Cornwall College Camborne has kicked off 2009 in a healthy frame of mind by picking up three prestigious healthy eating awards.

The college won two gold and one silver Cornwall Healthier Eating and Food Safety (CHEFS) awards, which encourage healthy eating alongside recognising high standards in cleanliness and food hygiene.

Stuart Mathieson, head of hospitality for the college, said: “Getting gold isn’t an easy thing to do and it’s something I’m extremely proud of. The criteria is that food handlers are all appropriately trained, the premises are clean, there are excellent food safety systems in place and that healthier food items are offered to customers.”

He added as an example that alongside fizzy drinks there was also water and fruit juice offered, boiled and baked potatoes as well as chips and fresh fruit as well as sweet desserts.

“We can’t make our students choose the healthier options but we can ensure they have plenty of healthy and tempting choices,” he said.

The gold awards were given for the college’s Café Metro and Student Union bar while the Trevenson restaurant, which is open to the public and used by the college to train its students in haute cuisine and silver service, picked up silver.