Ashford College - Catering

Develop your career in professional Catering & Hospitality and get a foot on the ladder in this exciting, fast-paced industry.

You'll be taught a varied programme of practical and theoretical skills, in our top of the range commercial kitchen facilities. Teamwork, food safety and customer service are just some of these skills that you will acquire on this Pathway.

Catering at Ashford is not the same day after day - it brings lots of opportunities and practical experiences for you to be proud of and really achieve at. Our Catering students serve lunch every week to staff and students across the campus, which will give you a real life experience that is vital in the service industry.

Careers
Events and Experiences

Careers

Whatever career you want to get into with Catering, our courses will give you the skills and experiences to be able to successfully make your mark on this industry. We also have a strong connection with local business, allowing for practical external experience.

Just a few of the progression routes available in the industry include...

Baker
Butcher
Cake Decorator
Food Scientist
Head Chef
Hotel Management
Kitchen Porter
Patisserie Chef
Restaurant Owner

Events and Experiences

As well as serving lunch to students every week, our Catering team are tasked throughout the year with providing foods for our own events, giving them vital industry experience. They also have been involved over the past year with external events such as local schools fairs.

Examples of projects you could work on at Ashford with our Catering courses include... (Some events have links so you can read about these in more detail)

Veterans Lunches
College BBQ's
Local school fetes and fairs
Providing food for our own events such as Open Days and external visits
Collaborations with other EKC colleges
Celebration of Culture catering

Hear from Devon - Catering student

'This course has helped me boost my skills, for example I am more confident now and have enjoyed taking part in events. I hope that this will help me in the future in my catering career.'

Hear from Steven - Catering student

‘Studying Level 1 Catering at Ashford College has helped me with working in a team. I had struggled with this previously, but I am confident that I have now improved significantly.’

Hear from Poppie - Catering student

'The Catering courses at Ashford College have helped me a lot in terms of skills. I hope that this course will help me to run my own restaurant in the future, using all the practical experiences that we have learnt.'

Career Prospects

Example: Kitchen and catering assistants

Annual pay
£5,200 - £17,160

Annual pay is per year, based on full-time employment and on the South East region.

Across the UK the workforce is projected to expand by 6% over the period to 2027, adding 30,716 jobs. In the same period, 67% of the workforce is projected to retire, creating 343,818 job openings.

Role description

Workers in this unit group assist in the preparation and service of food and beverages in restaurants, cafés and other eating establishments, and perform various cleaning, fetching and carrying tasks.

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What's next?

If you are 16 to 18-years-old and want to explore your options then apply today.

Step 1 - Apply

Once you apply, you will have an interview to discuss your chosen pathway.

Step 2 - Interview

We will contact you with appropriate options for conducting your interview, either online or in person.

At your interview, we will discuss the entry requirements for each level and course. It is also your opportunity to make sure that the pathway meets your goals and ambitions.

Read our guidance for applying to join us