Cornish Culinary Flair Celebrated at the Mullion Cove Hotel

The Mullion Cove Hotel, Helston was the magical setting for the latest Cornwall meet of The Chefs’ Forum on Monday (13) March. Top chefs from across the county gathered at this stunning costal location for a day of knowledge sharing and a celebration of Cornish culinary flair and produce.

Head Chef Paul Stephens welcomed students from Cornwall College and Truro & Penwith College into his kitchen to prepare and serve canapés showcasing his menu to the celebrated local chefs who attended.  Two Brothers Butchers, Total Produce Cornwall and Kingfisher Brixham sponsored the ingredients for the canapés to showcase fantastic local ingredients available to Cornish chefs.

General Manager, Daniel Thompson proved the perfect host as he told the chefs about the hotel, compered on the microphone throughout the chef demo and laid-on a fabulous Clayzer session for the chefs to relax and enjoy against a dramatic costal background, although it did get quite competitive!

Daniel said:

“It was absolutely delightful to have such a plethora of amazing culinary talent visit us at The Mullion Cove hotel yesterday. Not only was it an extraordinary event for the hotel, but also for The Chefs’ Forum the Cornish hospitality industry – It really is brilliant to be able to bring so many chefs, producers and suppliers together in one place.”

Chef Patron of Austell’s restaurant Brett Camborne-Paynter won the Clayzer competition with a score of 44 points (or clays hit with the laser shotgun), closely followed by Chris Beynon and Anton Buttery with a joint score of 37 points!

To celebrate his victory, Brett Camborne-Paynter won a prize of a bottle of Curio Samphire Gin.

Level 3 student Christian Burrell from Cornwall College really enjoyed his day saying:

“It’s great to get out of college and meet local employers.  I’ve had a great experience today and particularly enjoyed taking part in the Curio cocktail-making competition”.

The Cocktail-making competition was staged by Curio Spirits and it was student Sophie Hooper of Truro & Penwith College who won the competition with her innovative and award-winning ‘Orange Surprise’.

Sophie will enjoy a trip to the Curio distillery, make her own vodka and see her prize-winning cocktail on the drinks menu at Mullion Cove for the next month – She will also win a day’s work experience with Andy Morton, cocktail expert and Bar Manager at The Mullion Cove Hotel.

Cornwall Chefs’ Forum member, Chef Patron Anton Buttery of Langmans Restaurant in Callington said:

“Although rather sore from being robbed of my Clayzer victory, I was delighted to try Sophie’s winning cocktail – It was delicious with a nice taste of thyme on the finish. Another great Chefs’ Forum event for me and I look forward to the next one on the 5th of June at St Ives Harbour Hotel.”

Other highlights of the day included a tutored Curio Spirits tasting by brand ambassador Yohann Thuiller and a fascinating dehydration demo by Paul Stephens showcasing his love for his new dehydration cupboard, bought for him to celebrate his acquisition of his second AA rosette!

Paul showed his peers how he can dehydrate virtually anything to make healthy, raw and preservative free snacks, vegetable treats and beef jerky!

The chefs really enjoyed Paul’s demo and asked lots of questions about this clever method of evaporating moisture and thereby removing the potential for spoilage.

Jobs were offered to students on the day and a great networking event was had by all who attended.

The Chefs’ Forum continues to hold quarterly events in Cornwall, bridging the gap between education and industry.  Any chefs or front of house professionals wishing to attend should contact catherine@redcherry.uk.com