Student restaurant gets highest AA hospitality award

Hopwood Riverside Restaurant Team

Hopwood Hall College Riverside Restaurant has been awarded the Automobile Association's highest college hospitality rosette - 'highly commended'.

The Riverside is one of only two organisations in Greater Manchester to have been awarded the highly commended certification.

The restaurant, which is run by the students and their lecturers, was praised by AA inspectors for the students' positive, professional service and a consistent, precise and professional quality of food.

Inspectors described the restaurant as: "An exceptional training facility that would be the envy of many professional operations."

Sisters Beverley-Anne Smith and Jane Smith, who both study Professional Cookery at the college restaurant, expressed great pride in their team's achievement.

Jane said: "I am really pleased inspectors judged us to be good enough for their highest college award.

"Having people who travel around hundreds of other restaurants pick out our work place as something special means a lot."

Beverley-Anne was similarly pleased with the picture the award helps paint of her team's restaurant, she said: "I know some people who just see the restaurant as a student thing or something less professional, so I hope us gaining awards likes this helps show people what level we work at.

"For inspectors to say our restaurant would be the envy of many professional operations shows how high we set the bar here".

The award is run in association with People First, who also rate the college's teaching ability.

The Riverside also got high praise here, being given a Gold rating.

Hopwood Hall Catering and Hospitality Lecturer, Joanne Ashton said: "I'm really happy for all the staff and students here.

"Every day I see them working their hardest to make our customers' day and to further their own skills.

"We believe we are as good as and better than many of the dedicated commercial organisations in the area and this award justifies that belief."