Tags:

Play topics

Play articles

Hagley Café

Yes, We Are Open To The Public…

We'd like to introduce you to:

Anita Ria - Front House Trainer & Kelvin Campbel - Head Chef from The Café at Hagley Community College

Opening Hours:
Monday-Friday: 8.30 a.m. - late afternoon.

You can't miss the Café. Simply stroll up Hagley Avenue from the hospital and you'll see it. The only difficult thing is trying to find your way in from the street - because you can't at the moment (this will change when the warmer weather hits and the umbrellas will be up for al fresco dining). But stroll past the library, around to the back and you'll find your way in okay. Just a word of warning - if you're heading out for lunch make sure you get there before 12.30 to avoid the stampede because food doesn't hang around for long - it's simply too good and has the added bonus of being incredible value for money. Another time to avoid? Morning tea from 10.30 - 11 a.m. when approximately 200 people wander in to savour the delights. Anita and Kelvin told us that they cater to approximately 500 customers each day with every indication that this will increase.

Queueing

Plus there's more …

So what makes the Café so successful? It's student operated under the tutorship and guidance of Anita and Kelvin. You can join the catering course at any time throughout the year but there are only 16 places available and training includes corporate as well as a wide range of accreditation, with Unit Standards 167, 168 and 497 offered (National Certificate Course 1 - 4) - plus individual packages can be put together.

Ann Marie, JUNIOR CHEF TRAINEE OF THE YEARWhat can you expect to do? Everything apparently - it's not just about what happens in the kitchen but also what happens out the front, from customer service to managing tills and floats. Hospitality Guidelines are set in place and the team works well around these. When it comes time to finish at the Café, Kelvin and Anita are supremely confident that their students are more than capable of going out into the workforce and succeeding in their particular field… "We're training these guys to be the hospitality people of the future - possibly a new generation with a new outlook…"

Results are already outstanding. The CPIT Culinaire Competitions ("Chef's Culinary Olympics"), which draw entries from all over Canterbury, were held in the Town Hall 29-30 July and Ann Marie, who's only been on the team for a matter of weeks walked away with JUNIOR CHEF TRAINEE OF THE YEAR for the school section (along with the Bronze for her desserts and sandwiches). Two other students also came away with Bronzes: Sharon Matthews for desserts and Shannon Benton for desserts.

Students linger … studying, chatting & just hanging out … so why don't you?