Redhotcurry.com founder opens new food academy
10th December 2010

Redhotcurry.com founder Mrs Lopa Patel MBE opened a new £300,000 food academy at the Crest Girls Academy in Neasden, North London on Friday 10th December 2010. The award-winning entrepreneur was invited by staff and students and leading education promoter E-ACT to a special unveiling featuring food from around the world. The Crest Girls' Food Academy is a state-of-the-art facility that will allow students at the school to study food and cooking at both Key Stage 3 and GCSE. Assistant Principal Ross McGill lead the project.

Its opening is the latest in a series of developments that will see both the education and the facilities offered by Crest Girls' and Boys' Academies improve markedly. Both academies recently celebrated their best GCSE exam results ever and are among the most improved schools nationally for English and Maths. Proposals are also being drawn up for a redevelopment of both academies that will create first-class modern buildings to support this academic achievement.

Crest Girls' Academy Principal Bev Bell said: "We are very pleased to open the Food Academy, the girls have been asking for this for three years. We specialise in technology and languages so an international day to mark the opening of a new high-tech facility is a great way of combining them.

"This is a very exciting time for everyone at both Crest Girls and Crest Boys. Academic standards here are on the up and we plan to add fantastic modern facilities to create our own unbeatable recipe for success!"

In keeping with the food theme, Lopa Patel said: "Crest Girls' Food Academy is a fantastic, modern facility for learning about cooking. It was great to meet such enthusiastic staff and pupils. Who knows, perhaps some of the young people could go on to be the master chefs of the future!

"I want to say well done to Ross McGill and everyone at the academy for succeeding in bringing the project to fruition."

Mrs Patel then went on to present prizes and certificates to the graduating Year 11 girls and spoke of the need for girls to 'Aim Higher', whether in food technology or information technology.