Food and drink are essential parts of our everyday lives and people are taking a lot more interest in where their food comes from and how it is produced.

The food and drink sector directly employs up to 400,000 people nationally, and as many as 1.2million in ancillary services. It has a particularly strong presence in the South West, with many household names being based here. It is a fast moving, ever changing and innovative industry to be involved in.

At Bridgwater College our Food Technology Students not only study the science of food but gain a thorough understanding of the food industry including manufacturing processes, food analysis, nutrition, microbiology, food safety and quality assurance.

This course could be described as a step by step guide from the ‘field to fork’; all those behind-the-scenes processes that go on that the public never see.

It is not all theory either. Remember you are what you eat! There are plenty of hands-on opportunities too, as students work closely with local food manufacturers carrying out projects, including the development of new products within our college food lab. Students then pitch their ideas and the products they have made to local companies and hopefully go on to making them on an industrial scale. 

Prospective employers are now looking for the next generation of food technologists and this could be the start of a rewarding career. Why not find out more? We offer a range of Apprenticeships in Food Industry Skills, Meat and Poultry (Butchery), Professional Cookery, Hospitality Supervision and coming soon Baking Industry Skills and Dairy Industry Skills. We also offer a full-time Level 3 Diploma in Food Technology and a part-time Level 4 course in Food Technology.

Back by popular demand in 2017 you will see our Year 10 and 11 Food Academy returning. Our Cannington Centre saw the exciting launch of its Food Academy this year, seeing students aged 14 to 16 from schools across Somerset come together on Saturday mornings to enhance their knowledge of the industry. They undertook a wide variety of introductory sessions ranging from designing and making their own sausages, understanding the science behind ice cream and taking part in a Dragons Den event where the students will design and pitch their own product to Malcom Pyne, owner of Pyne’s of Somerset.