CATERING students at Waltham Forest College have spoken of their excitement at being given a key role feeding thousands of hungry athletes at the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Around 120 teenagers from the site in Forest Road, Walthamstow, will brush shoulders with some of the world's elite sportsmen and women when they serve up breakfast, lunch and dinner at the athletes' village at the Olympic Park in Stratford over the next 11 weeks.
Sebnem Marasali, 19, of Nelson Road in Chingford, began work earlier this week, serving up meals for the early arrivers to the Games.
She said: "For the first few weeks I am working on overnight shifts alongside chefs from all around the world. I am learning so much from them and having a great time.
"I am working as a prep chef at the moment but as we get busier I hope to become a commis chef."
Sebnem comes from a sporty family - her brother is a keen sprinter - and said she was looking forward to meeting the athletes.
"It would be fantastic to meet Usain Bolt and Jessica Ennis, but for me the most important thing is to maintain a professional attitude while I am working here," she added.
It comes just weeks after many of the students helped serve food for the Queen's visit to Waltham Forest Town Hall to celebrate her Diamond Jubilee.
Peter Stone, head of the college’s catering and hospitality department, said he was delighted that so many students had been employed at the Olympics.
He said: "It is a testimony to the growing reputation of our catering department.
"We have high expectations of our students...[those] selected for working at the Olympics have been those with the highest attendance and punctuality rates and those who are most committed."
The number of students on the college's hospitality and catering courses is 240, up from 150 in 2008. Many of them practice their skills, including working at the college's on-site cafés, restaurant and a butcher's.
Click here to follow the Waltham Forest Guardian on Twitter
Click here to follow the Waltham Forest Guardian on Facebook
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel