 We have an exciting mini competition to announce which will be taking place on Friday afternoon of conference. As you will already be aware by now, the theme of this years conference is Zombie Apocalypse. With this in mind, we thought it would be a great idea for you to show off your decorating skills, and each produce a zombie gingerbread man during the Friday afternoon. The idea is simple although as with any competition their are some rules as per below:
Rules
Judging
Prize Money
This is one of the many new activities planned for Friday afternoon at conference which you can take part in from when you arrive up until the AGM. We will be updating you on the other activities over the next few days, so keep an eye out for them! We would also like to take this opportunity to thank both Greenhalgh's and Renshaw's for the support they have given in providing the Gingerbread men and the icings and decorations, as well as guidance and support on the day at conference.
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If you are asking yourself what on earth Lob the Cob is, then you are in for a real treat! Lob the Cob, could be described as the baking industries equivalent to the world championships for shot put (according to Chris). Over the past 8 years when it was invented, there has been a steady increase in colleges competing in the finals, which are held at Conference on the Saturday afternoon.
The title of #LobTheCob Champion is one of the most sought after by all colleges. The winning male and female both receive a #LobTheCob themed trophy and £50 each. But arguably one of the best things about winning this competition, is the title of #LobTheCob Champion, and winning a place in the hall of fame as the best cob lobbing contestant of the year. So now that you know a little bit about the competition, we are sure you are asking yourselves "how do I enter this amazing sporting challenge that will test me both mentally and physically?" Well that is a very good question, so read on. In order to go through to the finals, you need to hold semi finals at your college or workplace. The semi finals are easy to hold, and you will need the following:
The rules for Lob the cob are simple.
We feel obliged to also issue some health and safety warnings prior to playing. Please ensure that you have your tutors permission prior to organising any semi finals. Ensure that the lobbing area is clear of people and personal belongings. This includes cars, people, phones, iPads and so on. Cobs can be dangerous when flying through the air, and we encourage you all to take the necessary safety precautions. Please also ensure that you clean up any bread crumbs that will inevitably occur during cob lobbing. Once you have completed your Lob the Cob semi final, you will have a best male and best female, who will then go through to the final at conference. You need to let Chris know the names of these finalists and what college / uni you are from either by email abst.communicationsecretary@gmail.com or preferably on facebook with some pictures of your lob the cob experience! Closing date for entries is Wednesday 13th June 2018 so start organising your semi finals now! If you are still looking for inspiration, check out the #LobTheCob finals from last year! Stay safe, have fun and happy cob lobbing!  So now you know the meal options for Friday night, we thought you might like to know the food that will be served during the day on Saturday and then during our black tie dinner and awards ceremony on the Saturday evening.
Saturday Lunch Lunch on Saturday will be in the form of a meal voucher. These will be given to your lecturer to be handed out to students on the Friday night. All delegates should receive one meal voucher which will pay towards your lunch on the Saturday. you will be able to use these meal vouchers in any of the Alton Towers Hotel restaurants. Please ensure that you check the opening times of the restaurants, and you may need to book a space at busy times, which can be done at the restaurant or at reception. The options that you can choose from on the menu are as follows: Hot food menu
Cold food menu
Saturday Evening Black Tie Meal This is a sit down meal. The dress code is Back Tie, which means that gentlemen should wear dinner suits / suits and bow ties. Ladies should where appropriate clothing. The menu is fixed, and you will have confirmed when you booked your room with your college whether you required a vegetarian meal, or if you have any allergens: Starter Feta and Watermelon Mains
Dessert Salted caramel cheesecake served with vanilla ice cream and fresh strawberry. We hope that you find the above menus useful, and we are sure that you can appreciate that it is very difficult to please all delegates at conference when it comes to food options, but hopefully everyone will find something that they like!  Over the years we have learnt that one of the most important things about a great conference, is the food! Last year, we decided that we would provide all of your meals during conference, including lunchtime. So with this in mind, we thought you might like to know what is available in the cost of your conference ticket to choose from on the Friday lunchtime when you arrive, and on the night time during our Zombie Apocalypse themed evening. So without further ado, here it is!
Friday Lunchtime Menu When you arrive at the conference centre, you will have already selected what you want to eat. The sandwiches that you have chosen will be available for you to collect in the conference centre.
Additional choices which may have an additional cost:
Friday Evening Buffet Menu During our #ZombieApocolpyse themed evening we will be having a hot buffet. Below are the choices available:
Dessert
 Conference is just over 2 weeks away, and we wanted to let those of you that haven't been before know what to expect. For those of you that have been before, we still have some new things to do at conference as well.
Friday night of conference is our #FancyDress night, which this year has the theme of #ZombieApocolpyse. Although fancy dress is not mandatory, we do encourage it. As always, there will be prizes for both best male and female zombies or zombie hunters on the night, of £50 each, so it is well worth getting dressed up and join in the fun. Please bear in mind however, that Alton Towers is a family orientated hotel. As such, Alton Towers have asked us to ensure that all members attending conference and dressing up as Zombies on the Friday night, do so responsibly. Zombies can be quite scary, especially for small children and some adults, so we have requested that this year, costumes are only to be worn in the conference area. Any face masks or prosthetics can only be worn at the fancy dress evening, and should not be worn when walking to or from your hotel room. Other entertainment on the Friday night will be the photo booth with zombie themed props, disco and raffle and magicians. We are still in the process of confirming an "extreme arena" activity in the early evening. As soon as we have confirmed this, we will let you know, but it is basically an arena where teams or individuals compete against each other to hit as many targets as possible within a set time limit. If anyone has any concerns regarding anything about the fancy dress or other entertainment then either comment below or email us on abst.communicationsecretary@gmail.com We look forward to seeing all of you dressed up as zombies on the Friday night!  GDPR Update and how it affects our #HireMe scheme
As many of you are aware, new regulations will come into affect from Friday 25th May 2018. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will affect all companies and organisations that hold personal data, and aims to ensure that the personal data that you share, stays secure. It also ensures that companies and organisations review the current data that they hold, and whether it is all necessary. With this in mind, the Alliance for Bakery Students & Trainees has been reviewing the information that we need in order for #HireMe to work with industry, and what we do with the personal information that you send to us. #HireMe Improvements We reviewed how we think we can best ensure that this scheme works in finding you work placements, job opportunities and experience by linking you with industry. Previously, we asked you to send us a lot of personal information, which was then sent out into industry, where bakeries could access this and contact you directly with any opportunities available. The GDPR has given us an opportunity to review this and the changes we have made will ensure that your personal information is more secure. What have we changed? To start off with, we will no longer be sending your personal information out into industry. We don't believe that this is the most secure method, as any information we send out could then be sent onto third parties. We will still be asking you for the same information, but the biggest change is that we will be asking industry to provide us directly with opportunities. Once we receive a new opportunity, we will send an email to any students or trainees that have applied to our #HireMe scheme, based on the preferences that you have selected, such as type of bakery experience you want, or the area of the UK or Ireland you are looking for work. You will receive this information by email, and will include important details, such as the bakeries website, contact details and the type of work experience they are looking to provide. You can then decide whether you want to contact the employer directly. This way, your personal information stays secure and is only visible by the ABST. What happens now? We believe that this is the most secure method to ensure that your personal information is kept safe, but also make you aware of opportunities in your area, or bakery sector you are interested in. Our new form only asks for the required information that we need so that we only send you opportunities that are relevant to you, so we have streamlined our information form, only asking for the minimum personal information. As a result of this, any information that we currently hold in relation to #HireMe will be deleted, so if you still wish to be part of the new and improved scheme, then please re-apply here. The #HireMe Scheme is only available to members, so you will need to have paid your membership and also have an account set up on our website, with a password to gain access to the application form. If you need any further information, then please comment below, or alternatively contact our Communication Secretary abst.communicationsecretary@gmail.com |