Students learn how to make mocktails and pizzas with the Gusto team
![Young boy holding up a plastic cup. He is showing the alcohol-free mojito he made and smiling.](https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/styles/inline_image_full_width/public/dsc_0104.jpg?itok=f9GAmosQ)
For the second year in a row, the team behind beloved local restaurant chain Gusto have put together a fantastic programme for our autistic students at Inscape House School. Students got to put their chef hats on and learned more about what it is like to work in hospitality. The day was hosted by Mikey, Training Manager at Gusto, and his team from Gusto Cheadle Hulme.
The day started with an engaging mocktail making class. Students got to practice expert skills needed on a bar like speed pouring, shaking drinks, mixing, and the difference between ingredients. They each had a go at making two delicious mocktails: a refreshing no-jito followed by a delicious strawberry soda.
“Today I learned that mocktails taste very nice and they’re also fun to make” - Oliver
“I’ve learned a valuable lesson today: if you give me unlimited supplies, I will keep making delicious drinks.” - Nat
![Boy pouring a strawberry soda cocktail from a shaker into a cup. The trainer is standing next to him observing.](https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/DSC_0088_0.jpg)
![A boy is pouring ice into a cup half-full with alcohol-free mojito. there is a trainer to his right watching and guiding.](https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/DSC_0051.jpg)
Afterwards, students learned about waiting in a restaurant – from taking orders, checking in on tables to carrying plates. One of the students says “I’ve learned to carry a lot of plates, all at once – like a proper waiter!”
However, everyone’s favourite part was getting to make their own pizza! After a brief history of pizza making, Mikey gave everyone a practical lesson. He helped students shape their sourdough base, then decorate their pizza with their choice of sauce and toppings. These were then baked and placed in boxes ready for students to take home.
![Student shaping up pizza dough in their hands while the chef is guiding him from the side.](https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/DSC_0124.jpg)
![Student holding a ladle of tomato sauce pouring it over his shaped pizza dough on a kitchen work surface. To his right, the teacher is instructing him on technique.](https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/DSC_0131_0.jpg)
Gusto has been a big supporter of our employability curriculum, having previously organised a similar masterclass for students at school. On top of this, they held interview sessions teaching our young people more about the process, and then offered positions to the successful candidates for an immersive 8-week programme in one of their restaurants.
![A collage of 3 photos. First showing a teenage girl proudly showing a mocktail she made, the middle one of a group of staff members posing outside gusto and the third of a teenage boy assembling an alcohol-free mojito.](https://www.togethertrust.org.uk/sites/default/files/styles/inline_image_full_width/public/Landscape%20images_2_0_0.jpg?itok=MHoM8PLB)
Inscape House School’s collaboration with the restaurant chain Gusto strives to give the autistic students a chance to prove themselves in the workplace but also motivate employers to foster a more inclusive environment and tackle preconceived notions and unconscious biases about autism while transforming thousands of autistic people's lives.
Read more about career education and how we prepare our students for adulthood.