Student-led dining experience wins AA College Restaurant of the Year

The Exeter College fine dining restaurant, @Thirty-Four has been named, for the second time in three years, as the AA College Restaurant of the Year.

The student-led restaurant is the venue every year for a special dinner to raise money for the Lord Mayor’s chosen charity. This has been happening since 2013 and the next one takes place on 27 November, with a Magical Themed Dinner. More details will follow shortly. 

Exeter College said this was the highest accolade a college restaurant could achieve and was a testament to the hard work of the students and staff who work there.  

Hosted by TV presenter Vernon Kay, the AA Hospitality Awards 2025 was held at Grosvenor House in London on 22 September.  

Paul Hobden, Managing Director of People 1st International, said: “Congratulations to Exeter College on this incredible achievement. All three finalists represent the very best of student-led hospitality and prove that the future of our industry is in safe hands. At People 1st International, we are proud to support the colleges and educators who inspire the next generation of hospitality professionals.”  

Matthew Pickett, Deputy Head of Faculty (Hospitality, Hair & Beauty) at Exeter College, added: “We’re incredibly proud of our students and staff at @Thirty-Four restaurant. This award recognises not just their hard work and creativity, but also how, over recent years, our department has grown significantly — in student numbers, in staff expertise, and in national recognition, including achieving a People 1st Centre of Excellence award. To now be named the best college restaurant in the UK is a testament to the talent and dedication of everyone involved. It’s a moment that our students, past and present, can feel truly proud of.”  

Two second year students visited The Belfry Hotel in Birmingham earlier in the year to present to a panel of five judges. Edie Long and Millie Wright, both on the Michael Caines Academy, were tasked with talking about inclusion, equality and diversity in the hospitality industry and how these values can be nurtured.  

Millie said: “We talked about our own workplaces quite a lot. We included different people's experiences from the college as well. Then we went to our employers and got an interview from them, so we got different perspectives from the industry.”  

Edie added; “We talked about how we can stop toxic workplaces. We had our own experiences as well and we let that guide it quite a lot. I think the judges liked that that we weren’t just reading a script.”  

After an early start, the students attended a talk from experts in the hospitality industry, then got to tour The Belfry, including the kitchens, before doing their presentation.  

Reflecting on winning, Edie said: “I think it feels a little bit surreal to have won. I didn't necessarily think we weren't going to, we got into the top three on the day, which was great but then we had to wait for the actual awards in September, so it was surreal to realise we had done it, I've got a lot out of it."  

Millie added: “I feel like we became spokespeople for advocating for what we felt in the industry. We could use our experience to really show what we think is right. Being able to advocate for what you think and believe in is really powerful and it's nice to feel heard and then hearing we had won made us realise they really valued what we had to say.”  

Both Millie and Edie have plans to work in the industry in the future, with Millie hoping to travel while being a private chef and Edie hoping to open her own bakery.  

Book a table in the award-winning @Thirty-Four by visiting https://exe-coll.ac.uk/about/facilities/restaurant/