Two SETU lecturers were recently selected to join the prestigious Great Taste awards judging panel.
Noel Ronan, Culinary Arts lecturer, and Diploma in Restaurant Management course leader, Nuala Gordon, joined over 400 judges in what is the world’s largest food and drink accreditation scheme.
Great Taste judges tested over 13,000 produce samples from 115 countries this year. Founded in 1992, Great Taste is the brainchild of The Guild of Fine Food, a British publication that focuses on food industry news and views. With over 1,300 members, the Guild’s work focuses on fostering excellence within the independent food and drink sector.
Decades of experience
Both Noel and Nuala boast decades of culinary and hospitality experience. Having worked as an executive chef at London’s Wembley Stadium early in his career, Noel has since trained thousands of culinary arts students at SETU’s Cork Road campus in Waterford since joining the University in 1997. Nuala, meanwhile, is a leading figure in hospitality management education, having first joined SETU over 25 years ago.
For the judging process, Noel and Nuala were based at Hotel Minella in Clonmel, Co Tipperary for three days between 27 and 29 May where they worked alongside industry experts to determine the finest produce in their assigned categories.
Nuala says working with a diverse array of judges was a highlight: “I found myself sitting alongside butchers, farmers, cheesemakers, food buyers, trained chefs, food writers, and critics. It was exciting to be surrounded by some of the best and most experienced palates in Europe.”
"We have a product development module as part of our BA (Hons) in Culinary Arts course, so bringing back the criteria and expectations of the market should enhance the learning experience for our students."
Noel Ronan Culinary Arts programme director, SETU
New insights
Noel hopes the judging experience has helped him to gain new insights, “As a seasoned judge of local and national cooking competitions, I was looking forward to seeing the criteria and how it is used to judge new products,” he said, “I certainly gained plenty of insight as to what type of products are coming onto the market, and the standards required to make it to the shelf.”
He continued, “We have a product development module as part of our BA (Hons) in Culinary Arts course, so bringing back the criteria and expectations of the market should enhance the learning experience for our students.”
Tap here for more information on SETU’s range of culinary and hospitality courses.
