The Duke of York officially unveiled a state of the art kitchen at a top agricultural college this morning.

The Berkshire College of Agriculture – which welcomes a third of its students from Bucks – welcomed Prince Andrew who cut the ribbon at the new £50,000 refurbishment on Hall Place.

Prince Andrew, the Queen’s second son, was given a tour of the new kitchen, which is designed specifically for special needs pupils on foundation courses.

Bucks Free Press:

 

He spoke with staff and students on the professional services course discussing options available at the college before moving on to see a cooking lesson in the kitchen.

The project was funded and constructed by McFarlane and Telfer, a commercial catering company, after it was approached by the college’s commercial director, Amanda Gee.

The college has trained generations of families from towns and villages in south Bucks for a range of land-based and rural careers in the area.

College principal, Gillian May, praised the duke for his interaction with students, saying he was “very well versed” on the industry.

She said: “It was a brilliant morning and the way the Duke interacted with students was really excellent, he really got them.

“I think he spent far more time with staff and students than I expected and he was really aware.”

Just last year the college celebrated a huge turn around after its Ofsted rating was upgraded from ‘needing improvement’ to ‘good’.

Mrs May continued: “In all work areas we are doing so much better because we are implementing learning in the work place. It would be difficult for Ofsted to come in and mark us down when there is so much employment based learning.”

The prince is the second high profile figure the college has invited on to the college, after Great British Bake of star Mary Berry opened the first of the two new kitchens last year.