Celebrations as Coleg Cambria’s onsite restaurant relaunches as ‘Hafod’

There were celebrations and delicious food samples on offer this this week at the relaunch of Coleg Cambria’s onsite restaurant.

Formally known as Rendezvous, the eatery on the Yale campus in Wrexham has been rebranded as Hafod – a Welsh word which means ‘summer dwelling’ and refers to the seasonal cycle of moving livestock and people from a lowland winter pasture at the main residence (hendre) to a higher summer pasture (hafod) from roughly May through October.

Hafod was also the name of a local colliery that was situated in Ruabon and is a name that’s strongly linked to the local history of the area.

During the exciting relaunch earlier this week, local employers and VIPs were invited to learn more about the training restaurant and its staff and students, whilst sampling delicious canapes from the autumn menu including Cambria lamb from its Llysfasi site.

The onsite restaurant is used as a training facility for students, providing them with an opportunity to work alongside chefs and the waiting on team

Paula Wood, Assistant Principal & Director of Curriculum said: “We’re seeing exciting developments here at Cambria as we mobilise our college offer to further develop the talent pipeline for North East Wales’ Hospitality and Catering sector.

“Developing highly effective synergy with the UK’s best chefs, local businesses, Cambria Alumni and our highly skilled team provides dynamic, high-quality career connected learning which supports the needs of the local and regional economy.

“We are delighted to share our developments at our Hafod launch, we’ve worked exceptionally hard over recent years to ensure the foundation of this subject area is is rooted through excellent learning and teaching.

“It’s with great pride that we share these developments today with our partners, all of whom have the very best interests at heart for the next generation of its sector leaders.”

Coleg Cambria Deputy Director, Hospitality & Catering, Andy Woods added: “Hospitality and Catering is a growth sector and the opening of our new restaurant Hafod offered the College the chance to showcase its facilities and standard of practice.

“This was a wonderful opportunity to develop links between education and industry leading professionals.

“These relationships will help to safeguard our future workforce and ensure that the students are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to succeed.

The College has got two newly renovated restauraants, Y Celstryn in Deeside and Hafod in Wrexham. They are both open to the public and offer students the opportunity to work alongside our fantastic chefs and waiting on team, whilst providing the highest standard of food and service.”

Hafod and Y Celstryn restaurants are open to the public on set days during term time, please visit the Coleg Cambria website for details.