Nine Coleg Ceredigion catering students are to get a taste of France thanks to an innovative exchange project.

The youngsters – all level 3 catering and hospitality students – will spend two weeks in Cardigan’s twin town Brioude.

The exchange project, providing students with two weeks’ work experience, including catering school classes, visits to local food and wine producers, placements in local hotels and restaurants, is thanks to Erasmus funding sourced by Coleg Ceredigion.

According to Huw Morgan, catering hospitality lecturer: “We are ever so grateful as a college and as a department for the support of Catrin Miles and the Cardigan-Brioude Twinning Committee for helping us set up this very exciting link between ourselves and our counterparts, Saint Julien College Lycée.

“My colleague Sam Everton and myself had an amazing four days in Brioude recently, arranging work experience venues for our learners. This is an amazing opp­ortunity for our learners to experience cuisines and culture, to broaden their horizons and showcase the opportunities available to them after leaving college.”

Catrin Miles, Cardigan-Brioude chair added: “This has been a most exciting development that resulted from our 50th anniversary celebrations in 2022.

“As a committee, we were eager to find new ways of working with our French counterparts and, during a Visioning Event held in the autumn of 2022, Huw Morgan expressed a keen interest in an exchange visit for the nine level 3 students in his department.

“Links have been made with the catering college in Brioude, whose members will support the students during their two weeks in the Auvergne.

“We are also grateful to our friends and colleagues in Brioude: members of the twinning committee, town councillors and staff from the town hall out there who have all assisted with planning this exciting project.”

The Cardigan committee presented all nine students with a gift of Euros to assist with any out-of-pocket expenses in France.

The next AGM of the Cardigan-Brioude Twinning Committee will be held on Tuesday, 14 November.

All are welcome and further details are available from the secretary at [email protected]