The Debut Restaurant with its hi-tech kitchen opened last October following the award of a £30,000 grant from the Savoy Educational Trust. The independent charitable Trust's grant helped the college to complete the much needed refurbishment, which has provided students with facilities similar to those found in the best professional kitchens and a spacious dining area inspired by top restaurants around the country. Steve Thorpe, head of hotel, hair and beauty at the college, commented: "The grant from the Savoy Educational Trust has enabled us to transform the training facilities at the Hotel School. Our students are now working with the very latest equipment in the best possible environment, which means we can continue to deliver world class skills training." More importantly, the number of students now specialising in front of house has gone up significantly since the opening of the new restaurant. Thorpe explained: "The grant has enabled us to create a fantastic real life business environment and raised the profile of front of house training. As a result we have 30 students opting to specialise in this area for the very first time. "If you speak to anyone in the industry, they will tell you how difficult it is to fill front of house vacancies with quality personnel as it is often seen as a second class job. However it can be a great career and our graduates will be fully prepared to go out into the workplace and together we will help raise industry standards."