LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Edge Hotel School, the UK’s first hotel management school based entirely in a fully operational commercial hotel, will welcome its first students in June/July. Students will earn a one-year foundation degree or two-year BA Honours from the University of Essex while they work in a luxury hotel, the newly refurbished Wivenhoe House
Champagne Laurent-Perrier has agreed to contribute a cash bursary to help fund an annual educational visit to the champagne region for the Edge Hotel School’s top performing Sommelier, or wine student.
Laurent-Perrier is also sponsoring the Sommelier’s table at the restaurant in Wivenhoe House. The Sommelier’s room is a private dining room accessed via the red wine cellar and has been designed to host private and tutored wine tastings as well as private dinner parties for up to 12 guests. In addition to offering the full range of Laurent-Perrier champagnes the emphasis in this room will also be on the wines with executive chef Paul Boorman planning the food to complement them. Customers will be guided and advised on the wine selection so an overall balance in the experience is achieved.
“The House of Laurent-Perrier has a pedigree for innovation and is renowned for achieving many firsts with the development of its champagne range; it was therefore a natural decision to become partners in the ground breaking project at the Edge Hotel School. We are delighted to be supporting the recruitment, education and development of the next generation of professional hotel staff, indeed the future of the hospitality industry,” said Steve Brandwood, Sales Director, Laurent Perrier (UK) Ltd.
The curriculum has been developed in collaboration with some of the sector’s leading employers and well-known industry figures including Michelin star chefs and 4 and 5 star hoteliers.
Prospective students will be able to have a first look at the refurbished hotel at an open day on 30th May at 6pm – 8pm. For more information, or to sign up for the open day, please contact the school at: enquiry@edgehotelschool.ac.uk , call 01206 872858.
More information about the Edge Hotel School course can be found at: www.edgehotelschool.ac.uk or contact the Edge Hotel School directly at admissions@edgehotelschool.ac.uk or call 01206 872858.
About Wivenhoe House: Once painted by Constable, the newly restored Grade II listed eighteenth century country house will include 16 bedrooms, most of them period suites, the dining room which will become the hotel’s signature restaurant, and elegant public rooms. The new garden wing will be home to a further 24 bedrooms, a brasserie for up to 120 diners plus additional meeting and function rooms, all equipped with the latest technology. The hotel is open for bookings from summer 2012. For more information, visit: www.wivenhoehouse.co.uk.
About the Edge Hotel School: The Edge Hotel School will be the UK’s first hotel school based in a fully operational hotel, Wivenhoe House. A partnership between the Edge Foundation, an independent education charity (www.edge.co.uk ), the University of Essex (www.essex.ac.uk) and its academic partner Kaplan (www.kaplan.co.uk ), it will combine a luxurious country house hotel and innovative hotel school, where the future leaders of the hospitality industry learn their profession. Students of the Edge Hotel School will ‘learn by doing’ as the basis of their two year, fast-track degree-level qualifications in hotel management and culinary management. The Edge Hotel School works closely with the hospitality industry to ensure the curriculum is relevant and students graduate equipped with the knowledge, skills and experience employers want. For more information visit: www.edgehotelschool.ac.uk
About Laurent-Perrier
Originally founded in 1812, the House of Champagne Laurent-Perrier is recognised as one of the foremost brands in Champagne and is this year celebrating its bicentenary.
Based in Tours-sur-Marne at the heart of the Champagne region, the success of the House is the outcome of honouring traditional values: a respect for nature and wines, with a spirit for innovation, a passion for quality, and strong, lasting relationships among the people who drive the company.
Laurent-Perrier’s success must also be attributed to the energy of the de Nonancourt family, driven in his time by the late Bernard de Nonancourt, whose principles guide the current management team headed by his two daughters, Stéphanie Meneux de Nonancourt and Alexandra Pereyre de Nonancourt. Working in a very demanding business environment, they have successfully preserved the independence of their Fathers champagne house and its related values.
For more information visit: www.laurent-perrier.com