TV chef gives North East college students the thumbs up

Celebrity chef Paul Rankin pushed the boat out with a top class menu when he helped South Tyneside College celebrate a marvellous golden milestone.

The BBC Ready Steady Cook star helped students prepare a special menu for VIP guests to mark 50 years since the world-famous maritime training centre opened in its current location.

The marine school, which was founded in 1861, moved to its current base within South Tyneside College’s Westoe Campus in St Georges Avenue, South Shields, in 1964 and was officially opened by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh.

Michelin-starred Paul, 54, and catering students spent three hours in the college’s bistro kitchen, which is equipped to a commercial level, preparing lunch.

Their dishes included a lentil and sour cream garnish soup starter and pan fried sea bass and butternut squash risotto mains. The students had earlier prepared their own choice of dessert.

Those present included The Mayor and Mayoress of South Tyneside, Councillor Ernest Gibson and Patricia Ridley, College Chief Executive Lindsey Whiterod, and an array of other special guests.

Paul, who is an ambassador and consultant for Sodexo, which runs the college’s catering services, said: “It’s great to be here on such a fantastic occasion.

“Working with the students in an environment like this has been inspirational – they are the next generation and I hope they enjoyed it as much as I did.

“It has been superb working with them to prepare the dishes on a specially created menu to mark the 50 years since the marine school moved to this location.”

Glasgow-born Paul, who was raised in Ballywalter, Co Down, Northern Ireland, is no stranger to the college, having visited in October 2012 to give a master-class.

In 1999 his Roscoff restaurant became the first in Northern Ireland to win a Michelin star.

By that time he had established a reputation as a leading chef by appearing alongside his wife, Jeanne, on the Gourmet Ireland cookery show in the mid-1990s.

He was a regular on daytime cookery programme Ready Steady Cook until it ended in 2010.

The marine school has trained thousands for life on the ocean waves, running courses for maritime personnel, from cadets to officers, masters and pilots.

It enjoys close links with world-renowned shipping companies, and many experienced seafarers choose it for training when they require new skills and qualifications.

Past alumni include Captain Ian McNaught, the Deputy Master of Trinity House, which is the General Lighthouse Authority for England and Wales.

Capt McNaught attended the school in February last year to unveil £4.5m of improvements under a major upgrading programme.

It saw the installation of new Kongsberg full mission bridge simulators and full mission engine room simulators, giving students remarkable training facilities.

Overall, South Tyneside College remains the only college in Tyne and Wear with rising academic standards.

A “clear mission to drive forward standards” and a vision to be outstanding led to an improved and highly-coveted overall rating of good when education watchdog Ofsted last inspected the College.