 12 master classes. This is a great new partnership and James has come in to see if our students are meeting industry standards – you can’t ask for a better marker than a Michelin starred chef.”