Community Café students Paula and Zain recently enjoyed an exciting four-day work experience placement with Jimmy Garcia Catering, a partnership that began last year after Jimmy Garcia approached us about working together to support our students to gain real industry experience.

During the placement, Paula and Zain had the opportunity to work with head chef Heidi to make scones and leek and potato soup. They also baked cupcakes, brownies and cookies with pastry chef Chris. And on the final day, Zain assisted chef Ryan with general food preparation

This experience provided a valuable opportunity to develop practical catering skills, build confidence, and understand the pace and standards of a professional kitchen environment.

Zain reflected, 'I really enjoyed it. The food was great and the staff were nice. I liked doing different things and would love to come back one day.'

We're grateful to the Jimmy Garcia team for helping our students to develop essential skills for the catering industry. We're always keen to work with new organisations to provide work experience opportunities for our students; interested companies should get in touch via info@sharecommunity.org.uk, or 020 7924 2949.