Victor Ceserani scholarship set up to support hospitality students

A scholarship to support hospitality students has been set up in the name of inspirational catering educationalist Victor Ceserani.

Ceserani was behind industry bibles Practical Cookery, Advanced Practical Cookery and The Theory of Catering, which he co-authored with Ronald Kinton and David Foskett. He died in 2017 aged 97.

The Victor Ceserani Student Memorial Scholarship has been established to celebrate his legacy and help students in further and higher education onto hospitality courses.

The aim of the scholarship is to collaborate with hospitality businesses to reach a minimum target of £50,000, from which bursaries of up to £2,000 will be provided to students to pay for their educational fees or equipment. It has been founded by a team from education and the industry including David Foskett, Steve Munkley and Gary Hunter.

Foskett said: “Victor Ceserani was and is an icon of hospitality. As head of hospitality at Ealing College now University of West London, he pioneered many initiatives.”

Munkley added: “When I was asked to be part of this initiative, I jumped at the chance. My working life has been in kitchens, guiding chefs through their careers. Having run a successful apprenticeship programme for 24 years at the Royal Garden hotel, training and development was at the top of my priorities. Helping students of the future will just be amazing!”

Ceserani was presented with the Catey Special Award, then called the Personality of the Year, in 1984, and received the Catey Lifetime Achievement Award in 1992.