Susan Murphy, a Waterford Institute of Technology professional cookery student from Kilmanagh, Co Kilkenny, has won a gold award in culinary arts at a competition staged by the European Association of Hotel & Tourism Schools in Dubrovnik, Croatia.
The competition coincided with the association’s 22nd annual conference attended by 700 delegates from 30 countries.
Susan was part of a three-strong team with Italian students Gianluca Calogero and Michele Alicino – only meeting her colleagues two days prior to competition.
The Kilkenny student is the sixth from Waterford Institute of Technology to take gold in these prestigious competitions, with two previous winners in cookery and three in restaurant service. Her score of 97 per cent is the highest achieved by a Waterford student in the European competition.
Speaking on her return from the competition, Ms Murphy said she was “thrilled” with the success. “The standards were very high and it was great to have the opportunity to work alongside and in competition with peers from colleges across Europe. We had to work through French for the duration of the competition so that was an extra challenge on top of the cooking!
“Working in a team under pressure is a huge part of the profession we are all looking to make our careers in. The competition was very realistic in that respect so it’s a great experience to have come through while still studying. We get tremendous support at the Institute and that’s where the foundations are laid for successes like this one.”
Congratulating Ms Murphy, Ray Cullen, Head of the Department of Languages, Tourism & Hospitality, Waterford Institute of Technology, said: “Susan’s exceptional achievement suggests she has a tremendous career ahead of her. Her success in this European competition brings credit to the Institute but also to Ireland more widely as we reaffirm our reputation for excellence in food and hospitality.
“You get a sense of the international reach of this competition from reviewing the countries of origin for the two teams that Susan and her Italian counterparts beat. The second-placed team came from Belgium, Denmark, and Finland while the third team had members from Austria, Finland and Italy.
“As well as acknowledging Susan’s great work, I also pay credit to her mentor Tony Barry and to my department colleagues for their ongoing work.”
The Department of Languages, Tourism & Hospitality at Waterford Institute of Technology offers a range of programmes including a Higher Certificate in Business in Hospitality Operations (WD039 ); BA (Hons ) in Hospitality Management (WD091 ) and BA (Hons ) in Tourism Marketing (WD148 ). Candidates apply for these programmes through the CAO system.
