A former Catering student and now professional chef returned to Havant & South Downs College (HSDC) on Monday, 12 November, to teach a sourdough bread masterclass to current students.
Ollie Holgado studied at HSDC five years ago, and since has gone on to work at a number of restaurants including Pitt Cue in London, as well as helping set up Breid Bakery.
Catering students benefited from Ollie’s experience when he came in to teach them the new skill.
Ollie said: “Today I am teaching them a bread class, it is something I wasn’t taught at College myself but is a really useful skill to have.
“When I was last at the College, I mentioned the idea of the masterclass to lecturer Gary Poole-Gleed and he thought it was a great idea. It is definitely something the students can add to their skillset.”
Ollie continued to say how his experience at HSDC helped kickstart his career.
He added: “My time at HSDC definitely taught me all the basics I needed for my career now. I learned the basic knife skills and how a kitchen runs, as well as how to work with other people.
“When you leave to work in a restaurant you learn even more skills, but I would definitely recommend coming to HSDC first to give yourself that grounding.”
Speaking about the masterclass, Level 3 Professional Patisserie student, Stefan Trevor, said: “Today we have been learning how to make sourdough. It’s made from even quantities of flour and water and put together with what is known as a ‘mother’, which is fermented flour and water and salt. That will come together to make a dough.
“This new skill means we will have more recipes in our repertoire and we can develop and use those skills further on in our career.
“Masterclasses like these allow us to learn from professional chefs who have been working in the industry, and then one day we can pass that information onto other chefs.”
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