Blackburn College students get lesson in how to be a royal butler

Students from Blackburn College had a lesson in what it is like to work in royal households as part of their Catering and Hospitality course. 

Wayne Fitzharris from Aspire Globally came to talk to students about his experiences of working for royalty and luxury hotels across the globe. 

During his visit to the college students tried their hands at what it is like to be a butler at a state banquet by taking part in a task to simulate professional dinner service and were told about what it takes to be a professional butler in the luxury hospitality industry. 

As part of the event Wayne spoke to NVQ Professional Cookery Level 1 and Level 2 students about developing their skills sets and about how they should aim high and dream big. 

Wayne Fitzharris said: “It’s been a delight to come and spend the morning at Blackburn College and meet the students on the Catering and Hospitality course.  

“I hope I have inspired them to look at alternate careers other than being a chef, as there are so many different job opportunities available to them. The main qualities they need are to be passionate about their career and have high expectations of themselves.  

“Being a professional butler has given me the opportunity to travel the world and meet a variety of people from different backgrounds.” 

Olivia Brown, 17 from Blackburn said: “I found the talk very inspiring and has opened my eyes to the opportunities available to me after leaving college.  

“Becoming a butler has never been anything that I have considered as a career, but after hearing Wayne it’s inspired me to look into it further – I was surprised to learn about how he’d travelled around the world and met so many interesting people.” 

Blackburn College principal and chief executive Dr Fazal Dad said: “Thanks goes to Wayne Fitzharris from Aspire Globally for coming and speaking to our Professional Cookery students about becoming a professional butler. 

“We are always keen to welcome guest speakers who can speak to our students about their real-life experiences. His talk was inspiring, and I know our students greatly benefitted from his wealth of knowledge.”