Spice King Cyrus serves up glowing praise for The College’s finest trainee chefs

02 July, 2015

Cyrus, the BBC’s 2014 ‘Food Personality of the Year’, and his wife Pervin, supervised and inspired Specialised Chef Scholarship students to create a mouth-watering seven course feast for around 60 diners at The College’s Escoffier Restaurant.

As well as members of the public, guests included restaurant supporters, Captain’s Club of Christchurch and specialist food suppliers Coastline Produce also of Christchurch.

Cyrus, highly acclaimed for his unique style and widely acknowledged as the doyen of creative chefs working in Indian cuisine today, also found the time to speak to guests during the dinner.

He spent the whole day guiding the students in the art of blending spices and preparing a mouthwatering banquet. His verdict was simple: “The Bournemouth & Poole College students are among the best I have ever worked alongside.

“They began by showing me so much respect at the beginning of the day. Often when I’ve been on visits to other training centres, you don’t feel that respect.

“These students performed brilliantly in the kitchen and in the evening when they came out to serve the dishes. It was a real pleasure to be there. 

“They all have a great future ahead of them from what I saw, and I’m already looking forward to being invited back.”

One feature of the students’ performance was a flawless cascade service where each guest on one table was served at the exact same time – as the Head Waiter announced the dish.

The seven-course banquet included prawn and crab masala omelette with salad followed by smoked duck Keralan style on seasoned glass noodles. All produce was sourced, where possible, from the UK.