News: Award winning Ruddington Arms team plan to shake & stir students with Small Plates & Cocktails event

Following last year’s sell-out gourmet meal cooked by catering and hospitality students under the supervision of Mark Anderson and chefs from the award winning Ruddington Arms, Mark and his team will be collaborating with Nottingham College again on a one-off Small Plates and Cocktails Evening on 14^th March.

The £21.95 a head event is being held at the College’s Adams Restaurant and is open to members of the public on a first come basis. Designed to highlight the creative opportunities in pubs, Mark and his team want to inspire students to consider a career in the pub industry.

The evening will consist of five cocktails including two mocktails and five small plates. The cocktails and mocktails have been created by the Ruddington Arms Head of Cocktails,
Grace Bond, runner-up in the Nottingham Restaurant & Bar Awards and the menu devised by Mark and his chefs. It includes:

Rhubarb aperitif
Crab omelette – pickled ginger & spring onion

Celery soda
Smoked tomato, shaved fennel & kohlrabi, fennel seeds & goats curd

Seaweed sour
Salt cod, avocado, sweet chilli & crème fraiche taco

Tequila and tonic
Dark chocolate tart – hazelnut ice cream

Granny smith apple-tini
Greek yoghurt pana cotta - Ruddington Arms granola

Mark said: “Going out to a pub is a wonderful social occasion and an opportunity to enjoy new dishes and flavours. Making drinks can and should be as creative as cooking a meal, but sometimes drinks gets overlooked on hospitality courses. This event shows students some of the exciting and innovative flavours in pub food and appearing in craft ales, cocktails and soft drinks. Guests will be in for a treat.”

Cocktails and small plates will be served between 6pm and 7.30pm. Reservations can be made by calling the Adam’s Restaurant on (0115) 910 4510.

The Ruddington Arms was the Post’s Nottinghamshire Food and Drink Awards' best pub in 2017 and most recently Best Gastropub in the Nottingham Restaurant & Bar Awards. It also features in the 2018 Michelin guide for the fourth year running – one of just two pubs in Nottinghamshire to appear in the Michelin best pub guide and in Hardens.

Money raised from the evening will go towards funding extra curricular educational trips for students.

Chris Stamp, Nottingham College Restaurant Manager, said: “The students are very excited at the prospect of working alongside Mark and the Ruddington Arms team, some of whom are former students from the College.

“Last year’s gastro dinner with the Ruddington Arms brought kudos to the College and was so inspirational that we’ve repeated the format with other local hospitality businesses. The Restaurant takeover provides invaluable hands-on experience for students learning different techniques and the latest trends. Mark is incredibly supportive of the College, helping develop students. A number of our students have gone on to progress in their careers working in his pubs which helps him with the skills shortage and the local industry as a whole.”