SERC Students Help Schools Get a Taste of the Hospitality Industry

The Slieve Donard Hotel recently welcomed schools from across the Newry, Mourne and Down District for a Springboard Hospitality Take Over Day, supported by students from South Eastern Regional College.       

Springboard is an organisation whose aim is to promote careers in the hospitality industry.       

Visiting students had the opportunity to experience the hospitality industry first-hand through mocktail making, silver service training, and a fun blind food tasting challenge. SERC Level 2 Professional Bakery students Olha Vasylieva and Kateryna Khishchenko, joined by SERC lecturer in Hospitality and Catering Thomas Turley, led the blind food tasting challenge. As part of the challenge, participants tested their taste buds with sweet, sour, salty and crunchy foods, as well as sushi, wasabi and Dutch pancakes, all made by the SERC students.   

The event also had ambassadors from Springboard hosting Q&A sessions about their roles in the industry, Newry, Mourne and Down District Council giving event planning sessions, Tourism NI bringing a VR showcase of local Northern Ireland attractions, and SERC’s Careers Team available to talk to students about pathways and courses into the industry.  

Lecturer Thomas Turley comments, “It was a fantastic opportunity collaborating with Springboard to promote the exciting industry of hospitality and catering to local high school pupils. We had great fun delivering our SERC sensory taste test - blindfolding the pupils to allow their senses to experience different tastes and textures. A great success all round.”  

Above: Level 2 Professional Bakery students Olha Vasylieva and Kateryna Khishchenko.