AN employer initiative has seen its first cohort of fully-funded courses sell out.

With over 90 proposals for tailored courses received from businesses working alongside the ESF part-funded project Hospitality Table Cornwall, 14 courses have already been designed, developed and delivered by the Ofsted Outstanding Truro & Penwith College.

From Quality Cocktail Making at the 240-year-old Tregenna Castle to Butchery Skills hosted by 100-acre Nancarrow Farm, all of the pilot courses are fully-funded and custom-made depending on hospitality businesses needs; including skill and knowledge gaps, location, seasonality and class size.

Hospitality Table Cornwall’s project coordinator, Matt Davis, said: “With the support of Truro & Penwith College and Cornish organisations, we look to improve the quality of hospitality learning in Cornwall. When possible this includes moving away from the classroom style learning approach and delivering these courses at accessible locations that leave businesses with a lasting, relatable experience.”

The courses have been crafted by the project’s expert developers which collectively have more than 100 years of experience; some of which have run the courses themselves. In addition to this, the project has also worked with a number of industry relevant consultants.

Jack Bristow, Head Chef at Nancarrow farm led the full-day Butchery Skills course at the organic farm in Truro. Attendees such as Bodmin Jail, Housel Bay and Rojano’s in the Square experienced a hands-on nose-to-tail workshop in their newly renovated Butchery Larder showing how to butcher different cuts and use every part of the animal.

Hospitality Table Cornwall and its course offerings are led solely by like minded employers from Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

The project is part-funded by the European Social Fund and is receiving up to £500,000, which alongside resources from delivery partner Truro and Penwith College, will ensure quality learning approaches that increase expertise in the sector.

Another course created by Hospitality Table Cornwall was ‘Social Media for Hospitality’.

Recognising the importance for up-to-date and efficient social media skills for marketing their businesses, the afternoon was attended by businesses throughout Cornwall including The Square at Porthleven, Cornish Food Box Company and Philleigh Way Cookery School.

Hosted by 2014 Masterchef contestant and founder of Virtual Solutions, Dawn Gribble has more than 20 years of hospitality experience and having worked with a number of award winning hotels and Michelin star restaurants, she has an understanding of not just social media and digital marketing, but its use and importance within hospitality.

Eat Drink Sleep said: “The course covered all areas of social media in hospitality. It was bite sized and easy to digest."

All of the other businesses in attendance said that their expectations for the course were either fully-met or exceeded and highly praised Dawn’s teaching approach.

From Truro to Bude and back down to St Ives, Hospitality Table Cornwall has also been hosting forums across Cornwall for businesses to attend, allowing them to find out about the project and voice their opinions about the industry and ways the project can support them.

“As one of Cornwall’s top industries, supporting businesses to access relevant courses that are bespoke to the Cornish needs is a key factor to the success of this project. We have spoken and are engaging with over 110 businesses, our members of which receive first hand information about not only our courses but also the number of inspirational events and forums we run throughout the year,” said Matt Davis.

To find out more about Hospitality Table Cornwall and to register your interest on one of their upcoming courses and events, please visit hospitalitytablecornwall.co.uk/courses, call 01872 308197 or email hospitalitytablecornwall@truro-penwith.ac.uk.