18 May 2011

National Diploma students at Loughry Campus are definitely well placed to get hired – a fact only too evident in a recent ‘apprentice’ style event held at Loughry.

The popular ‘Apprentice’ TV show is back and the first episode saw Lord Sugar set teams the task of developing a new fruit / vegetable product, something Loughry have been doing for years in their annual new product development challenge. This competition, which is run in partnership with Avondale Foods, saw six student groups innovating, developing and launching a range of added value vegetable based products. It culminated in student groups showcasing their best products to industry experts, Diane Christie and Abby Cushley, from Avondale Foods.

It is a well known fact that innovation is a key driver in the success of the modern food and drink manufacturing industry and, according to Diane Christie, Head of Product Development from Avondale Foods, Loughry students really “excelled” in this field. Competition was steep as all groups had designed products with unique selling points, but after much deliberation and tasting, the Samuel Geddis Perpetual Cup was awarded for the development of a ‘blue cheese and bacon potato cake meal kit’. This product particularly impressed the panel for its ingenuity, not to mention unique taste and flavour. Elaine Crozier, a delighted member of the winning team said, “We developed the perfect meal accompaniment to suit working professionals. Our market research showed that more people are ‘dining in’ and this product is designed to be a premium but versatile product, allowing consumers to assemble the prepared ingredients to suit their own tastes.”  

New concepts and creativity were evident from other groups and Avondale awarded a deserving second place to ‘sweet potato rosti’, following by ‘spicy tomato and bean soup’ in third place.

The practical skills developed across all courses from National Diploma to Honours Degree level, added with close industry links make Loughry students very employable. So, if you want to be the one to get yourself ‘hired’, why not find out more about the range of full-time and part-time courses Loughry have to offer – contact Freephone 0800 0284291

Loughry food students being congratulated on winning the Avondale challenge

Back row: Austen McRoberts (ND Food Technology student, Loughry), Diane Christie (Avondale Foods), Derek McDowell (CAFRE, Loughry Campus), Abby Cushley (Avondale Foods), David Patterson (ND Food Technology student, Loughry)
Front row: Elaine Crozier, Anna Hobson (ND Food, Nutrition and Health students, Loughry)