The Chefs’ Table at its Best

Normally it’s the other way round – we’re the ones doing the hard graft at our popular chefs lunches and events so you can enjoy yourselves. But recently we were treated to a full-on chefs’ experience at The Dorchester by our friends at Redefine Meat and we wanted to share what we discovered.

Of course, The Chef’s Table is nothing new. And yet, in a position overlooking the main kitchen at The Dorchester and with Dorchester Exec Sous Chef Soham Sonawane and Pastry Chef Michael Kwan in charge of the cooking and serving we were quite literally, bowled over.

We were joined at the table by Redefine Meat superstars Louise Wagstaffe and Callum Braddock, Mano Mayfair chef Luciana Barry and Masterchef: The Professionals finalist Exose Grant for a special dinner and it really was a treat.

It was great to give chefs some downtime in advance of a full house booked the following day, where they would be cooking for industry legend Marco Pierre White at London’s Carousel event venue, plus fifty more industry peers.

This was a once in a lifetime experience and a celebration of months of hard work planning and executing yet another bespoke event for a high profile customer.

Here’s what was served on a special menu, printed just for us, with fine wines expertly paired to each course:

• Chef’s choice of Amuse Bouche
• Fresh homemade sourdough with Dorset butter and apricot harissa (yum)
• Ahi Tuna
  Tuna tartare and caviar (delish)
• Wye Valley Asparagus
  Blue lobster salad and caviar casserole (seriously excellent)
• Black Angus dry aged beef
  Wellington of beef fillet, duck foie gras, wild mushroom and truffle (amazing)
• Saffron panacotta with textures of citrus (so refreshing)
• English Strawberry Eton Mess
  Earl Grey tea ice cream (gorgeous)
• Truffles and candy (couldn’t get out of our chairs)

The team at The Dorchester were superb and it really demonstrated to us how good the chefs table is at bringing you close to the action and enjoying an intimacy with chefs that the dining room can’t deliver.

The chefs’ table at The Dorchester really is an opportunity to see how it should be done and experience one of the hottest tickets in town.

The Chefs’ Forum would like to thank Soham and Michael for a truly magical evening and for their ongoing support for the next generation of chefs.

Their parting gift to us was a chocolate model of The Dorchester to celebrate its 90-year anniversary, such an amazing finishing touch to the perfect culinary experience.

For more information on how to book CLICK HERE.

The Cleverest Thing in 40 Years!

Celebrity Chef Marco Pierre White said on Monday that Redefine Meat, the new meat alternative taking the restaurant world by storm, is the cleverest thing he’s seen in 40 years as a chef.

The comment was made after another successful Chefs Lunch at London’s Carousel Restaurant on May 9th 2022.

Organised by national chef network, The Chefs’ Forum, the lunch for 50 top London chefs featured Masterchef: The Professionals stars Exose Grant, Luciana Berry and Arbinder Dugal who each created a course.

“When you see brilliance, you start to fall in love,” White said. “And I’m falling in love with this product.”

The menu comprised of:

• Redefine Lamb kofta – Exose Grant, BLVD restaurant Manchester
• Redefine Beef Flank Escondidinho – Luciana Berry, Mano Mayfair
• Redefine Lamb Flank rump curry – Arbinder Dugal

Fine wines were paired to the various courses by wine Master Sommelier Zareh Mesrobayan of Jackson Family Wines and Koppert Cress was also paired to the various courses by Paul Da Costa Greaves.

Top Chef Brasil Winner 2020, Luciana Berry has recently opened her own restaurant in Mayfair: Mano Mayfair. Redefine Meat is very much on Mano’s menu and she showcased it at this event in a traditional Brazilian dish, which would normally call for cured beef flank, she said

“When I was invited to cook this lunch for my chef peers, I knew immediately what I was going to create. Escondidinho is a hearty dish made with carne seca or dried, salted meat and mashed casava. I have managed to recreate the exact same flavour with Redefine beef flank and its absolutely unbelievable. We have made national TV news in Brazil this week as we’re innovating with a plant-based product, when most Brazilians are looking to reduce their red meat intake. Now this is absolutely possible without compromising on taste.”

Catherine Farinha, Director of The Chefs’ Forum said: “Putting together an event like this is easy. When the product is this good it is easy for chefs to recreate dishes with it that diners find easy to understand – and enjoy. There was near universal approval in the room and Redefine Meat literally are redefining what meat is. Frankly, I can’t believe that wasn’t lamb or beef.”

Louise Wagstaffe, Culinary Lead at Redefine Meat said: “What a lunch that was. It is really heartening for us to see the chef works embrace Redefine Meat. We knew it was going to be good but this is taking it to a new level. We’re thrilled so many people like it and understand what we’re trying to do.”

Welsh Chef Student Josie Wheeler Wins Student Pastry Chef of the Year at Hotel Café Royal

Student chef Josie Wheeler, from Coleg y Cymoedd in Nantgarw in South West Wales, held her nerve on a tense day on Tuesday to win the Student Pastry Chef of the Year 2022.

Her dish of mini Black Forest entremet wowed the stellar pannel of judges at the The Hotel Cafe Royal who included Benoit Blin and Jamie Houghton from Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Michael Kwan from The Dorchester, Daniel Pearse from The Savoy and Thibault Hauchard from Claridge’s and Douglas Oberson from Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester.

Organised by The Chefs’ Forum, the Student Pastry Chef of the Year competition is open to all pastry chefs currently in education. There is no age limit following industry demands for entries

Speaking about the event Catherine Farinha, Director of The Chefs’ Forum, said: “Josie Wheeler played a blinder. She is a worthy winner and I know all the judges really enjoyed what she created. The brief was to create something ‘grab and go’ and a mini Black Forest was such a clever idea. This year’s competition has blown us all away with the creativity on display and the number of entries from different age groups. We’re going to keep the competition like this from now on,”

Simon Coulson, HR Director at Hotel Café Royal said: “It is so important to us at Hotel Cafe Royal to host events like this. It is great for students to see what it’s like in a leading professional kitchen, to get support from great chefs but also to see what it like to work in a place like this, at the top level. It is so important to find and develop the next generation of chefs and hospitality professionals.

In second place was Shirin Azimiasl of Manchester College who made a passion fruit and vanilla tart. Third was Zarema Yalkhoroev from Leicester College with a chocolate tart with chocolate mousse, raspberry confit and raspberry coulis.

Daniel Pearse said: “All the entries were high and showed some great skills. All the judges were impressed. We just felt, overall, that Josie Wheeler’s Black Forest was the winner.”

The panel of eight judges, which includes Benoit Blin and Jamie Houghton (head judge) from Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, Michael Kwan from The Dorchester, Thibault Houchard from Claridge’s, Chris Underwood from Artisserie, Daniel Pearse from The Savoy, Douglas Oberson from Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester and Neil Rippington, Hospitality Education Consultant and author selected the top eight desserts submitted at the semi-final stage.

The finalists:

• Alex Williams – Halesowen College
• Annie Carter – The Manchester College
• Josie Wheeler – Coleg Y Cymoedd Nantgarw
• Mina Mohsenie – Leicester College
• Orla-Kate O’Neil – The Manchester College
• Shirin Asl – The Manchester College
• Zarema Yalkhoroeva – Leicester College

As Benoit Blin left, he expressed how impressed he had been with all eight entrants and offered the opportunity for all of them to come for a stage at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons to further ignite their passion and hone their obvious talent.

The Chefs‘ Forum would like to take this opportunity to thank all who participated this year and to sponsors Mitchell & Cooper, Taylor UK, Bragard, Matfer Bourgeat, Adande, First Choice Produce and Henley Bridge for suppling first class equipment and ingredients to make this competition final something truly spectacular.

Thank you to Martyn Watkins from Richkins Woodcraft who made the stunning wooden trophy.

This is firmly an annual event that all colleges and catering educators should put on their agenda.  Anyone interested in learning more about the competition with a view to registering their interest for 2023 should email alexandra@redcherry.uk.com

Photo credit: Harry Elletson.

Quartet of Top Chefs Inspire Manchester Students

200 Manchester school students were enthralled by what they saw at a special taster day at Manchester College yesterday.

Organised by The Chefs’ Forum Academy, the special day was an opportunity for local students to get a taste of hospitality with leading chefs offering their advice and skill, as well as promoting the fact that the college is building a brand-new facility in Manchester’s city centre, to open this September.

The students were first entertained and instructed by chefs Doug Crampton and Darren Cooper. Crampton is head chef at James Martin Manchester and Cooper a chef consultant. Doug explained how science and maths are very much used every day in his kitchen; from changing the form egg yolk with low temperature cookery, to working out quantities and ratios.

Doug Crampton said

“I always knew I wanted to be a chef and I absolutely love cooking.  Teaching in The Manchester College is very rewarding and I have had many of the students join my kitchen team on the back of it.  I love watching chefs grow and move on to the next chapter in their careers. The Chefs’ Forum brings the best culinary talent together in the one place for the good of the industry and it helps us spot new talent for our brigades. Exose who is here today joined me when he was eighteen and its great to see him running his own kitchen now in BLVD Manchester.”

Next up was a pasta making masterclass with Masterchef: The Professionals finalist and BLVD head chef Exose Grant, followed by Andrew Green, Executive chef at Native.  Exose made fresh tagliatelle in his KitchenAid mixer with pasta attachment and explained how it helps him in his busy kitchen.  He also spoke about his experience on Masterchef and the students got the opportunity to watch him in the final episode.

All chefs on the stage spoke passionately about how much they enjoy teaching students at the college and how important it is to inspire and nurture the next generation of chefs.  There was also a fantastic show and tell on the A-Z of seasonal veg by Daniel Booth of Roots of Wigan who told the students of opportunities in foodservice sector careers.

After lunch Exose Grant led an éclair filling and decorating competition, which was won by Josh and Fatima from Oldham Academy North, who produced a rather ingenious caterpillar éclair, impressing Exose and Darren who judged them the winners.  The two winning students can look forward to a complimentary lunch at the new City Century college restaurant, once it opens late this year.

Sue Hadfield,  from Manchester College said of the day: “Another successful day with The Chefs’ Forum Academy. Nothing surprises me anymore. It’s been the same for 4 years. I just love the sheer variety of chefs and experts they bring in for days like this and also for our hospitality students.  We have some very exciting plans afoot including guest chef evenings in our college restaurant, culinary boot camps in the summer, as well a valuable CPD project for our teaching peers in the industry.  Our working relationship is truly unique and absolutely benefits all involved.”

Catherine Farinha, director of The Chefs’ Forum, said: “It’s wonderful to be able to do these days in person again. During lockdown we had to do virtual days and while they were enjoyed by the students nothing can beat being here in person. I always love coming to Manchester. It’s such an exciting dining scene. We’re going form strength with Manchester College.”

A Butcher, A Baker and A Pasta Maker Light up Bradford College

Students from the Bradford area were enthusiastic yesterday after two hours of tasting, demonstrations and competition at Bradford College.

Invited to a special “taster day” 120 students from 7 local schools enjoyed a “sensational” hospitality showcase in Bradford College’s world renowned Hospitality and Catering Department. The event was organised by The Chefs’ Forum as part of its Academy partnership with the college that was launched two months ago.

“It was great to have so many local schools here today,” said Head of Hospitality and Catering Gary Bradwell after the event. “To be able to showcase our training kitchens, hospitality and catering offer was marvellous. We pride ourselves in forging great relationships with local employers and to be able to celebrate butchery, bakery and patisserie today was really inspiring for all the visiting pupils.”

The students enjoyed a pasta making masterclass with Exose Grant – a Masterchef: The Professionals finalist before being introduced to butchery by Jack Holden from Fodder in Harrogate. There was then a patisserie demo by Wasim and Sabil from Starbake Patisseries which featured a layered cream cake before the students got stuck in to a cupcake decorating competition.

“Last week we had Stephanie Moon visiting the college,” said Chefs’ Forum Director Catherine Farinha. “This week it’s a taster day. By unleashing the power of professionals who want to inspire a new generation this is a great time to become an Academy partner and it’s great to have Bradford on board.”

Photo and film credit: Gareth Davies Media.

Willy Wonka met Mary Poppins at West London College Taster Day!

200 West London school students were treated to a free fun day out at West London College as the latest taster day from The Chefs’ Forum Academy highlighted hospitality. Both Willy Wonka and Mary Poppins were gleefully represented by chef Jesse Dunford Wood who created a special dessert to open the new Taylor UK Gelato kitchen at the college and inspire the next generation of chefs!

In a new direction there was a cookery demonstration by TikTok and Instagram sensation Poppy Cooks who created a special potato recipe. Poppy O Toole, a former chef, has reached over 2m followers on social media and made her first appearance on Saturday Kitchen over the weekend.

Billed as an insight into the world of hospitality the students were treated to:

• A canapé and mocktail reception
• A brilliant live performance of The Chefs’ Forum’s own taster day theme tune by Manchester artist Lowkeylimit, accompanied by break dancers Kit Sells and Mikey Hook-Tappin
• A dessert-making masterclass – Jesse Dunford Wood
• A talk and demonstration by a leading social media influencer Poppy O’Toole – fresh from her appearance on Saturday Kitchen
• Redefine Meat New-Meat burgers
• A ravioli masterclass – Michael Dutnall from the RAF Club
• A sushi masterclass and student sushi rolling competition by sushi master Keiko Urakawa

“It was a fantastic day,” said Chefs’ Forum director Catherine Farinha. “We were thrilled at the line up and they didn’t disappoint. Jesse’s dessert wowed the students and it was so exciting to inaugurate the new Taylor UK Gelato Kitchen with flavours of vanilla, strawberry cheesecake, raspberry ripple, passion fruit, chocolate and caramel and mint choc chip making an appearance.”

Denise Charles, Head of Curriculum at West London College, said: “When you have a line up like we did it is easy to demonstrate to potential students what a fun world hospitality is. And to bring in a social media star was a master stroke by The Chefs’ Forum Academy. Poppy Cooks was brilliant and she just resonated with the students – they could understand her and relate to her.

“And then there were the other brilliant demos by Michael Dutnall and Keiko Urakawa which just topped it all off.”

Denise’s students catered and served all of the canapes, Redefine Meat™ burgers and mocktails to over 200 students from 10 feeder schools.  Chef Lecturer Bob Carruthers also organized the kitchens with military precision, so the food kept coming throughout the event.

David Rees from Taylor UK said: “We are delighted to be instrumental in furthering the education of students in the new Gelato Kitchen. It’s a no-brainier when you get feedback like this. How wonderful it was to see homage being paid to both Mary Poppins and Willy Wonka, all in one dessert. Priceless.”

Jesse Dunford Wood said: “The quality of the ice cream in the Taylor UK ice-cream machine was excellent and made my dessert idea come alive. It was great fun.”

Poppy O’Toole said: “It was a pleasure to come and give a demonstration to these amazing students. It wasn’t that long ago that I was in their position, and I heartily recommend a career in hospitality – it really is fun.”

Photography credit: Alec Seaman | Film credit: Alex Ryland-Jones

Students Learn from Top Chefs at Langley College Hospitality Taster Day

Over 150 pupils from 10 Slough schools enjoyed a taste of the hospitality industry at a special Hospitality Taster Day held at Langley College this week, to mark the re-launch of hospitality and catering courses at the College this September.

The event, which was run in partnership with The Chefs’ Forum Academy, brought together celebrity chefs to demonstrate a range of cookery techniques, inviting the students to join in and learn how to make pasta, sushi and samosas from the industry experts.

Gillian May CEO and Group Principal for Langley College said: “This event was a fabulous way to engage with local schools and showcase the industry standard training kitchens and restaurant at Langley. We are delighted to be re-launching our programme this September as the industry recovers from the pandemic. We saw so much enthusiasm from the students at the event I am sure we will see a number of them becoming the next generation of chefs and hospitality professionals.”

Local chefs Tom Westerland & Arbinder Singh Dugal were on hand, along with sushi master Keiko Urakawa to demonstrate just what the new academy will be offering when it re-opens in September. Tom Westerland gave a brilliant fresh ravioli-making demonstration and Arbinder, made Potli samosas, both showcasing a hand-kneaded dough to achieve the perfect end result.

Students enjoyed a range of delicious canapés made by the chefs including sushi, arancini and a lunch of new plant-based, 3D printed Redefine Meat, New Meat™ vegan burgers followed by pasta making, an interactive sushi-rolling demonstration and a samosa-making competition, all live on stage.

The winner of the samosa making competition was Langley Academy year 9 student, Shalom, who won a prize of a £50 voucher for lunch for three at local Indian restaurant The Renaizance which she will attend with a friend and a teacher from their school.

Langley Academy Careers Officer Ruth Turner said “I’m so happy for Shalom in winning the samosa-making competition.  She competed against peers from four other schools to create the perfect potli samosa.  I’m sure all the teachers will want to accompany her to The Renaizance restaurant, as we’ve heard such great things. This is such a lovely prize and well-deserved by a student who has a real passion for cooking and is an absolute pleasure to teach.  This was such a successful day, greatly enjoyed by all.”

The special taster day was designed to showcase the exceptional facilities at the College to students from local schools, introducing them to the chefs who could be teaching them in the college kitchens if they choose to embark upon a hospitality and catering course at Langley College in September 2022.

There was also a special live performance of The Chefs’ Forum Academy’s brand new, theme tune, “Inspiration”, written by music artist Lowkeylimit, accompanied by talented break dancers Kit Sells and Mikey Hook-Tappin.

The Academy will have chef patrons Dominic Chapman (The Beehive), Joe Bartlett (Cliveden House), Tom Westerland (Crockers Henley), Sushi Master Keiko Urakawa and Roux Scholarship and Masterchef semi-finalist, Arbinder Singh Dugal, who are all local to the college.

Dominic Chapman said: “We’re all looking forward to a new influx of students this year. It’s going to be great to work with them through the new academy.”

Arbinder added: “Langley is my local college and I always love to make a difference and give back to the community. I really enjoy working with young people, and it is a real honour to be invited to be the Patron of The Chefs’ Forum Academy at Langley College.”

Slough-based Shipley’s Food service kindly sponsored an array of samosas, Indian sweets and medjool dates to celebrate the Holy month of Ramadan.

First Choice Produce also helped with supplying all fresh and ambient produce, helping The Chefs’ Forum drive down the food cost of the event, catering for nearly 150 school children in years 10 and 11.

Catherine Farinha, Director of The Chefs’ Forum, said: “These Taster Days introduce school pupils to the hospitality profession and really showcase the opportunities on offer in this vibrant sector. What’s fantastic is they can train at Langley College with the support and patronage of this wonderful array of talented chefs.”

Catherine continued: “We are very lucky to have the support of Dominic, Joe, Arbinder, Tom and Keiko, as all of these talented chefs, all with very different cuisine specialities, showed the school children how exciting a career in the hospitality industry could be.

The Chefs’ Forum is all about bridging the gap between colleges, the profession, and the wider hospitality community. I’m looking forward to Langley College becoming a Chefs’ Forum Academy this September, giving them access to our huge database of talented chefs who can visit the college to teach students all the latest techniques from industry in their purpose-built training kitchens and restaurant on campus.”

To find out more about joining the college in September come along to the open day at Langley College on 24^th May from 4.30 – 7pm or visit the website at www.windsor-forest.ac.uk and apply online.

Photography credit: Alec Seaman | Film credit: Alex Ryland-Jones

The Sheffield College Wins Zest Quest Asia 2022 & A Trip to ‘Sugarlandia’

(Thursday, 14th April) Three student chefs from The Sheffield College are enjoying the sweet taste of success, having been crowned Zest Quest Asia 2022 champions at a gala dinner and awards night held on 8^th April 2022 at the Hilton London Heathrow Airport Terminal 5.

For their outstanding efforts, culinary students Jack Hayes, Max Heath and Rhiannon Siddal, along with their tutor, Andrew Gabbitas, catering lecturer at The Sheffield College, have won an educational trip of a lifetime to Manila and the province of Negros Occidental (popularly known as ‘Sugarlandia’) in the Philippines.

The prize, sponsored by Don Papa Rum, will enable the team to discover first-hand the sights, smells and tastes of traditional Filipino cuisine, and participate in a range of activities including culinary master classes and a charity dinner. In addition, they will enjoy the rare opportunity to visit the lands and distillery in southern Philippines where Don Papa Rum is produced from local sugarcane.

The winning team stood out for its Vietnamese-inspired menu comprised of a Goi cuon amuse bouche, a summer roll made from homemade turmeric rice rolls, filled with watermelon, seasoned with lime, salt and sriracha seasoning, beansprouts, and toasted cashews; a Bahn Khot starter, crispy pancake made with toasted jasmine rice, basmati rice flour, turmeric, puffed wild rice, seasoned with sriracha; a Bun Cha main course, caramelised seiten balls with basmati rice noodles, pickled vegetables, and a dessert of Vietnamese Vanilla Sponge, soaked in rum syrup with Vietnamese coffee ice cream and rum-macerated pineapple.

Zest Quest Asia was founded by restaurateurs Cyrus and Pervin Todiwala with the support of the Master Chefs of Great Britain in 2013. This year, 2022, marked the long-awaited return of the live cook-off and ‘in person’ awards evening after a pandemic-induced two-year gap, which the organisers filled with three successful on-line spinoffs.

Cyrus Todiwala OBE DL FIH said, “I am so proud of the fact that our Zest Quest Asia competitors were performing like true professionals, with the attitude and mindset of winners. Their menus were exceptional, and the judges and I were taken aback by the scale of their ambition, with one college even offering a menu tracing the length of the Silk Road. But despite the tightness of the competition, there could only be one overall winner, and The Sheffield College inspired our imaginations and taste buds with a brilliantly executed menu that captured the cooking techniques and tastes of Vietnam.

“We are deeply grateful to our sponsors and supporters, many of whom have worked closely with the students and colleges to ensure they could incorporate the latest industry trends in ingredients, flavours and technology. And having experienced the Philippines myself, I cannot begin to describe the exciting world that awaits our winners in Don Papa Rum’s ‘Sugarlandia’! Congratulations to the worthy winners.”

Joanna Kennedy, marketing manager of the Bleeding Heart Rum Company, creators of Don Papa Rum, said, “Zest Quest Asia was a spectacular event to be part of. Not only did the students blow us away with their craftsmanship and ingenuity, but they explored daring flavour combinations we had never seen before. It was phenomenal to introduce and cultivate Asian cuisines amongst these young, budding chefs.

“Don Papa Rum and Zest Quest Asia share the advocacy to raise awareness and celebrate Asian heritage in food and drink. And we wanted to support the bounce-back of the hospitality industry after a very difficult few years and engage with aspiring chefs to help keep their dreams alive.”

Andrew Gabbitas BEM, said, “I am absolutely delighted for our young students on their winning Zest Quest Asia 2022. Their tireless efforts & dedication have really paid off. To execute a menu with no protein, in a such a highly esteemed competition, took a lot of courage. Their flavour profiles were spot on. Moreover, throughout the competition, the camaraderie among all the competing students & their lecturers was first class, a true pleasure to be a part of.”

In addition to being named the new Zest Quest Asia champions, The Sheffield College team also won the Tilda Special Award for the Best Use of Rice, which will take them on another exclusive trip, this time to Northern Italy.

Other Zest Quest Asia 2022 winners were:

• The Andrew Bennett MBE Award for Best Teamwork – Loughborough College
• Best Use of Microwave – Colchester Institute
• Best Wine Pairing – North Hertfordshire College
• Best Use of Rum – Westminster Kingsway College
• Best Use of British Produce – North Hertfordshire College
• Best Use of Spices – University College Birmingham
• Best Menu Compilation, Balance and Planning – Colchester Institute
• Worshipful Company of Cooks Food Waste Award – Colchester Institute

The reception canapes were prepared by students at the University of West London’s London Geller College of Hospitality and Tourism. The evening’s special guest speaker was Lord Karan Billimoria CBE DL, president of the Confederation of Business Industry (CBI), who encouraged the 200-strong audience from industry and education to “pursue non-stop curiosity and non-stop learning…Learn as if you are going to live forever.”

Serving up a Tasty Food Career in Wales

You’ve got to love the Tasty Careers Challenge. It’s a Welsh competition between schools to cook a starter, main and dessert for less than £7 using as many Welsh ingredients as possible.

9 schools took part on April 5th at Parc Y Scarlets rugby stadium in Llanelli. The winner was Queen Elizabeth High School from Carmarthen.

“I think this is a brilliant initiative,” said Chefs’ Forum Director, Catherine Farinha.

“I like the way that school students are invited to work with Welsh ingredients and learn early was amazing ingredients they have on their doorstep.”

Tasty Careers is a National Skills Academy for Food and Drink (Wales) initiative to help support young people understand the careers and job opportunities within the food and drink industry.

The challenge is a partnership between Careers Wales, Castell Howell Foods (Headline produce sponsor) , Seren and The National Skills Academy for Food & Drink (Wales).

“We have three Chefs’ Forum Academies in Wales now, at Coleg Gwent, Gower College Swansea and Pembrokeshire College and we love it,” Farinha continued. “The people, the ingredients the suppliers are all lovely and an absolute pleasure to work with. As a competition this is just the sort of initiative that could spread to other parts of the UK.”

We are also in the middle of putting together a Welsh Game Guide to celebrate fine Welsh venison and game, and showcase all of the country’s best game chefs!

It would be great for The Chefs’ Forum to get involved in next year’s competition, as we’re already working with so many involved in this initiative.”

James Hicks, strategic development manager at The National Skills Academy for Food & Drink (Wales), said: “I am so impressed by the quality of the presentations each team delivered and the enthusiasm they all showed.

“This initiative helps to bring widespread awareness of all the different types of jobs within the sector, including engineers, marketers and food technologists.

“Today’s event has been so successful that we plan to deliver more of the same across Wales.”

The Queen Elizabeth High team have won a free meal at one of Seren Collection’s restaurants, and the chance for their winning dish to feature on one of its menus.

The nine teams had a maximum of 12 minutes to present their final dish to the panel of distinguished judges, including Michelin star head chef Hywel Griffith and representatives from the Seren Collection, Castell Howell Foods, Food Centre Wales, Cambrian Training and the UK Food and Drink Trade Programmes at Welsh Government.

Rebecca Flowers, a teacher at Queen Elizabeth High School, said: “This has been an amazing experience for both myself and the pupils. They have developed skills that they will use for the rest of their lives. This experience is invaluable to all.”

Aled Evans, a business engagement adviser at Careers Wales, said: “This competition provided everyone who took part a valuable insight into the opportunities available in food manufacturing and hospitality.

“We saw a lot of budding talent during the presentations, and I have no doubt, that for many of the pupils who took part, the challenge sparked a desire to enter the fast-paced industry.

“The insight and skills they’ve gained through this competition will certainly stay with them for years to come.”

Pembrokeshire College Welcomes Enthusiastic School Visitors for its 2nd Chefs’ Forum Academy Taster Day

School students from the picturesque Welsh town of Haverfordwest West and surrounding areas, descended on Pembrokeshire College on Tuesday 5th April to enjoy a taster day of events designed to introduce hospitality.

Star chefs Dougie Balish (The Grove of Narberth), Ashleigh Farrand (The Kingham Plough), Chef Consultant, Alistair Forrester and Chef Lecturer Alan Wright were on hand to give talks and demonstrations and the students took part in an èclair filling and decorating competition.

The day was also about top Welsh produce sponsored by leading Welsh Foodservice supplier, Castell Howell, whose Celtic Pride beef was the highlight of the lunch in the form of burgers which were very popular.  This family-run company is extremely supportive of of all our culinary events in Wales.  They have provided produce for this event, as well as a similar event at Coleg Gwent last week and a Sustainability Lunch at The Coast Restaurant, part of The Seren Collection in nearby Saundersfoot.

The Celtic Pride beef burgers were washed down with Princes Gate mineral water, kindly sponsored by the Welsh Drinks Cluster, but also available from Castell Howell in their new ‘Greenest Bottle Ever’ – Apart from the cap and label, they are made entirely from recycled bottles and what’s event better if the whole bottle is 100% recyclable.

The day was hosted in the purpose-built performing arts theatre at Pembrokeshire College which was the perfect setting according to The Chefs’ Forum Academy Director Catherine Farinha. She said:

“This was another great day for the partnership between The Chefs’ Forum and Pembrokeshire College. This is a fantastic college with world-class facilities – The students are very lucky to have such an amazing campus with a brilliant teaching team. We were able to introduce school students to top-of-the-line ingredients, all from Wales and to brilliant chefs from the industry. This is what the Academy is all about – bridging the gap between college and industry.”

Wendy Weber from Pembrokeshire College said

“What can I say? This was a lovely way of introducing students to what they can learn here at Pembrokeshire College. The Chefs’ Forum Academy is a great success, and this day was a perfect event for students not only to see what hospitality is all about but also for them to see what we’re about. It’s a superb partnership and we’re delighted.”

Dougie Balish, Executive Chef at The Grove of Narberth kicked-off proceedings with an interactive pasta-making and cookery demo.

This was followed up with Alistair Forester talking about his career while he jointed a chicken before chef Alan Wright got the students decorating èclairs and Ashleigh Farrand showed the young guests how to make pavlova.

Close to 250 students were in attendance and they all left very happy.

“Just to see the smiles and hear the laughter was enough for us chefs,” said Ashleigh Farrand afterwards. “I love doing events like this. I love to inspire the next generation to join this amazing profession.”

Photography and film credit: www.garethdaviesmedia.co.uk