La Dolce Vita! Edinburgh College students and guests get a taste of the good life at Italian Salumi event
For the second year running, the College has successfully hosted an event celebrating the union of Scottish cookery skills with fine Italian produce, thanks to the help of the Italian Trade Agency and the Associazione Industriali delle Carni e dei Salumi (ASSICA).
A host of VIP’s were welcomed to the College to watch a live cooking show featuring three of our talented Professional Cookery & Hospitality students going head-to-head, presented by Rosario Sartore, the chef proprietor of Locanda de Gusti, one of Edinburgh’s most well-loved Italian restaurants.
The Scotsman’s Lifestyle Editor, Gaby Soutar, alongside Sabrina Damiani, owner of Damiani Fine Dining, Sophie Hannigan, Scottish food influencer, and Giovanni Facchini, communication specialist at ASSICA, were our four judges, sampling dishes prepared by Taylor Guilfoyle, a student at Portobello High School studying a part-time NPA in Professional Cookery, Alfie Reed who is studying City & Guilds Level 2 in Professional Cookery & Hospitality at Milton, and Yessica Simon, Level 2 Professional Cookery & Hospitality at Granton.
While all three produced dishes of the absolute highest quality, ultimately only one student could be named the victor, with Alfie coming out on top.
He says winning the contest has given him a huge confidence boost:
“I think if you want to work in kitchens you need to be willing to throw yourself into events like this, even though it was a bit nerve-wracking knowing I’d be cooking in front of a live audience. I think all three of us really put our all into our dishes, and it was really tight as to who was going to win. I’m really happy and it’s definitely given me the bug to go and do more things like this if I can.”
It was commiserations instead for Taylor and Yessica, but both say it was an incredible and worthwhile experience:
“It was a really unique venue to be cooking in, with rows of people watching you as you go and cameras filming everything, so I think if you can handle that you can handle just about any kitchen. I’d love to come back and try and win it again next time!"
“I love Italian cooking, and it was really great to be able to share my passion with the judges, even if I didn’t win. They all seemed really impressed with all of our dishes, and I’m proud of myself for being brave enough to give it a try. I really enjoyed myself.”
Stephanie Tanner, Head of Department for Culinary Arts, Leisure and Tourism, says the students gave a very impressive account of themselves:
“It was really fantastic to host this Italian salumi event for a second consecutive year, and to welcome so many guests to our eh15 restaurant. Everyone in the whole department is extremely proud of the effort shown by our three students, all of whom cooked incredible dishes in such a tough environment. They deserve a huge congratulations for taking part. We’d also like to say a special thank you to the Italian Trade Agency for funding and helping to organise the event, and to our judges and host for making it such a fun event.”
ITA Deputy Director Gabriella Migliore says it was a fantastic day for everyone in attendance:
“We were delighted to partner with Edinburgh College for our Italian Salumi, the UK Contest with ASSICA. It was great to see young Scottish chefs use our Italian salumi with so much skill and talent. Congratulations to all the participants and those involved, and especially to the winner Alfie.”
Alfie will now go on to the grand final in London, where he’ll represent Edinburgh College and compete for the title of Best Young Chef for Italian Cured Meats. Go on Alfie!