World Cup efforts give students better perspective

‘Committed’ World Cup efforts give students better perspective of industry they are training for

Catering for the masses during Rugby World Cup fixtures in Whangarei and Albany, saw near to 200 NorthTec Hospitality students needing to show the same kind of commitment the rest of the country displayed which helped to lift the All Blacks to victory.

Hospitality Programme Leader, Lionel Rudolph said NorthTec’s students and staff showed “real spirit” and were committed to the cause, with them all putting in a minimum of 10 hours at each of the four match days as well as into the mountain of preparation work that went on beforehand.

Over a three week period during Rugby World Cup pool play, 190 of the Catering and Cafe and Bar students were hard at work providing a high quality service for fans, supporters and even the volunteer workers. This had the trainees working in the kitchens, in the Corporate VIP areas as well as in retail, who were all eager to soak up what was arguably, the biggest event New Zealand has ever hosted with never any shortage of help where it was needed Rudolph said.

Prior to both the pool games in Whangarei, all the preparation work was done two days in advance which saw the students not only prepare a range of different canapés for VIPs and corporate box holders, but cook and prepare hamburgers, bread rolls, white bait sandwiches, hotdogs, fish as well as a hefty amount of chips (up to 1000kgs) for each match.

“Our crews were absolutely amazing. I am just so proud of the students and staff – who provided a fantastic service. It has shown them all real insights into catering for a world-class event which is something they won’t get to experience again in New Zealand for a very long time,” commented Rudolph.

The arrangement to have NorthTec students involved with the Rugby World Cup 2011 pool play match catering was finalised with the Compass Group a year earlier. One of the largest food service companies in the world, Compass Group is a publically listed company on the London Stock Exchange.

Neven Letica, Food and Beverage Manager of Restaurant Associates, who oversaw the catering at the Northland and North Harbour matches for the Compass Catering Group, said the role the students had played was certainly vital.

So successful was the job undertaken by the NorthTec crews Letica said both Restaurant Associates and the Compass Catering Group were keen to use the services of the department at NorthTec again for future events.

Letica said gaining experience at an event that size, which will probably never be seen in New Zealand again, was valuable for the students who were able to take their own perspective from it. “Hospitality is a huge industry and not just limited to one area. All these students will be out in the industry eventually, and having a hand in catering for this World Cup must have been good for them, offering some direction on where they want to be heading, he explained.

Enrolments for all of next year’s Hospitality offerings at NorthTec are currently open with the Certificate in Hospitality (Basic Cookery) available in Kaitaia and Kaikohe allowing people to get started and discover a career with food.

Rudolph said like him, the students involved in the catering of the pool play matches were in awe of the support shown locally for the Rugby World Cup with crowd numbers like it not seen in Whangarei for a very long time.

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