Bury St Edmunds restaurant Edmunds at West Suffolk College wins AA College Rosette - again

West Suffolk College’s Edmunds restaurant in Bury St Edmunds has won a prestigious AA College Rosette after impressing judges.

With dishes ranging from tapas to Thai, this is the second time they have received the rosette having originally secured the award back in 2019 - and they are believed to be the only college in Suffolk to have got one.

The AA College Rosette Scheme was set up to promote high standards and new talent whilst recognising quality food and service.

The scheme is run in partnership with People 1st who also gave two Gold hospitality awards as a result of this inspection, as well as a centre of excellence status for the restaurant’s food and drink services and their patisserie and confectionery skills.

Claire Waterson, operations manager at the West Suffolk College Culinary Academy, said: “This is a huge achievement to win this for a second time.

“It’s not easy to get the AA College Rosette once and to retain it is incredibly difficult, so we are thrilled with this outcome.

“The inspection doesn’t just look at our food. It observes our staff, our courses, how we engage with industry and what experiences we offer students.

“Judges were impressed with how we adapted during the height of the pandemic by putting our courses online. They also saw how we engaged with top restaurants like Maison Bleue and award-winning chefs that included Justin Sharp at Pea Porridge and Galton Blackiston at Morston Hall who have both won Michelin Stars.”

Judges also commended:

• the Edmunds’ YouTube channel with cooking masterclasses;

• the takeaway service that was set up from scratch and supplied thousands of meals to hundreds of new customers during the pandemic;
• the ongoing community sustainable food project to address rural isolation.

Nikos Savvas, chief executive of West Suffolk College and the Eastern Colleges Group, said: “This is such fantastic news for a brilliant team at our restaurant Edmunds. Collectively across our group we strive for quality and excellence and I am very proud of everyone involved for securing this well-deserved and prestigious recognition.”

Sam Sturman, 25, is a former student of the college.

He is now head chef and chef patron of The Brewers in Rattlesden, near Stowmarket, and was crowned Eat Suffolk Food and Drink Awards Suffolk Chef of the Year in 2020, an accolade he received at the college.

He said: “It was nice to go fill circle by winning the top Suffolk chef ward at the place where I trained.

“I loved it at the college and grabbed all the opportunities that I could. For them to win a AA rosette twice is amazing and impressive.”