DINERS at Beatson House will get the royal treatment, after two junior chefs at the Cawthorne restaurant visited Windsor to cook for the Queen.
Declan Croft and James Hutchinson, both 18, were two of four Barnsley College students chosen to work the Royal Windsor Horse Show as part of their level three professional cookery course at Barnsley College.
Last week, they worked as part of professional caterers Payne and Gunter’s team to serve food to the prestigious guest list, which included Her Majesty the Queen, Princess Anne and visitors from the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Declan, from Hood Green Road, Hood Green, said: “I actually saw the Queen watching the show. I couldn’t believe it because there are celebrities and then there is royalty.
“The kitchen was different to anything I’ve ever experienced. Mine was quite relaxed but if you went into the main kitchen, that was really busy. Ours had to be taken down and rebuilt again as they accidentally put it on an ant hill. And you would have these amazing, weird things happening - like one time, we accidentally took Gordon Ramsay’s delivery of cheese.”
The menu was 1943 themed, to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the horse show.
Declan’s kitchen was tasked with creating classical starters and main courses such as prawn cocktails, caesar salad and fish cakes. James’s kitchen made buffet items and afternoon tea as well as a more modern evening menu.
They both said they have brought back ideas to potentially introduce at Beatson. And all the students who visited the show will be showcasing their work at a Windsor themed Open Kitchen event on Thursday evening.
James, from High Street, Worsbrough Dale said: “It was a lot of pressure, everything had to be right and not just the food for the Royal Box. We were chosen because they felt we could handle it, deserved it and had the skill to get on with it too.
“It was an unusual environment as you are standing in a tent, in a field, with fridges and walls which have been put together just for the event. And you are dealing with things like the wind blowing straight through the tent too.”
The pair had the chance to work alongside celebrity and Michelin star chef Bryn Williams, star of the Great British Menu.
Beatson House’s Nikki Cockayne said they were proud to have Declan and James on their staff, alongside sous chef Olivia Ely who was part of the first wave of college students to be given the opportunity three years ago.
