Jessica Longdon recently started working at the prestigious Gleneagles Hotel. Jessica is a Second Commis Chef and is in charge of the larder section of the kitchen. She says, “I enjoyed the variety of different things we got to do on my course. We got to see the different aspects of restaurants and kitchens. The tutors were very helpful. They had lots of industry experience, which made me realise what I was going in to in the real world.
“My tutors encouraged me to take part in food competitions against other students. Once I had done one I got the competition bug and kept doing them. At one of the competitions I was competing against one of the chefs from Gleneagles Hotel. We got on really well and I was given a trial at the hotel – and got a job there, the College supported me and encouraged me to take part in the competitions; this fast tracked me into a good job in the industry.”