East meets West: Star Chef luxury lunch with students at Waltham Forest College

Aspiring chefs joined forces with Alyn Williams, a former student and the Owner of Alyn Williams at the Westbury to serve a three-course luxury menu.

From the crack of dawn, students and Star Chef worked endlessly to bring their souls to the recipes that celebrate the festive season. The rich flavours of Modern European cuisine balanced with fantastic local produce were transformed for the delight of the overbooked event. Staff and guests gathered to enjoy the experience of delicious food; braised beef cheeks, pommes mousseline, and grilled baked root vegetables followed by crème fraiche deserts in The Mallinson Restaurant.

Alyn Williams was delighted to support his former College and help students practise teamwork and discipline in the kitchen, he said “Talent in cooking is changing rapidly. Today, you can get delicious food at a local casual restaurant so the competition is high”.

The collaboration ended with success giving students real-life experience in a restaurant setting. The students were excited to access more cooking skills from an expert that they can take back to their careers. Ex-Waltham Forest College student and Junior Chef at The Westbury restaurant, Josh Ausena said, “It felt good coming back to college and sharing classic techniques I’ve learnt working for Alyn Williams”.

Born and raised in East London, Alyn Williams’ love for food was the start of his career. After earning his City & Guild Cooking for Catering course and working for Gordan Ramsy as Head Chef, he started his own fine dining at the Westbury Hotel Mayfair. The students were encouraged by his stories of life catering for the crème de la crème, Alyn said “The challenge is when people don’t believe in you but I overcame them all by self-belief and passion in my career”.

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