Learner Profile - Hui Xu

Food Studies

City & Guilds Certificate in food preparation and cooking

'I want to be a chef one day, and as I started becoming ambitious about my cooking I decided to take the first step in joining this course. I’m really enjoying it and my favourite part is the cooking practice. We learn from scratch about how to prepare food, how to cook, and how to serve dishes.

The course also includes practical activities – it’s not just about cooking and covers health and safety in the kitchen. I’ve been learning how to avoid getting hurt, how to store and prepare food, and that is making me more confident working in the kitchen. It has also been helpful for me in my work experience organised through my tutor and the Macbeth Centre.

I had the opportunity to work on a private function hosted by (Great British Bake Off semi-finalist) chef Selasi Gbormittah in central London.  We catered for 70 guests, and worked on preparation for 280 desserts. It was hard work but really fulfilling! I loved the experience and it gave me some great practical training, boosting my confidence. It also helped me with learning how to make a plan, how to save time and how important teamwork and communication is. I’ve since worked on two more work experience events including for our local Mayor. Having learned how to prepare and cook food, how to keep safe in the kitchen, and how to plan a meal... it is big progress!

On a personal level, I am confident about how to arrange a party with food at home, including menu planning, budgeting, food decoration and serving. My English is improving as well. Professionally, I’ve learned more about food hygiene and safety rules, and being very careful about food safety and health - this gives me more confidence to do different types of food.I am studying in a very friendly atmosphere. Enrolment is easy, and I like working together with other students as a team. My tutor is very helpful and always there to answer our questions, and reminding us how to keep safe. I hope I can continue the level 2 food preparation here at the Macbeth Centre and am planning to find a job in the food industry.'