A local catering teacher for young people with special educational needs will be swapping the school kitchen for Buckingham Palace in the coming weeks when he meets the King.
In recognition of his many years serving meals as well as life lessons, La Passarelle’s Neil Giannoni has been recognised with a royal invitation to meet King Charles III.
After four decades running catering at Jersey’s General Hospital, firstly joining as an apprentice chef and rising to service manager, Neil swapped silver service for the school kitchen, retraining to support students with social, emotional and mental health (SEMH) needs at La Passarelle.
La Passarelle supports primary and secondary school-age students who feel unable to attend mainstream school.
It offers short-stay places in a learning environment and provides tailored curriculum and therapeutic sessions to assist pupils and their families to return to formal education.
After working in a learning support assistant role, Neil then embarked on intensive training to become a catering teacher.
A spokesperson for the specialised education facility described Neil as someone determined “to give all children the very best of his time”.
Now, his passion, commitment and impact at the school have earned him a trip to the Royal Household.
“He has thrown his experience, passion, and love for learning into his role. In recognition of this, Neil has been invited to meet King Charles III,” they added.
The visit is due to take place in the coming weeks.