As part of the Activity Days held at Kirkwall Grammar School at the end of May, we teamed up with the Hospitality Department to put on the Great KGS Bake Off!

The day started with a cake decorating masterclass from Ingrid Groat, Hospitality Lecturer at UHI Orkney. She showed pupils how to make sugar paste monkeys and gave them tips on decorating cupcakes. The pupils then made their own cupcakes and were able to decorate them however they wanted to.
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In the afternoon, Ingrid returned with Callum Budge from Callum’s Cakes, Kerry Leask from Orkney Food and Drink and Rachel Scarth from DYW Orkney, who all unleashed their inner Paul Hollywood and Prue Leith to judge the cupcakes. The judges selected their top three based on decoration, before tasting a cupcake from each of the top three to decide who would be crowned Star Baker and win the coveted ‘Great KGS Bake Off’ wooden spoon.

They didn’t have an easy job with pupils coming up with some fantastic, creative ideas for their decoration which showcased their skills with piping, making sugar paste figures and attention to detail.

Pupils also had a chance to learn more about the Hospitality courses available at UHI Orkney and the career journeys that Ingrid, Callum and Kerry have all taken into their current jobs.

Thank you so much to the fantastic pupils who did a fab job decorating their cupcakes, and the judges for taking part.

Check out some photos from the day below.

Do you work in the Food and Drink industry and would you be interested in inspiring the next generation?

The Food and Drink STEM Ambassador programme was relaunched in early 2023 and now has 98 dedicated Food and Drink Ambassadors, delivering more than 560 hours of activities.
 
Ambassadors bring different aspects of the industry to life by sharing their everyday experiences, effectively illuminating the vast career landscape within food and drink.
 
The food and drink production sector in Orkney is an important part of our economy and we would encourage our local producers to sign up to become Ambassadors, inspiring and encouraging a new generation to continue the legacy of food and drink production on the islands.
 
If you are interested in becoming a Food and Drink Ambassador, the sign up process is very straight-forward, beginning with a registration as an Ambassador at www.stem.org.uk/register
 
u want to play a part in inspiring the future workforce, find out more about the Scottish Food and Drink Ambassadors programme here.

Last week was Scottish Apprenticeship Week, which is a nationwide celebration of apprenticeships, and the DYW Orkney team were busy promoting the benefits work-based learning brings to businesses and individuals.

Earlier this week, we held a Farm to Fork event in partnership with the Royal Highland Education Trust (RHET).

Farm to Fork was an early career event for S1 pupils that had been developed to help them explore the wider careers associated with the agricultural sector.  Pupils were able to speak to exhibitors to learn more about how food is produced by farmers then used by local food and drink producers in the final product.

​During Kirkwall Grammar School’s recent Health and Wellbeing week we offered pupils a chance to gain an insight into careers in Orkney’s food and drink industry.

​The day started with pupils making dough which they left to prove while they headed through to Stromness to visit Argos Bakery where they were treated to a behind the scenes tour.  Pupils got to see where and how Orkney Fudge is made and were all surprised at how much manual work is involved in the process.  They then got to see the packing area which was a hive of activity packaging all the different cakes, rolls and biscuits that are made on site.

​In our final Sector Spotlight on the Food and Drink sector we hear from Jane Ellison from JP Orkney.  As well as being the partner/owner of JP Orkney with her partner, Paul, she also works as a Home Economics Teacher at Stromness Academy.
 
After completing her GCSE’s, Jane spent time travelling in Malaysia before returning home to complete her A Levels.  She then went to University where she achieved an HND in Hospitality Business Management, and a degree in Food Systems and Quality Assurance.  Following graduation, she worked in restaurant management before undertaking a post-graduate qualification to become a teacher.
 
A move to Orkney saw Jane and Paul setting up their hospitality business offering guided tours, Orkney made produce and electric camper van hire.

Continuing our Sector Spotlight on the Food and Drink sector, we hear from Graham Bruce who is the Visits and Retail Operations Manager at Highland Park Distillery.  Graham started his career with Boots in a temporary role over Christmas.  He remained with the business for 10 years working in a variety of roles.  Graham then started working at World Duty Free as part of the management team specialising in selling malt whisky.  He then moved into roles in the financial sector before moving to Orkney with his family and taking up a role with Highlands and Islands Enterprise before moving into his current role at Highland Park.

In our next Sector Spotlight on the Food and Drink sector, we hear from Glynis Leslie who is the owner of Orkney Isles Preserves.  On leaving school she studied languages in Aberdeen including French, German and a bit of Spanish.  She worked in Germany, but hated city life and was very homesick.  Eventually she gave up her course to come home to Shapinsay and work for her folks, who ran a shop and haulage business.
 
Glynis went on to marry and start a family.  Looking for something for herself that would fit in with family life, she started making jams and chutneys for the local craft shop and since then the business has grown.

​In our first Sector Spotlight on the Food and Drink industry, we hear from Callum MacInnes who is the Director of The Island Smokery.  Callum started his career as an engineer working on military aircraft and equipment.  He then moved to Orkney and changed direction buying and running shops before starting The Island Smokery.