West Suffolk College in Bury St Edmunds hosts memorial dinner for late chef Murray Chapman to raise £5,000 for his family

A late chef who inspired thousands of students has been honoured with a memorial dinner which raised thousands of pounds.

West Suffolk College in Bury St Edmunds teamed up with Colchester Institute to create the memorial dinner for Murray Chapman which was held at Edmunds Restaurant on the college campus.

Murray, who created a national competition for college students under the banner of ‘A Passion to Inspire’ in 2009, died earlier this year following a Motor Neurone Disease (MND) diagnosis.

The two-course dinner was attended by 80 guests including members of Murray’s family and £5,000 was raised to support them with an auction and raffle made up of prizes donated by local hospitality businesses.

Claire Waterson, operations manager at the Culinary Arts Academy based at West Suffolk College, said: “Murray has supported colleges and students throughout a 20-year career span.

“It was a really special evening for a very special man. All of the money will be given to support his family.

“Once you met Murray, he was such a character. He would give anyone help and advice and his passion for the industry was unmatched. He will be missed.”

Tom Holmes, 18, from Lackford, is pursuing a Level 3 professional cookery course at West Suffolk College.

He previously competed in the ‘A Passion to Inspire’ competition, set up by Murray to develop chefs and front-of-house professionals through working with industry leaders.

Tom, who also works at 1921 in Bury, said: “I helped in general during the dinner and tried to contribute.

“The competition was really helpful - a good learning curve - and it was really enjoyable.

“I got to meet Murray — he was lovely and he had a real thing for helping students, getting them started in the industry.”

Stephanie Conway, a patisserie lecturer at Colchester Institute, said: “Murray has helped thousands of students and we have people working all over the world thanks to him.

“We came along as we wanted to say thank you to Murray. He was just the most wonderful character. He had a massive zest for life.”

Kathryn Chapman, Murray’s wife, added: “It’s absolutely amazing – all the support that has come out since Murray was diagnosed and continuing support during the terrible journey we have had.

“The colleges have continued with their support for everything he has done over the years. It’s quite overwhelming.”