Out with a Bang at Bovey
Photo credit: Carlos Farinha
Award-winning chefs at Bovey Castle teamed up with cooks of the future from two Devon colleges for a special event providing students with a taste of the hospitality industry.
Bovey Castle, on Dartmoor, welcomed more than 30 students from South Devon College and Exeter College to produce a four-course lunch served to 80 lucky guests.
Students cooked alongside Bovey Castle Executive Head Chef Mark Budd as well as four head chefs from the hotel’s sister restaurants within The Eden Hotel Collection, which included Tim Jenkins from Brockencote Hall Hotel, Keiron Stevens from Mallory Court Hotel and Spa, Sai Nathan from The Arden and Abhijeet Dasalkar from The Greenway Hotel and Spa.
The event was hosted by The Chefs’ Forum which connects some of the UK’s finest culinary artists with colleges across the country to inspire the next generation, and celebrated the launch of The Chefs’ Knowledge in Devon – a new book of advice and dishes that are necessary for young chefs to learn at the beginning of their career.
While some students formed part of the front of house team, others helped to cook a menu which consisted of…
Welcome Drink
Brown Brothers Innocent Bystander Moscato and a selection of Frobishers drinks
Canapés by Saucery
Asian infused salmon, stir fried vegetables and Saucery katsu curry sauce
Rocket, chicken, celeriac and Saucery creamy mushroom sauce
Starter – Tim Jenkins (Brockencote Hall)
Aussie lamb cutlet, sorrel, Bovey Castle foraged greens, wild nettle vinaigrette and The Peach fermented tomato salsa
Photo credit: Carlos Farinha
Fish course – Keiron Stevens (Mallory Court)
Roasted fillet of seabream, braised salsify and white bean truffle broth
Photo credit: Carlos Farinha
Main course – Mark Budd (Bovey Castle)
Fillet of Aussie beef, wild mushroom, fondant potatoes, Armagnac sauce, Jerusalem artichoke and The Peach sunchoke and horseradish ferment
Served on Wedgwood Gio
Photo credit: Carlos Farinha
Dessert – Abhijeet Dasalkar (The Greenway) & Sai Nathan (The Arden)
Crown Prince pumpkin cheesecake, muesli biscuit and maple ice cream
Photo credit: Carlos Farinha
Ingredients sponsored by Aussie Beef & Lamb, Dole Foodservice, Saucery and The Peach
Wines Sponsored by Brown Brothers
Innocent Bystander Pinot Gris and Innocent Bystander Syrah
Photo credit: Eden Hotel Collection
The menu also utilised flora from the hotel’s 275-acre estate, drafting in a team of expert foragers from nutritionists The Peach to harvest seasonal produce.
Sorrel leaves, nettle leaves and hogweed seeds were then dehydrated in an Excalibur dehydrator provided by Chefs’ Forum sponsor Mitchell & Cooper and turned into a powder to create a tomato salsa with sorrel and nettle fermentation for Mark Budd and Tim Jenkins to showcase to chefs in their ingenious dishes.
Mark said: “We were delighted to support and coach these young chefs and were thoroughly impressed by their skills and enthusiasm.
“We look forward to following their careers and maybe one day have the opportunity to welcome them to The Eden Hotel Collection.”
Photo credit: Eden Hotel Collection
Jayne O’Malley, Group Operations Director at the award-winning Eden Hotel Collection, added: “Events like this are a fantastic opportunity to provide young people with valuable insights into the hospitality sector and what life is like in a working kitchen and front of house.
“We want to inspire the next generation and give them confidence, and the feedback we have received has shown this event has done just that.”
Catherine Farinha, Director of The Chefs’ Forum, said. “What an event! Over the years we’ve put on some amazing events but this has to be up there with the best of them and as our last Chefs’ Lunch of 2023, we’re really seeing the year out with a bang.
Photo credit: Carlos Farinha
“The four courses really showcased the talent within The Eden Hotel Collection and all of the guests were impressed with the quality on show. For the local students, it was an incredible opportunity to work alongside these brilliant chefs.”
Aleesah Moulton, level 2 student at Exeter College who won back of house star of the day and a copy of The Chefs’ Knowledge, said: “This was my second time working at a Chefs’ Forum event, it was a great opportunity to work a top kitchen with some of the best chefs in the industry.
“I gained a great deal of experience and advice from all the chefs. It was an honour to win back of house star of the day, I look forward to reading and using The Chefs’ Knowledge throughout my career.”
Freda Francis, level 2 student at South Devon College who won front of house star of the day and a copy of The Chefs’ Knowledge, said: “We felt good about today, and not nervous anymore.
“It’s been nice to work in a professional environment. The atmosphere was warm and welcoming, not pressured, and the afternoon just flowed. We learnt new skills and were made to feel at ease.”
Thank you to all our sponsors: Off to Work, Somerset Charcuterie, Dole Foodservice, MCS Technical Products, Chef Works, Wedgwood, Aussie Beef & Lamb, Saucery, The Peach, Mitchell & Cooper, Brown Brothers, Frobishers, Adande and TTW Recruitment.
Birmingham Chefs’ Aussie Beef & Lamb Menu Development Day at SCCB
Take eight top chefs across various sectors and thirty enthusiastic students from South and City College Birmingham and you have a brilliant focus group and a recipe for a massively productive day of menu development.
Not only was this a fantastic opportunity for the chefs and students to learn about the provenance of Australian Beef & Lamb, but it was also a brilliant day of creating wonderful dishes showcasing the quality of various cuts of Aussie Beef & Lamb.
It was so rewarding to see how the chefs wholeheartedly embraced the challenge, each paired with a student, to create their signature beef or lamb dish.
Adam Porter, Head of School: Hairdressing, Barbering and Hospitality & Catering was delighted to host the industry experts and showcase the students and world class facility, he said
“We were delighted to welcome the guest chefs to our training kitchens and restaurant and it was amazing to see how engaged the students were and how much they enjoyed the day.
We were also very impressed with the quality of the Aussie beef and lamb and the wonderful range of dishes created. We have a high proportion of staff and students at the college who follow the Islamic faith, myself included, so it was fantastic that all the beef and lamb is Halal-slaughtered, so everyone could join in and taste all of the finished plates in an excellent buffet-style lunch, accompanied with delicious fresh juices kindly sponsored by Frobishers Juices.”
Talking about the menu development day Catherine Farinha, Director of The Chefs’ Forum, said:
“We love introducing top quality produce to chefs and students, educating them on provenance and traceability, while teaching students new cooking styles and techniques. We also had the FlashGRILL and Cooktek double induction hobs from MCS Technical Products to ensure the meat was cooked to perfection. The training kitchens were buzzing with a brigade of brilliant chefs and keen students helping out – Now Meat & Livestock have a brilliant set of recipes with stunning food photography for their website and the students have an excellent day of curriculum enrichment and some excellent work experience offers as a result.”
Stephen Edwards, UK Business Manager of Meat & Livestock Australia, said:
“This was a truly great event for us to orchestrate in partnership with The Chefs’ Forum Academy. Not only was it a perfect showcase of Aussie beef and lamb but it was thrilling to see it being enjoyed by so many top chefs and culinary students from the Midlands. Aussie beef and lamb is world class and Jack’s Creek have just won the World’s Best Sirloin Steak in the World Steak Challenge 2023.”
The cuts on offer:
- Jack’s Creek 180-day grain fed Angus Rump Cap
- Westholme Wagyu Ribeye
- Jack’s Creek Sirloin (World’s Best Steak 2023)
- Aussie Lamb Racks and Chumps from JBS
What was on the menu?
Mark Walsh – Executive Chef – Hogarth’s
Wagyu sirloin, celeriac fondant, carrot, oyster mushroom and red wine jus
Exose Grant – Executive Chef – Ikaro
Terriyaki glazed Aussie lamb rack
Dirk De Cuyper – Chef Consultant/Owner – Saucery
Australian wagyu ribeye steak, infused ginger and lime sea salt, Asian fused basmati pilaf rice, Shiitake mushroom, green asparagus points and Saucery katsu curry sauce
Richard Wainman – Chef Patron at Dick’s Smokehouse
Texas grilled Aussie rib-eye steak, truffle & stilton croquette, celeriac remoulade, black cabbage and sauce bordelaise
Simon Bishop – Group Executive Chef at Lexington Catering
Pan-roast tandoori Aussie lamb rack, split pea dhal, onion bhaji, puri and carrot brinjal
Dan Hadland – Head Chef at Highbury Hall
Aussie lamb chump, green freekah and Romaine heart
Jon Larden – Sous Chef at Highbury Hall
Aussie sirloin de Paris
Chris Alexander – Executive Chef, Restaurant Associates, Compass
Aussie lamb chump tartare & pickles
Bienvenue to Beaujolais Nouveau at West London College
The Chefs’ Forum headed over to West London College for a formidable evening of all things French.
The students prepared a wonderful selection of rillettes or paté as an appetiser with deliciously crunchy slices of toasted baguette, wash down with yes, you’ve guessed it, Beaujolais Nouveau.
But where did it get it’s name?
Beaujolais is a vin de primeur, fermented for just a few weeks before being released for sale on the third Thursday of November. Distributors famously race to get the first bottles to different markets around the globe, and it was great to celebrate this tradition at West London College last evening.
Beaujolais Day celebrates the first wine of the season from the Beaujolais region of France and is an annual event at West London College as part of a series of brilliant, themed evenings staged by the teaching team and students at the college.
Level 1 Front of House students were taught how to correctly open, hold and pour bottle after bottle of ruby red Beaujolais for the guests, while Level 2 culinary students created a stunning menu of French classics, served to 50 parents, staff, employers and stakeholders.
The college have recently been gifted 10 banqueting tables from award-winning luxury hotel Andaz London Liverpool Street.
Executive Chef, Hameed Farook kindly organised the generous gift that will enable the college to hold large functions and increase revenue for the college restaurant.
Chris Bend of Wedgwood also attended the dinner, having also donated a 600-piece bone china dinner service to the college, he said
“The food and service has been wonderful this evening. It is really important that Wedgwood as a brand supports the next generation of hospitality professionals, and it was excellent to dine with industry peers all at the college to show their support for the excellent work done by the staff and students – I can’t wait for the next one!”
Ruston Toms, Chairman of The PM Trust also attended and was very impressed by the enthusiasm of the students, he added,
“When I see you all here, I remember what it was like for me at your age. The Hospitality Industry is a fantastic industry and one that can really take 
you anywhere in life. I believe everyone should have a mentor, I’ve still got a mentor and its really important to get the right industry experience and focus and you will have and successful and enjoyable career.”
Robert Persson, Managing Director of Off to Work also attended with Alan Manni, Chef Manager, he concluded,
“It’s so lovely to be here supporting young people in our industry. I have had an excellent evening and it was lovely to meet Denise Charles and Bob Carruthers who are doing a great job in staging these wonderful themed evenings to give the students work experience of working functions, perfect preparation for the world of work. I’m looking forward to working with the college going forward and giving their students a world of opportunities in high end event catering and the wider hospitality industry.”
What was on the menu?
Starters
Soupe à l’oignon (French Onion Soup)
Potage St Germaine (Green Pea Soup) (v)
Mains
Slow Cooked Ox Cheek Bourguignon served with Roast Garlic Mash Potato and Glazed Baby Vegetables
Cheese, Potato, Leek and Watercress Pithivier served with Glazed Baby Vegetables & Watercress Cream
Dessert
Tarte Tatin with Vanilla Ice-cream
Ile flottante (Floating Island)
Photography by Carlos Farinha
International Salon Culinaire 2024 Opens for Entries
Historic chef competition International Salon Culinaire, taking place on 25-27 March 2024 at ExCeL London, has opened for entries with more than 100 live and static competitions taking place over three days.
New for 2024 is the Australian Wagyu Beef competition in partnership with Meat & Livestock Australia, Junior and Senior pasta competitions in partnership with Dell’Ugo Foods and an evolution of Tilda Chef Team of the Year which will challenge competing chefs to focus on using ‘waste’ or by-products to create delicious dishes. The competition has also welcomed Oatly as a partner for an all-new plant-based challenge.
Returning challenge Pub Chef of the Year will be partnering with Essential Cuisine to ask chefs to create an outstanding pie dish, while Craft Guild of Chefs Team of the Year in conjunction with Waitrose & Partners will be asking chefs to develop a delicious bowl food menu.
The Skills Theatre will allow aspiring and student chefs to demonstrate their skills in live competition and provide the perfect platform to showcase their talents and refine their skills essential for their career growth. In Salon Display, chefs will be challenged to construct a visually beautiful plate and put their creativity to the test.
Salon Chef Director Steve Munkley comments: “Chefs are in more demand than ever, with the industry crying out for new recruits. HRC and Salon Culinaire give us, the ‘cheffing’ industry, the opportunity to shine and show off our talents, encouraging others to join and make us stronger in the long term.”
Judges for the 2024 edition of Salon Culinaire include John Williams MBE, Executive Chef at The Ritz London, Will Torrent, Senior Brand Development Chef at Waitrose & Partners, Michelin-starred chef and consultant Daniel Galmiche and Cherish Finden, acclaimed pastry chef and judge on Bake Off: The Professionals.
Finden says: “I am honoured to be a part of the 2024 International Salon Culinaire judging panel. Live competitions provide chefs with a remarkable opportunity to test their skills, showcase their culinary creativity, and expand their professional network. I wholeheartedly encourage chefs, regardless of their skill level, to participate and elevate their careers.”
The competition is once again supported by Compass Group UK & Ireland as headline partner.
Nick Vadis, Culinary Director and Compass Group comments: “International Salon Culinaire is an incredibly valuable chance for chefs to expand their skillset, demonstrate their creativity and resourcefulness, and connect with industry peers. The competition has been fantastic for chefs across Compass Group who have been able to stand out from the crowd and embrace new opportunities within the business. I can’t wait to see what this year’s competitors bring to the table.”
To find out more about all the competitions at International Salon Culinaire 2024, and for more information on entering, visit internationalsalonculinaire.co.uk. Salon Culinaire takes on 25-27 March 2024 at ExCeL London alongside HRC, Hotel, Restaurant & Catering, The Pub Show, IFE, International Food & Drink Event and IFE Manufacturing.
Next Level Foraging
Sophia Goard and Jo Webster from Somerset-based The Peach love to forage, but that’s just the start of their preparations. Once gathered, the ingredients can be used fresh, fermented and even dried. Lucky guests, who have been invited to the Chefs’ Knowledge Launch lunch at Devon’s Bovey Castle on November 20th will get a taste of what Sophia and Jo are so excited about.
“We don’t just forage,” explained Sophia. “We are humbled by nature and see every edible plant and flower as an opportunity to nurture us in ways we have forgotten. Some of the things we forage can be eaten straight away, fresh, but others need to be fermented to bring out their best qualities and even dried to preserve them. It’s an endless cycle and our ancestors knew it intimately. Not everything is edible, but once you start to learn what can be done with nature’s larder, you start to appreciate that modern medicine is based on old-fashioned knowledge of our natural world and we can literally forage and ferment ourselves back to good health.”
“We met recently with Mark Budd, executive chef at Bovey Castle to scope out the forageables and to offer him and his team a taste of a range of ferments for the lunch,” Sophia continued.
“The chefs would like to incorporate a ferment or two with some foraged ingredients and some wild greens into the lunch on the day of the launch. Mark Budd is preparing a beef dish and Jo’s Jerusalem artichoke, fennel, horseradish and chili ferment will go alongside it. Horseradish is a plant that grows in the wild in the UK, and it complements the sweetness of the artichokes beautifully. When Jerusalem chokes are fermented, they don’t create wind because some of the fibre has already been transformed by the bacteria, so that gas is released in the fermenting Kilner jar!
“A fermented tomato salsa with sorrel and nettle is also in design, to preserve the last of our tomato glut and to take advantage of what’s out during the Autumn. Autumn can be like a second Spring for tasty greens (as well as yielding seeds and roots).
“Mitchell & Cooper have kindly lent us another Excalibur food dehydrator and we were very excited to increase our dehydration capacity accordingly. After harvesting the fresh material – sorrel leaves, nettle leaves, hogweed seeds – they were dehydrated to preserve them in a way that retains their flavour and enables easy incorporation into ferments.
“With the Excalibur machine, drying was done at 45°C for about 8 hours. After dehydration, the material can be powdered using a grinder and stored for later use, much like the other spices we commonly turn to in our larders. The sorrel leaves, for example, retain their green-apple-skin-tartness after drying. Drying is also a good way to retain the nutrient content of the plant material. Given it is the end of the growing season and that the days will soon be too short and cold for plants to grow much, drying produce picked now is a great way to preserve the flavours of fresh shoots for the Winter months, known before industrial agriculture as ‘the hungry gap’.
For more information visit www.the-peach.org
Chef of the Week: Jordan Barnes, Head Chef at SakkuSamba in Manchester
How long have you worked at your current restaurant?
I started at SakkuSamba in September 2023.
Where did your passion for cooking come from and where did you learn your skills?
Always watching my mum cook for the family and watching tv programmes showing it can be a great career.
What do you enjoy most about being a chef?
Being a chef I enjoy the feeling of being able to express myself onto a plate of food and hearing happy customers is such an amazing feeling that I can offer customers memories and make there experience as enjoyable as possible.
Name three ingredients you couldn’t cook without.
Salt, pepper and fat (oil or butter).
Which piece of kitchen equipment couldn’t you live without?
My range of utensils.
What food trends are you spotting at the moment?
I have spotted that eco-friendly dining is a huge trend at the moment.
What do you think is a common mistake that lets chefs down?
Overworking and taking everything personally when it does t go right.
What is your favourite time of year for food, and why?
It has to be winter with more homely hearty meals.
Which of your dishes are you most proud of?
Has to be my trio of lamb.
How do you come up with new dishes?
Keeping on top of customer wants and then build from there.
Who was your greatest influence?
My mother.
Tell us three chefs you admire.
- Spencer Burge
- Miho Sato
- Marcus Wareing
What is your favourite cookbook?
It has to be Culinary Artistry by Andrew Dornenburg.
Who do you think are the chefs to watch over the next few months?
- Tom Meyer
- Calvin Eng
- Marcus Clayton
What’s been your favourite new restaurant opening of the last year?
My favourite restaurant opening of last year would be The Portrait by Richard Corrigan.
Sent To Jail
The cream of Cornish chef talent spent the day in jail on Monday 13th November, but it was all in a good cause! The Chefs’ Knowledge Launch tour reached Bodmin to celebrate everything Cornwall with the location being the Bodmin Jail Hotel.
Welcome drinks by Chefs’ Forum Sponsors Brown Brothers Winery (Australia) and Forbishers Juices (Exeter) were offered to guests including chefs, restaurateurs, suppliers and key hospitality professionals from the Southwest followed by the main attraction – a four course lunch.
The Chefs’ Forum gathered together four top chefs from Cornwall (all very smartly-dressed in Chef Works jackets) to work the kitchens and delight the guests – and they did just that, according to Chefs’ Forum Director Catherine Farinha:
“We love coming to Cornwall. There is such a diversity of talent and scrumptious ingredients like Aussie Wagyu from Meat & Livestock Australia, TRUEfoods stock and the finest fresh produce from Dole Foodservice – It’s hard not to have a good time. And it was such fun to come to the Bodmin Jail Hotel. It’s such a cool and breath-taking location, fitted-out to the highest standard and the chefs put on a delicious feast for us.”
The top chefs on show were Gavin Edney from The Headland Hotel, Bruce Rennie from The Shore Restaurant, Dane Watkins from Bodmin Jail Hotel and Darryl Collins from Mullion Cove Hotel with Denis Drame MCA from Classic Fine Foods.
“The Chefs’ Forum always put on a show-stopping event,” said Dane Watkins from Bodmin Jail Hotel. “Today was no exception. It was a pleasure for us to play host and we had a fine lunch and it was great to see so many friends and professionals having a great time. It was also an introduction to us of The Chefs’ Knowledge and we can’t wait to start dipping into this treasure-trove of information.”
The lunch in full:
Starter – Gavin Edney (The Headland Hotel)
Agnolotti of caramelised artichoke, woodland mushrooms, Cornish Gouda and truffle
Fish course – Bruce Rennie (The Shore Restaurant)
Cornish Hake, squash, oyster mushrooms and nasturtium
Main course – Dane Watkins (Bodmin Jail Hotel)
Aussie beef fillet, smoked brisket cottage pie, heritage carrot and sprout
Dessert – Darryl Collins (Mullion Cove Hotel) & Denis Drame MCA (Classic Fine Foods)
Lemon meringue tart
Julio De Carvalho, General Manager at Bodmin Jail loved hosting his industry peers, he said
“It is fantastic to have such a high level of hospitality and catering expertise in one room, the energy is electric and its wonderful to showcase our venue. I believe it is crucial to support each other in the current climate, and this iconic industry event did just that, I’m really looking forward to the next one!”
Steve Snow, Managing Director of MCS Technical Products, a headline sponsor of the event said
“It was great to meet all the Cornish Chefs and showcase CookTek Induction. The chefs showed a great del of interest and it was fantastic to meet Gavin Edney from The Headland Hotel in person to thank him for his recent testimonial on our market-leading FlashGRILL. I really enjoy networking with the chefs and also other sponsors including UK pottery stalwart, Wedgwood who supplied eye-catching Renaissance bone china plates for the main course by Dane Watkins of Bodmin Jail, this really works for everyone who attends, from a brand profile-raising perspective and the sheer enthusiasm from everyone who attended.”
All sponsors are hand-picked and vetted/endorsed by our Patrons and Chef Members for being the very best in the business and we would very-much welcome applications from hospitality-targeted brands who would like to work with us, for more information, please contact catherine@redcherry.uk.com
Film & photography by Carlos Farinha
High Steaks Indeed
Something magical happens when great ingredients meet outstanding cooking methods and that’s what went down at Meat Feast in Manchester on Wednesday.
The special event organised by The Chefs’ Forum saw the best of Aussie Beef put through its paces by Bem Brasil in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.
Rui Rodrigues, Operations Manager at Bem Brasil was delighted to host his industry peers and showcase the restaurant concept, he said
“We were really impressed with the quality of the Aussie beef. As you can imagine, we get through a lot of meat across our three sites – About two tonnes a week. Our meat that we serve in Bem Brasil typically comes from the UK & Ireland, but its great to know that this quality product is now available alongside and it tastes delicious – I especially liked the dry aged version that we aged in the Klima, there was lots of marbling, and the dry aging gave it more of an intense flavour.
Its great that there’s now more choice of sustainable fresh produce for our chefs and the wider UK Market.”
Dry aged and wet aged steaks – sirloin, rib eye and picanha – from Jack’s Creek in New South Wales, Australia were cooked on skewers on a specialist grill with thirty hooks for multiple skewers to be cooked at the same time, to enable a steady flow of meat to be taken to the guests and carved at the table by skilled pasadores (waiters who carve the meat). Typical Brazilian sides including vinaigrette, fejoada (black bean and pork soup), garlic rice, cheese bread, farofa, batata frita and fried banana were also on the menu and everything was washed down with quality Australian wines from Brown Brothers, including Innocent Bystander Pinot Gris, Syrah and a delicious sparkling Moscato.
Talking about the event Catherine Farinha, Director of The Chefs’ Forum, said: “The marriage of Australian meat and Brazilian 
cooking was spot on. We used a mixture of dry ageing and wet ageing and utilised the Klima dry ageing cabinet to perfection. The meat was amazing and the cooking at Bem Brazil really brought out the rich flavours. It was a top event with some really great chefs in attendance.”
Stephen Edwards, UK Business Manager of Meat & Livestock Australia, said: “This was a truly great event for us to be involved with. Not only was it a perfect showcase of Aussie beef but it was thrilling to see it being enjoyed by so many top chefs from the North of England. Aussie beef is world class and Jack’s Creek are the current holders of the World’s Best Ribeye.”
Steve Snow, Managing Director of MCS Technical Products was on hand to present the Klima dry aging unit and tell the chefs about the process of aging the meat in advance of the event.
George Edwards, Category Specialist – Fresh Meat Sales & Marketing from Jack’s Creek London echoed the positive synopsis of the day, he said
“This was a great event with Meat & Livestock Australia and The Chefs’ Forum as we looked at our incredible Jacks Creek Black Angus Range.
A highlight was being able to compare wet and dry aging techniques on the same beef. We would like to thank Stephen Edwards for organising and inviting so many talented and inquisitive chefs.”
Chef of the Week: Andrew Spence, Head Chef at The Boar’s Head in Fife
How long have you worked at your current restaurant?
Since before it was open worked very closely with the owners and helping them achieve were collective dreams. Been open for about 2 years.
Where did your passion for cooking come from and where did you learn your skills?
The passion started at a young age of ten where I watched my parents cutting up a whole lamp on the kitchen table, where I learnt my skills was more then one place from beginning it in Scotland and then travelling over to France, Spain and Austria primarily, also travelling to South East Asia was a real eye opener for a different style of cuisine.
What do you enjoy most about being a chef?
To discover a whole other world within. Being able to work with food and amazing produce. mainly being able to inspire younger chefs to put in love for the food that they cook and most importantly putting a smile on people’s faces.
Name three ingredients you couldn’t cook without?
Love, passion and heart (salt helps as well!).
Which piece of kitchen equipment couldn’t you live without?
A spoon!
What food trends are you spotting at the moment?
Spotting veganism a lot as a trend, however hoping it will pass soon.
What do you think is a common mistake that lets chefs down?
Thinking money is more important than the food some of them cook, if they put love and passion into their food then money will come later however lots of them can’t wait.
What is your favourite time of year for food, and why?
Spring, as the cosey food is still there with a flourish of new beginnings and looking towards fresh colours of life.
Which of your dishes are you most proud of?
Every single one I put out the door, however I do have a few favourites but they’re a secret.
How do you come up with new dishes?
Take a fruit, vegetable or piece of meat, then elevate and create something special with it.
Who was your greatest influence?
That’s a hard one as most of the chefs I worked with I have been influenced by them all. In all really would be my mother and father as they always told me never to give up!
Tell us three chefs you admire.
Tom Kerridge, Marco Pierre White and Gordon Ramsay.
What is your favourite cookbook?
Practical Cookery.
Who do you think are the chefs to watch over the next few months?
From one Andrew to the next, Andrew Moss at The North Port.
What’s been your favourite new restaurant opening of the last year?
Our one! The Boar’s Head in Auchtermuckty!!
Winning by a Royal mile
On Monday 6th November Radisson Blu Edinburgh played host to a special culinary lunch, featuring four of the region’s top chefs along with a group of students from two local colleges.
The occasion was the launch of The Chefs’ Knowledge Lunch Scotland, organised by The Chefs’ Forum, one of the UK’s leading hospitality networking platforms. Students from Edinburgh College and West Lothian College were given the opportunity of a unique first-hand hospitality experience, working under the guidance of the finest chefs in the region.
Richard Mayne, General Manager at Radisson Blu, said: “This is a great opportunity for the students from two local catering colleges, and we are delighted to partner with The Chefs’ Forum on such a fantastic initiative. The experience the students will get from this is invaluable.”
The 238-room hotel centrally located on the famous Royal Mile in Edinburgh welcomed a room of 100 top Scottish hospitality industry professional to enjoy a mouth-watering menu created by chefs Andrew Spence, Gary Townsend, Jonnie Ferguson, Barath Kumar and Marco Drummond Nobrega.
“We’re overwhelmed by the star power in the kitchen,” revealed Catherine Farinha, Founder of The Chefs’ Forum. “We’ve come a long way and this year’s lunches have really caught the attention of our chefs and suppliers. Everyone that is contributing is really raising the bar of what we can achieve which is fabulous for the students who come to learn on the day.”
Barath Kumar, Head Chef at Radisson Blu Edinburgh, said: “It was great to welcome the guest chefs and students to our kitchens. This is such an amazing way to celebrate our partnership with The Chefs’ Forum and work alongside some of the best chefs in Scotland. It was wonderful to get such great feedback from the guests and for the students to taste the food. I was proud to showcase Radisson as a brilliant employer, fully invested in ongoing training and development of the team.”
What the guests ate…
Amuse bouche – Andrew Spence (The Boar’s Head)
Andy’s seared Isle of Seil hand dived scallop, pickled shallots, parmesan crisp, sauce blanc, parsley oil, topped with Koppert Cress Moai Caviar & sea herbs
Starter – Gary Townsend (Hotel du Vin One Devonshire Gardens)
Aussie Lamb rump, Red Lentil Dahl – Cauliflower – Onions – Vadouvan Spice – Coriander
Fish course – Jonnie Ferguson (Roux Scholar 2022 & The Glenturret Lalique Restaurant)
Royal Greenland Cod, Fermented Celeriac, Oyster Mushrooms and Kanzuri
Main course – Barath Kumar (Radisson Blu Edinburgh)
Aussie beef mignon, barbacoa brisket, roscoff onion, truffled mash, cauliflower Dubarry, duxelles and port jus
Dessert – Marco Drummond Nobrega (The Bonham Hotel)
Chocolate ganache & raspberry aquafaba Honeycomb & vanilla ice cream
The Chefs elected two ‘Stars of the Day’; one from Edinburgh College and one from West Lothian College, who really impressed on the day.
It was Callum Young from Edinburgh College and Dianne McGowan from West Lothian College who each won a copy of The Chefs’ Knowledge.
Callum said
“I have really enjoyed the day and I am overjoyed to win a copy of The Chefs’ Knowledge. I have seen it at college, but to have my own copy is truly amazing. I really enjoyed working with Roux Scholar, Jonnie Ferguson who I see as a real inspiration, I really have had a wonderful day today.”
Any Scottish chefs wishing to get involved with The Chefs’ Forum or the colleges who participated should contact brogen@redcherry.uk.com
