LMC Officially Opens New Restaurant

After months of planning and following a complete overhaul, Lancaster & Morecambe College have officially opened their new restaurant.

The Bay Restaurant at LMC (previously known as Coulson's) has been rebranded and refreshed in-line with the College's prestigious new partnership with Gilpin Hotel & Lake House and the launch of The Bay School of Hospitality.

Guests from across the hospitality and tourism sector joined LMC staff and representatives from Eden Project Morecambe, to celebrate the official opening of the restaurant, which provides a real work environment for full-time learners and apprentices to develop their industry skills.

LMC's Principal, Danny Braithwaite, welcomed everyone to the new venture and outlined plans for the continued development of the Bay School of Hospitality, including the installation of a state-of-the-art, low-carbon kitchen later in the summer. He then introduced guest speaker, Barney Cunliffe, owner and managing director of award-winning Gilpin Hotel who spoke passionately about his own experience of working within the hospitality sector and his aspirations for supporting young people within the industry.

Gilpin have recently recruited LMC catering student Oscar Lee to work at their 2 AA Rosette Gilpin Spice restaurant, under head chef, Tom Westerland; and it was Tom who was given the honour of cutting the ribbon to officially open the restaurant.

Following the launch event, which was attended by around 60 guests including representatives from Cumbria Tourism, Marketing Lancashire, Bay Tourism Association, The Inn Collection and Lake District Hotels Association, Danny Braithwaite reflected on the evening's success.

It was a fantastic evening of both celebration and opportunity for everyone concerned.  Sharing the developments to our restaurant and the amazing work of our staff and students, all in the company of those that have played a crucial role in this project, was the perfect showcase. 

There has been a significant amount of work carried out in partnership with key employers and supporting funders to reach this point, for which we are very grateful.  We are looking forward to taking our Catering and Hospitality provision to the next level through our ever-expanding network of employers, businesses and those who continue to support our ambitions.

The new Bay School of Hospitality provides opportunities for full-time, part-time and apprentice learners to work towards the Gilpin Ambassador Award, as part of their course. Helen Tappenden, Gilpin's Head of People & Culture, helped set up the partnership with LMC;

We're incredibly proud to be able to support the upcoming talent in the hospitality and catering industries, and it's even better that we can work to retain some of the amazing homegrown talent the North West has to offer. We already have our first employee from the college too, so its talent development in action and at its best.

The Bay Restaurant @LMC is open to the public during term-time and hosts a range of specialist and themed events, including 6 course taster meals and afternoon teas, throughout they year.

Details of how to book and sample menus are available on a dedicated Facebook page.