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NMIT culinary arts students were about to start work on a new project creating ready-made meals for a local charity when the sudden closure of the T-Block building meant they were without a commercial kitchen in which to cook.
The culinary arts programme had recently received a large donation of excess produce from Nelson based charity ‘Kai with Love,’ consisting of frozen chickens, tomato puree and cream to be made into ready-made meals for those in need.
With the sudden closure of the building and a large number of frozen chickens rapidly thawing, Chris Fortune, cookery co-ordinator and tutor reached out to the Rutherford Hotel – Nelson, to ask if his students and tutors could produce the meals in their pastry kitchen.
Rutherford Hotel General Manager, Alexander Siebentritt welcomed the team, offering the use of the hotels’ facilities at no charge.
“This was a fantastic opportunity for the Rutherford Hotel to support NMIT students to continue their learning,” says Mr Siebentritt, “It also reflects our commitment to the training and development of people to ensure the continuation of exceptional service within the hospitality industry.”
Rutherford Hotel General Manager, Alexander Siebentritt surveys the chicken pies made by NMIT culinary arts students.
The result… a mouth-watering selection of delicious chicken pies now making their way to those in need throughout the Nelson region.
The increasing regional demands for food support as a result of COVID-19 has meant Kai with Love is no longer able to sustain making ready-made meals for their food boxes and was delighted to be able to team up with the NMIT culinary arts programme to create meals.
“We are very grateful for this partnership,” says Abigail Packer, founding member of Kai with Love, “In the coming weeks approximately 1100 families will benefit from this collaboration.”
Since the buildings closure, NMIT has also received support from Nelson College and other industry and community partners including Serenity Hair Salon and Sublime Coffee which has helped reduce disruption to learners.
