Budding chefs from a primary school met their older counterparts when they visited training kitchens at Uxbridge College.
The pupils from Longmead Primary School in Laurel Lane, West Drayton, visited Hayes Community Campus to see the Catering & Hospitality students in action and sample some of their cooking.The six eight-to-ten year-olds, who were all members of Longmead's Cooking Club, ate a two-course meal in Lifestyles restaurant, which is open to the public for lunch during term time.
The restaurant is one of the facilities open to the public at the campus off Coldharbour Lane, Hayes, along with hair and beauty studios and a fitness suite.
Trainee front-of-house staff took the youngsters' orders and served their food when they visited on 7 December, and when they had finished they met the students working behind the scenes.
Sandy Munro, Catering & Hospitality lecturer at the College, which is number one in London for success rates for young people, said: "We were very pleased to have such special guests to lunch and to let them see our professional training kitchens, where students work in real conditions cooking for real customers. We were very impressed to hear what the Longmead pupils had been making at school, including main-courses, cakes and smoothies - our students better watch out for the competition."
Trisha McGee, Head of Longmead, who had lunch with the pupils, along with school chef Sue Fletcher-White, said: "Trips like this broaden our pupils' understanding and help them see where they fit in within the community. They meet different people and see different jobs, from the man on the gate to the lady on the till, and the waiters and chefs. Coming somewhere like this might inspire someone to come to college. It helps them see how literacy and numeracy is used in the real world, for example by seeing the menu, and that it isn't just something they learn at school."
* To book lunch at Lifestyles call 01895 853730.