Getting A Taste For Adventure At University
30 May 2013
The University's Oaklands Manor Outdoor Leadership Centre
Working up an appetite on an outdoor adventure course was followed by an afternoon cooking and eating their own gourmet food when two local youngsters picked up their prize in a University of Derby Buxton competition.
Jessica Hannon, 17, won the day at the University's Oaklands Manor Outdoor Leadership Centre along with the chance to make amazing Mediterranean food in the kitchens after taking part in the contest at the recent Buxton Food Festival.
Jessica, from Buxton, brought her friend Samuel Oliver along for the day which started with rock climbing, wall climbing and the Leap of Faith across a 12 foot drop at the Oaklands Manor Outdoor Leadership Centre.
"It was great," said Jessica. "I didn't even know Oaklands Manor was up there. It's the first time I've seen it."
Then it was into the kitchens where the University's Undergraduate Programme Leader in Professional Culinary Arts Leonard Cseh showed them how to create an Italian Tagliata beef, a contemporary twist on a classic salade Niçoise and hand-made tortellini - using pasta the winners had made from scratch.
"I found it really interesting," said Samuel - so interesting that he's thinking of signing up for a catering course!
And getting the public interested in cooking just for the joy of it is close to Len's heart.
"With events like this, it's not about turning out chefs and it doesn't matter if it goes a bit wrong," he said. "It's what the Italians call famiglia - everybody in the family enjoying coming together, sharing and enjoying food."
