Westminster Kingsway College’s Hospitality & Culinary Arts students celebrated the largest ever Graduation Ceremony

Westminster Kingsway College’s Hospitality & Culinary Arts students celebrated the largest ever Graduation Ceremony from the Professional Chef and Hospitality faculty with family and friends at St Stephen’s Church in central London.

The Graduation was held for students who had undertaken one of the following courses: Professional Chef Diploma Level 1, 2 & 3, Advanced Apprenticeships and Apprenticeships in Food & Drink, Hospitality Services and Professional Cookery, BTEC National in Hospitality and Supervision, Craft Guild of Chefs Awards in Professional Cookery, Professional Food and Beverage Service with WSET, Professional Patisserie Scholarship and Royal Academy of Culinary Arts Chef Apprenticeship (RACA).

Graduates and their families were addressed by Gary Hunter, Vice Principal for Hospitality & Adult Learning. Following the Graduation an awards ceremony was held to commend some of the students who had excelled during their time at the College.

Michael Seedin, Professional Chef Diploma 1,2 & 3 graduate, said: “Before studying at Westminster Kingsway College, I had no knowledge of the industry. I now feel fully equipped with the skills I need to progress my career as a chef, and I already have a job at the Woodford, which is run by Ben Murphy who is also Westminster Kingsway Alumni.

“The Woodford has only been open for six months and it has already been up for three awards, and so far won Best Restaurant of The Year 2016. My hopes for the future is become a head chef running my own restaurant, but right now I’m just focusing on working hard and getting as much experience as I can.”

Gary Hunter, Vice Principal for Hospitality & Adult Learning, said: “This is the largest Graduation Ceremony that we have ever held in history of Hospitality & Culinary Arts at Westminster Kingsway College. We have also given out more awards than ever before, and this year we have also seen the highest achievements ever for our Hospitality BTEC Diploma students.

“It has been an incredibly successful year for the College, and I am extremely proud of the team for all their efforts, hard work and dedication. The College is supported by many important partners and we would like to extend our thanks to them for their significant role in helping us to deliver the type of world-class training and education that will enable our graduates to go on to achieve future industry success.”

Kim Caplin, Westminster Kingsway College Principal, said: “Our Hospitality and Culinary Arts students have worked so hard to achieve their graduation that their sense of excitement and jubilation is palpable. This is a truly fantastic event, made even better this year with record numbers of students attending.

“It is also an exciting time for me, in my first year as College Principal, as I have been able to meet so many of our incredible supporters and key people within the industry. We wish all of our graduates the very best for the future, on what we are confident will be, a successful career ahead.

Upon leaving St Stephen’s Church, the graduates were honoured by current chef students with a culinary orchestra, with further celebrations continuing at the College’s Vincent Rooms.