Food and Drink North East hosts the first ‘Room With A View’ event of 2026 at award-winning restaurant The Copper Pot at New College Durham.
Food and Drink North East (FADNE), is a Community Interest Company (CIC) aiming to build a vibrant and engaged community that champions positive trade, promotes a sustainable, circular economy and acts as a collective and inclusive voice for the region’s food and drink sector. FADNE chose The Copper Pot as a fantastic place to host over 50 guests from the North East hospitality sector.
The venue on the college’s Framwellgate Moor campus, was perfect for the evening’s theme of skills and training within the food, drink and hospitality sectors as last year The Copper Pot was awarded the coveted AA College Restaurant Award and was thrilled to share that the restaurant achieved the Gold, People 1st accreditation for curriculum provision. For the evening Level 3 students were given a brief to create a canape and present this to the panel that demonstrated the importance of thinking local with a strong connection to the North East.
Karen Sammut, Curriculum Manager for Hair, Beauty & Hospitality at New College Durham said, "We were thrilled to introduce The Copper Pot and our students and staff to fellow educators, business owners, suppliers and partners across the regional community.
We have invested in this wonderful space as part of our commitment to excellence in education and the culinary arts. The restaurant provides an invaluable experience for our students both in the kitchens and front of house, allowing them to thrive in a real-world environment.”
Chris Jewitt, Chief Executive Officer of FADNE added: “It was great to see everyone having a fantastic time and my compliments to all the staff and students involved in the event. We couldn’t have asked for a better venue for our first meeting of the year.
By bringing together colleges, industry experts, and training organisers, as well as esteemed business owners from across the region, the event provided an insightful night of cross-sector networking and discussion. The theme of the evening was skills and training within the food drink and hospitality sector. Allowing opportunity for businesses to have a positive input into and the ever-developing skills that are required to strengthen our regional hospitality industry.”