Ex-College student chef prepares banquet for Queen

30th November 2017 3:57pm - Return to press releases

 

East Riding College alumnus Anthony Gault, who is now Senior Chef for Hospitality and Banqueting at the University of Hull prepared a banquet for Her Majesty The Queen on her recent visit to Hull. 

 Anthony and his team put forward a menu months before the mystery visitor was unveiled, and Buckingham Palace chose the final menu for the day.  Over 120 guests joined the Queen for the banquet and Anthony and two other chefs only had hours to prepare the feast and serve it to a very strict timescale.

 Anthony said, “If I had to sum the experience up in one word, I would say stressful!  But it was worth it to get all the positive feedback from the other dignitaries at the event and from the Queen herself, who said she thoroughly enjoyed the dishes and that the apple pie was very different.

 “I’ve cooked for VIPs and celebrities and the like before at the University, but cooking for royalty has to be the highlight so far, to have cooked for the Queen is not something a lot of people can claim, I don’t think I’m going to top that for a while!  I did enjoy it, but mostly I was relieved when it was over, I nearly cried to be honest.  It was an honour, but of course it was also a lot of responsibility, and to represent the university in that way puts on a lot of pressure.”

 Anthony, who is originally from Driffield studied for his level two and three professional cookery qualifications at East Riding College in Beverley and left the College in 2007 to pursue his career, eventually moving to the University where he worked through the ranks to become a senior chef in the banqueting and hospitality department, where he regularly caters for banquets, weddings and dinners. 

 David Leaf, Chef Lecturer and Curriculum Leader for Catering and Hospitality at the College said, “Anthony was a promising and hard-working student at the College, we all remember him well, even a decade on.  He won a student award whilst he was here and he is on our ‘wall of fame’ to inspire our current students.  It is a great honour and accolade to cook for royalty, and the pinnacle of many chefs’ careers.  Well done Anthony, from all of the Hospitality team at the College.”

 Anthony's dishes and menu: