College students getting involved in city food festival

Students at City College Plymouth will be getting valuable hands-on experience at this year’s Flavour Fest, as the College signs up to be an official partner of the festival.

College students from a variety of different courses will be given an opportunity to work at the festival which takes place in Plymouth city centre on 27 to 29 May.

Flavour Fest is the South West’s largest free food and drink festival and returns this year for the first time since 2019, due to the pandemic.

A chef lecturer from City College Plymouth will host a demonstration on the Chef Stage focusing on healthy eating on a budget, whilst professional cookery students will be assisting behind-the-scenes, helping to prep food and equipment for demonstrations. The College also will have its own stall, serving up a number of delicious and nutritious dishes.

As one of the city’s biggest events, Flavour Fest offers lots of opportunities for students from other academic areas to get involved too. Business students will support with event management, the carpentry team will be building bespoke directional signage and music and dance courses will provide live entertainment throughout the weekend.

One 20 Digital, City College Plymouth's in-house media production company, which helps students to develop professional portfolios, will help with the event marketing by producing video content and hosting an Instagram takeover on the official Flavour Fest account. 

Executive of Health & Lifestyle Professions, Karen Dorow said: “Work experience is such an important aspect of the training we provide at City College Plymouth. We want our students to receive a variety of different opportunities and experiences to help them make informed decisions about their futures and to give them the best possible chance of achieving their goals.

“Flavour Fest is such a brilliant event for the city, showcasing the incredible array of restaurants and eateries that Plymouth has to offer. For a long time Plymouth has been referred to as the food-lovers’ best-kept secret, but now it’s time to start putting Plymouth on the global stage where it belongs. We are delighted to be part of this event.”

Steve Hughes, Chief Executive of Plymouth City Centre Company which runs the event, said: “We’re delighted to welcome City College Plymouth on board as a sponsor for this year’s Flavour Fest and are really pleased that we can offer their students some unique, hands-on work experience.

“As the largest event we host, the festival is incredibly important to us. Not only is it a brilliant weekend celebrating the region’s very best food and drink, it also encourages thousands of people to visit our vibrant city centre. We look forward to seeing everyone there in May, and hope they’ll take the time to look around, exploring the shops and eateries on offer.”

The festival will be hosted in a different format this year with one huge marquee covering the Piazza on Armada Way where visitors will find stallholders selling some of the region’s best produce as well as the main festival bar.

For more information about Flavour Fest, please see www.flavourfestsw.co.uk.