Professional Cookery Course Tastes of Opportunities for Rebekah

Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Professional Cookery - Patisserie and Confectionery student Rebekah McMullan, who is seventeen and from Castlewellan, is developing her skills in her dream industry through studying at SERC. 

Rebekah completed her GCSEs at Rathfriland High School before enrolling at SERC. She always knew she wanted to study patisserie and confectionery – from a young age Rebekah loved cooking with her parents, and her desire to develop her skills was also boosted by her part-time job working in a bakery in Newcastle. After attending an open evening in which Rebekah talked to SERC tutors about studying patisserie and confectionery at the college, in her own words, “that was that!” - she knew SERC was right for her and applied straight away   

Rebekah comments, “My favourite thing about my course is the practical side of working in the kitchen and learning how to professionally decorate the pieces we make. Right now, we are learning how to model chocolate, and we have been given the theme of nature to model our pieces around – a lot of us are making realistic-looking rocks and logs out of chocolate. We just finished doing a pastry project in which we learnt how to make and model different types of pastries too.” 

“The kitchens and facilities at SERC are top notch and very well-equipped. We learn a good amount of theory too. We learn about food safety, how to prepare food, use the correct temperatures, how to properly clean before and after making something and about the importance of hygiene in a kitchen environment.”   

On what she wants to do after her course, Rebekah comments, “I’m currently deciding on if I want to work full-time or not – I've actually been offered a full-time job in my bakery that I work at part-time. If I decide to continue studying, I’d like to move on to a Higher Level Apprenticeship in Culinary Arts at SERC. More long-term, I’d like to work my way up to a leading position within a patisserie and confectionery business, but as of right now I think it’s great I have so many doors open to me because of the course.” 

Rebekah concludes, “I would definitely recommend SERC, I’ve learnt so much from my course and it has opened so many opportunities and pathways for me.” 

Apply now for courses commencing September 2025.  Come along to our full-time open evening from 4.00pm – 7.00pm on Thursday 6 March at our Bangor, Downpatrick, Lisburn and Newtownards Campuses.