July 18, 2017, by Liz Goodwin

Michelin starred chef overwhelmed to receive honorary degree

Celebrations are well underway on University Park as Summer Graduation ceremonies continue to welcome hundreds of graduating students along with proud families and friends.

Yesterday’s ceremony recognised honorary graduate Sat Bains, the twice Michelin starred chef, who has strong connections to the University and to the city of Nottingham.

Sat is chef and patron of Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms in Nottingham, which was declared the best in the East Midlands in the Sunday Times’ Top 100 Restaurants in February this year, and named one of the top 100 in the world by lifestyle magazine Elite Traveler.

He has been recognised by fellow chefs and food writers from all over the world for his innovative style of cuisine, and he has long championed the use of quality local produce and artisan producers.

Speaking at the graduation ceremony on Monday 17 July at the David Ross Sports Village where he was awarded the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws, he said:

“I feel incredible. It’s a massive honour. I’ve worked closely with the University for many years. I take very seriously the work we have done together. It’s fantastic and it keeps educating me. The work I do with the students continues to help me learn new important lessons and I love that.”

Sat collaborated with the University on HealthyU — a campaign to provide information and advice on a range of health issues important to students — by developing and cooking some quick and easy recipes for students to recreate.  Nottingham in Parliament Day also saw involvement and support from Sat when he joined a variety of speakers at the event held in Westminster in October last year, to showcase the strengths of Nottingham and the region. The chef served a risotto dish using ingredients linked to research — in this case a sustainable grain — from the University’s UK and Malaysia campuses for the ‘Future of Food’ event to highlight some of the University’s projects on sustainable practices.

This will be the multi award-winning chef’s fourth honorary degree, of which he said he was “overwhelmed” to be receiving. He has previously received honorary degrees from Nottingham Trent University, University of Derby Buxton and a Masters Degree from the University of Nottingham.

Speaking at the ceremony he said that he still felt as excited as the first time he received an honorary degree.

“I am really excited for the future and for the kids who have worked really hard to get educated and get through university and graduate today.

“These graduates are the future of our country and they will go on to do great things and make big decisions about the future and I am excited for them to put all those skills they have learnt into practice and get great jobs out of it.”

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