Reaseheath food students impress with tasty meals for children

Food technology students from Reaseheath College in Nantwich, Cheshire, have impressed industry experts by developing a range of tasty and healthy children’s meals for the supermarket shelf.

Eleven students in the final year of their Foundation Degree in Food Industry with Management were tasked with developing chilled ready meals suitable for a new Tesco range.

The students had to follow a complex brief following strict retail industry standards which included carrying out research into nutrition, portion sizes, costing and package design. They then prepared their dish and delivered a product presentation before a panel of food industry experts.

The judging panel was headed by Tesco Product Development Manager Stephanie Bacon and included new product development specialists from the Greencore Group, which produces and supplies ready meals for the retailer.

Dishes which particularly caught the eye of the judges included a chicken dinner made by Dina Silva, a sausage and baked bean casserole produced by Alex Mangnall and a sweet chicken curry from Nazreen Dwada.

Said Stephanie Bacon: “It has been very interesting to touch base with the young talent coming into the industry.  Tesco has always been keen to give something back by helping to guide and advise the next generation of food technologists. We are also constantly developing our own food ranges and are particularly interested in innovative dishes for children which are high in nutrition but low in the less desirable ingredients such as fat and salt.

“We were very impressed by the thought and effort which the students had put into this project. The overall standard of the products was excellent and every student brought a meal into the room which was healthy and flavourful.”

The students researched and prepared their products in the industry standard food halls which are part of Reaseheath’s £7 million Food Centre, one of the best equipped food processing teaching and practical facilities in Europe.

The project was organised by Lecturer in New Product Design Jayne Storer, working in conjunction with Tesco and Greencore. She explained: “This was a true test of the students’ initiative because it was the first time they had worked to a live brief. It was extremely industry focused and realistic, replicating exactly what they will need to do in their future careers.”

Said Alex Mangnall, 19: “This was a really interesting project which gave us a real life experience of the food industry and will be really useful for our CVs.”

Socials and upcoming events

Alright guys,

Getting back into the swing of things,

Since we have been back for Christmas we’ve been busy trying to get all the events organised for this term. Upcoming socials are now up on posters around campus so make sure you keep an eye out in order to match the theme. The social this week is a onesie social carrying on the theme of the day from our onesie day. We’re going to try and get our principal in a onesie on this day as well to show the spirit at all levels, with photographic evidence.

Onsie Day - RAG fundraising

In the first week back at college the SA have been busy coming up with ideas for more fundraising events for the term ahead.  One of our main events is the residential football team’s charity tour around the country to other land-based colleges. Other events include the silent disco and the Battle of Nantwich and Holly Holy Day. This is taking place on the 25th January and we will be stewarding for both events and selling the holy badges. Our Valentine’s Day bag will be taking place on the 12th and 13th of February, all money raised will be going to St Luke’s.

Check in next week for another update

Sam Norfolk
SA President

Clinical coach training – maximising the potential of your trainee nurse
Start Date:               Wednesday 11th June

Time:                         TBC

Venue:                      Reaseheath Animal Management Department

Cost:                          Free of charge 
                   

This course is aimed at current placement providers for the college to standardise assessment activity of your trainee assessments.  Included will be a review of all Clinical Skills online log entries.
Lisa Gee and Elaine Lamb – RVN, PGCE, RHC Lecturers and Course Managers

Keeper for a morning/afternoon
Start Date:               June (dates TBC)

Time:                         Morning or afternoon sessions available

Venue:                      Reaseheath Animal Management Department

Cost:                          £100 per person
                   

Details are available on request with the potential to tailor the experience to your interests.

Myth busters – training a trainee veterinary nurse
Start Date:               Wednesday 9th July

Time:                         TBC

Venue:                      Reaseheath Animal Management Department

Cost:                          Free of charge 
                   

This course is aimed at current and prospective placement providers for the college to help them understand the college’s support network and what we can do to ‘ease the pressure’.
Lisa Gee and Elaine Lamb – RVN, PGCE, RHC Lecturers and Course Managers

RHES attend Venom Day at Bangor University

RHES members chat to Mark O’Shea

RHES members chat to Mark O’Shea

On the 16th of November 2013 the RHES attended Venom Day hosted by Bangor Herpetological Society and the British Herpetological Society (BHS) at Bangor University. Bangor students and key members of the herpetology community held talks and demonstrations based around their current studies and research. It gave RHES members a chance to meet new contacts and explore possible career paths. RHES members had the opportunity to meet a famous member of the herpetological community Mark O’Shea. Mark talked to some of our members about career opportunities and his own career pathway.

James Headland was lucky enough to establish a mentor to help him with the venomous snake handling course through networking on the day. This is a fantastic achievement and all the members are happy for him.

Mark O'Sheas Reptile World RHESAll of our members picked up important information throughout the day. Talks from various professionals including Tom White’s: Detecting venom toxin variation in the Taiwanese bamboo viper (Trimeresurus stejnegri), David Warrell: Are we any better at preventing bites and stings? and Wolfgang Wüster’s talk on Cryptic Diversity in the African forest cobra (Naja melanoluca), were particularly inspiring. Bangor University also opened up their museum for refreshments, this gave RHES an opportunity to peruse thousands of specimens.

All in all it was a fantastic day out for the RHES society and gave all the members an experience they will never forget.

Josh Flood

RHES Chair

Welcome back

Alright guys,

First of all, I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year and welcome back!

The Winter Ball was a great success, thank you to the entire SA who stayed up late the night before to decorate the bar and dining room for the evening. We have had praise from the Principal and Vice Principal saying how impressed they were and everyone who attended seemed to really enjoy themselves. Here are some photos from the evening:

In the first week back at college the SA have been busy coming up with ideas for more fundraising events for the term ahead. These include a onesie day and social which is taking place on Thursday 23rd January and clothes donations (we are encouraging staff and students to donate any unwanted clothes to St Luke’s so they can sell them in their shops). The SA’s three peaks challenge is going to kick start our RAG week, dates to be confirmed soon; also the Principal will be joining us for the challenge.

The Valentine’s day/RAG social is on Thursday 13th February, £1 of every ticket bought will go towards this years RAG charity. In the near future we have lots more events coming up, if you would like to get involved we are always looking for volunteers.

Are you interested in being a member of the Student Association next academic year? We’re looking to get the 2014/15 SA set up by May this year so if you are interested let me know and come and get involved!

Check in next week for another update.

Sam Norfolk
SA President