North Hertfordshire College’s former student chefs, Emily, Phil, and James headed to Vercelli for a trip with Tilda Rice as part of their prize package from Zest Quest Asia 2023!
During their three-day visit, the young chefs were joined by Murray Chapman (the founder of A Passion to Inspire, a charity which aims to support young hospitality professionals in starting their careers), representatives from Tilda Rice, and celebrity chef and competition patrons Cyrus and Previn Todiwala. They visited many different restaurants to see how rice was utilised in different establishments, such as Cose Nostre, a 24-hour brasserie, to Officina del Riso, which used many forms of risotto using different rice varieties such as Lomello and Carnaroli.
They even had the privilege to visit a Riso Scotti rice mill, where they visited the fields where their rice is grown, so that the students could see the work that goes from the field to the plate.
To top it all off, the group visited the restaurant Trattoria da Balin, in which Chef Balin showcased his rice dishes from across all his courses. Our young chefs were introduced to a Rice Bavarois, a novel creation which was very new to them, but which tasted amazing. Chef Balin also emphasised the importance of good quality ingredients and how ensuring they are as fresh as possible can make such a difference to the dining experience – perfectly demonstrated through dishes where some of the ingredients were pulled out of the ground mere hours before the young chefs arrived!
Robert Broome, the Course Team Lead for Professional Cookery at North Hertfordshire College, told us: “My personal highlight was our visit to Catalupo, a vineyard just outside of Milan. It’s been open for over 500 years and has been run by just one single family over the many generations. This was made even more enjoyable as it was Chef Cyrus’ birthday whilst we were there!”
Our student chefs all agreed that it was an amazing experience and that they had learnt a lot.
What a fantastic opportunity for our young chefs, and a worthy prize for their brilliant performance in Zest Quest Asia 2023!
If you’re interested in testing your own catering skills, check out North Hertfordshire College’s Hospitality & Catering courses. With NHC, you can stay close to home and access amazing experiences, helping you go far in your future – literally!