George Stone and Daniella Bromley were thrilled to discover they had been chosen from an outstanding country-wide field of applicants to represent Loughborough College at a high-profile national event.
The 17 year old Hospitality and Catering students will be working alongside the International Conference Centre team for the gala dinner at the 2014 Association of Colleges Annual Conference and Exhibition in Birmingham this month.
“I felt shocked but extremely honoured when I was given the news,” said George, who recently helped launch his own design ice cream on a month’s work experience with Loughborough College in Italy.
“I have no doubt this will be a demanding two days. There will be more than a day spent preparing food alone and then when it comes to the night we will have to produce top-level dishes at the same time as getting the plates out really quickly - more than 1,000 of them.
“This is a fantastic opportunity and I can’t wait.”
Daniella is just as enthusiastic: “This really is a big event with lots of VIPs and I would be lying if I said I wasn’t a bit nervous – but mainly I’m extremely excited.
“We’ve been given the menu but apart from that it will be a question of hitting the ground running and using all the skills we’ve learnt to follow the instructions we’re given.
“My parents were really proud when I told them I’d been selected. I am always saying I can’t do this, I can’t do that so this gave them the perfect opportunity to turn round and say, ‘Well they had the pick of students from across the UK and they chose you, so obviously you can!’