A Civic lunch in the presence of Her Majesty The Queen and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex

The Assembly Room, Town Hall, Chester – 14th June 2018

We are all very proud to announce that Charlies Cheshire butter which he makes here at Reaseheath Food Centre has been used in the recent menu for Her Majesty The Queen, and Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Sussex when they attended a recent Civic lunch at Chester Town Hall.

Charlie is a third generation dairy farmer who along with his wife and two young children run the “Crosshillocks” pedigree herd, milking 120 cows.

With an enthusiasm to get people to appreciate real butter and the journey it takes to get to the consumer he prides himself on the welfare and health of a dairy herd.

Churned by Charlie using fresh pasteurised cream, the cream is churned until it separates into butter grains and butter milk using Reaseheath Food Centre butter churn.

Charlie has been churning butter for ten years now and uses just a small amount of salt to give Charlie’s butter that kick that makes it melt in your mouth.

‘Our butter is churned differently to most butters on the market today as we use a small mechanical churn where the buttermilk is extracted from the butter grains so giving it that golden colour and quality taste.’

You can purchase Charlies wonderful butter from various outlets throughout Cheshire – Claremont Farm and The Lambing Shed to name a few!

 

Reaseheath College’s Food Centre in Cheshire has started to deliver a new industry led training course to help Welsh dairies upskill their staff.

The Level 2 Award in Dairy Industry Operations is an accredited award being delivered on site to a group of dairy businesses which are part of the Wales Dairy Industry Skills Partnership (WDISP).  Delivery began in December 2017 following two years of development involving Reaseheath, the National Skills Academy for Food & Drink, our dairy partners, the awarding body Agored Cymru and  Welsh Government (which funds 50% of the training through the Flexible Skills Programme).

The theory only course is aimed at providing employees with a solid grounding in the dairy industry. It is hoped that the learners will develop a good level of product knowledge and understanding, enabling them to make an immediate, productive and positive contribution to their employer.

The first session, run over three days, was attended by 33 operatives from six dairies:

• Glanbia Cheese Ltd, Anglesey
• South Caernarfon Creameries Ltd, Pwllheli
• Llaeth y Llan Village Dairy, Denbigh
• Plas Farm, Anglesey
• Arla Creamery, Llandyrnog
• Tomlinsons Dairy, Wrexham

Since then the course has expanded into south Wales for employees from Volac International and Mark Hunter Ltd. The training is delivered by food industry trainers Russell Brown and Mark Ellis, and the companies take it in turn to host the sessions.

The course, which takes between 12 – 18 months to complete, consists of five mandatory modules and five optional modules.  Learners’ complete specified sections pre-session and their work is discussed and reviewed during the training day, when portfolios are completed.  Multiple choice questions are also used to test knowledge.

Details of the new qualification were announced in October 2017 at Skills Cymru, the largest careers, jobs and skills event in Wales, and there are indications that collaborations of dairies in other parts of Wales may come on board. The Government levy for part-payment of training is only available in Wales and is aimed at boosting the region’s economy.

Discussions are now being held into the possibility of creating a new Level 3 qualification to support the Level 2 Award in Industry Operations.

Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning Minister, Eluned Morgan, said: “The food and drinks industry is of vital importance to the Welsh economy and ensuring it

has the right skills and qualifications to meet future needs is crucial. I am pleased we have been able to support the introduction of this new dairy qualification, which will support the industry and help to drive up standards enabling the sector to stay competitive in global marketplaces”.

Rural Affairs Secretary, Lesley Griffiths added: “Wales’ food and drink industry is a huge asset.  It contributes increasingly to our economy, creating jobs and careers where skills matter. The dairy sector also plays an important role in supporting our rural communities and we are committed to ensuring the long term viability and profitability of the sector.”

Reaseheath’s Head of Food Nick Blakemore emphasised: “We pride ourselves on our ability to deliver bespoke training solutions for the food and drink sector and have been delighted at the early success of this new, industry-led qualification.”

Heather Broughton, Senior HR Manager for Glanbia Cheese, said: “We are delighted to be part of the development of this Level 2 Award which we believe will enhance the knowledge of our employees and enable them to deliver the outstanding product required by our global customers.  The professional delivery by Reaseheath has been commended by our participants who have commented that the training “really made me appreciate and acknowledge the efforts we take to meet our customers’ standards”.

Reaseheath College’s Food Centre in Cheshire has proved it continues to operate at the highest industry standards by achieving a globally recognised Grade A (Issue 7) certification for food safety from the British Retail Consortium The college remains the first and only educational institution in Britain to achieve this latest benchmark for best practice in food manufacture.

The quality mark was approved after an exacting two day food safety audit of processes and procedures showed that Reaseheath’s food manufacturing systems continue to operate under highly controlled conditions and to the highest industry standards. Areas inspected included food safety procedures, cleanliness of the facility and the traceability of food ingredients, with the auditor commenting on the high level of knowledge and commitment of our staff and students.

The successful bid was led by Reaseheath’s newly appointed Processing Halls Manager Mike Bennett, who said: “The team has worked extremely hard to ensure we can deliver the best possible service to our students and local businesses and should be congratulated on their success.  Thanks to their hard work, we can ensure the ever changing standards followed within industry are replicated in a controlled learning environment.”

Reaseheath’s £7 million Food Centre was opened in 2011 and remains one of the best equipped food processing teaching and practical facilities in Europe. Built to exacting standards and staffed by a team of specialist food technologists recruited directly from the food industry, the centre has dairy processing halls and production areas for butchery, bakery, cake design and confectionery.

Many local, national and international food and drink manufacturers use the facilities for new product development, technical advice or staff training. These partnerships lead to work experience and job opportunities for the college’s food technology students. The college offers full time degrees and diplomas plus training sessions to members of the public which include cake decoration, HACCP and food safety.

The event showcased previous industry commissioned projects:-

Market research and customer preference surveys across a range of sectors including;

• Confidential market research studies to identify gaps in farm diversification opportunities
• Development of consultation groups to increase footfall to attractions

New product development and commercial product trial work such as;

• Product testing to improve performance
• Commercial trials to evaluate product replacement for growth performance

Optimisation of processes or methodologies for maximum performance and profitability including; 

• Implementation of LEAN management practices in dairy and agriculture
• Product processing optimisation

Development of process protocols