Students at Kirk Hallam Community Academy were given a sneak preview of two new dishes which will be served at a top Derby restaurant.
Professional chefs Matt Gabbitas and Jack Pall from Masa restaurant in Derby visited the academy to give students a masterclass in cooking.
The aim was to inspire Year 10 students who are taking the GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition course.
Matt made a dish with duck, scallops, carrots and black garlic with rainbow radishes while Jack prepared a French dish called Louis XV which was a complex chocolate layer cake.
Matt talked to students about his role as head chef at Masa and showed them how to cook the duck dish.
He said: “I’ve been head chef for three years at Masa. We are based in a Wesleyan Chapel and as well as being a restaurant we are also a wedding venue. Our food is modern British with French influences. There is a lot of competition in Derby now among restaurants and we want to be developing menus that make us stand out and ensure that people want to come to us.”
He also talked to students about the best way to cook duck, the different types of carrots that were available to eat and how they always wanted to give their customers the best experience of having a great meal.
Jack talked to students about the origins of his Louis XV dessert.
He said: “The recipe belonged to a hotel in Monaco and it was always kept secret until Gordon Ramsey visited and took it. Now everyone is doing it and it will be going on our menu in 10 days time.”
After taking them through the cooking process step-by-step and talking about the importance of presentation the students were invited to try the dishes.
Claire Linley, Food Technology teacher at the academy, organised the visit.
She said: “This was such a fantastic opportunity for our students to learn from professional chefs and watch brand new dishes being cooked before being able to taste them. I hope they are feeling inspired by what they have seen and I would like to thank Matt and Jack for giving up their time to come and see us.”