Sarah Smart's University Placement with Entier
21st March 2025
We caught up with Sarah Smart this week, she is currently a first year student at UHI Perth and is studying Food Nutrition & Textiles Education. Sarah joined us for a 5 week long placement where she got to experience how we operate in the hospitality industry with hands on learning in The Olive House in Westhill, out at some of our FRESH units and with our events division in Comrie, Wilde Thyme.
"I currently study food nutrition and textiles education at UHI Perth, I'm in my second semester of my first year and my whole uni experience so far has been amazing. I have learned so much already and I'm excited for what's to come.
I chose to study this at university because I've always known I wanted to be in this industry. It is particularly massive in the North East of Scotland and I wanted to be apart of that. My passion is to help nurture and direct future talent, what better way is there to do that than by immersing myself in the industry.
For the last 5 weeks I have been on a placement at Entier, learning about how they operate within the hospitality space. I have been in the kitchen at The Olive House learning about the day to day tasks it takes to run a successful kitchen, how the onshore FRESH units operate and I helped with 2 Wilde Thyme events in Edinburgh; at the Queen Elizabeth House for International Women's Day and an event at the National Museum of Scotland.
My favourite part of the placement experience with Entier was being a part of the Wilde Thyme team. I just loved it, seeing the whole process of plating the dish to the customer receiving the dish, it was really great to see the end result of the hard work. I left feeling really satisfied.
A major takeaway I have is the amount of knowledge that the apprentices have at their disposal from their experienced mentors. The apprenticeship is most definitely something I would recommend, it's a fantastic opportunity to learn. Their was always the chance to ask questions which I found super encouraging and that aspect really helped me feel comfortable and a part of the team.
If I had to sum up my experience in a few words I'd say; my placement was busy, informative and inspirational.
Thank you to the Entier team for the opportunity, I truly had a great time learning and meeting everyone."
