Accrington Stanley’s Champions Dinner
On Sunday 6thMay, catering students at Accrington and Rossendale College provided a 5* end of season dinner for League Two champions, Accrington Stanley Football Club.
The team arrived on Broadway in Accrington Town Centre at 5:15pm, where they spent time with the thousands of fans who had gathered taking pictures, signing merchandise and celebrating their success of winning League Two and their promotion to League One.
From the civic celebration, the entire Accrington Stanley team went to a more private function – the Champions Dinner – in Accrington Town Hall. The sold-out event had over 270 guests attending including the football team, owner Andy Holt and manager, John Coleman, back room staff and dignitaries.
A lot of preparation had gone into perfecting the dishes served by the college at their £3m catering department.
Chairman of Accrington Stanley’s Supporters Club, Peter Leatham, joined Stanley Managing Director, David Burgess, for a food tasting workshop at Accrington and Rossendale College on the 12thApril. The workshop, organised by Scott Dawson Advertising, allowed Peter and David to select appropriate ideas presented to them by students which were then carefully developed in to a first-class menu to serve at the event.
David commented:
“The students really over delivered what we had expected, it was five-star! The food was beautifully presented, tasted amazing and flavoured well. It was exemplary! It has been great to have the support of local education facilities. The college should definitely be proud of what they’re producing within their catering department.”
Guests were treated to a three-course meal including dishes such as: locally sourced, succulent chicken and tarragon terrine; hand-made traditional pork pie with fragrant peas and butter crushed potatoes; warm, fresh beetroot salad; and homemade traditional leek and mature cheese pie. Desserts included a luxury milk and white chocolate creamy panna-cotta with a League Two champions trophy on top and sweet strawberries on a bed of crumbled home-made biscuits.
Charlotte Scheffmann, Assistant Principal at Accrington and Rossendale College, said:
“The students were really excited to work along Accrington Stanley, we are incredibly proud of the menu they created to serve the guests at the Champions Dinner. It has been a fantastic opportunity for them to collaborate with the football club. The college prides itself on community and it’s a huge part of the ethos of the football team, so it was nice to work together to create, what is essentially, a celebration of that – people getting together, having a good time and applauding success within the town.”
