Devon’s Chefs Dominate Great British Menu and a Nod to Local Venison
Three female chefs from the Southwest were involved in a cook-off on Great British Menu last night. The trio demonstrated in one heat how far female chefs have come and, at the same time, venison featured in some of the dishes dedicated to 100 years of Great British Broadcasting.
Charlotte Vincent from The Five Bells at Clyst Hydon was up against fellow chefs Olivia Barry from Adelina Yard in Bristol and Elly Wentworth from The Angel in Dartmouth. The prize is to represent the Southwest in the final banquet of series 17 of the hit TV show.
Charlotte Vincent cooked venison which was supplied by Devon-based Curtis Pitts Deer Services who also supplies venison to Elly Wentworth.
Charlotte said
“I’m so proud to be using Curtis Pitts. I like to know the meat’s provenance and that it’s sustainable and ethical. His ethos is incredible and being just round the corner from the pub is less food miles from farm to fork.”
Curtis Pitts, Director of Curtis Pitts Deer Services said
“It was a real honour to supply our wild fallow loin to the Great British Menu. It makes me very proud to see not one, but two of our much-valued customers showcasing the wild produce we take great care in harvesting from across the Southwest.”
The dish, named “Dig for victory” was “a tip of the hat to the wartime speech on a declaration of war made by Neville Chamberlain. It was spine chilling and a poignant moment of British broadcasting on the radio,” said Vincent.
The dish of venison with turnip & carrot with a beef fat pastry pie was awarded a 7 by judge Paul Ainsworth but was not enough to keep her in the heat.
Elly Wentworth is also a longstanding customer of Curtis Pitts, she said
“It was great to see Charlotte showcasing Curtis’ venison, I was one of Curtis’ first customers and I think his produce is top-drawer. He is so impressive for his age and handles every element of the business himself as a self-taught businessman. It is great that his excellent produce is now getting the recognition from top chefs across the Southwest and beyond.”
Elly Wentworth & Olivia Barry, who both scored double 8’s, will go forward and we would like to take this opportunity to wish them both the very best of luck!
Curtis Pitts’ venison is available to buy online www.curtispittsdeerservices.com and a Chefs’ Larder price list is available upon request.
St Patrick’s Day Sponsorship and Chefs’ Forum Academy Students Finding Jobs in Top Kitchens!
The purpose of The Chefs’ Forum Academy is to bridge the gap between professional kitchens and college classrooms, as well as helping colleges secure valuable ingredients sponsorship.
It is also something to shout about when our college masterclasses turn into jobs;
Chefs Michael Dutnall of The RAF Club and Jordan Sclare of Chotto Matte have both taken part in Academy events at West London College and now their kitchens have been opened-up to three students.
Today is St Patrick’s Day, so it was amazing to be able to help secure the generous sponsorship of 12kg of Irish beef rib from leading catering butcher, Fairfax Meadow. It is this commercial insight, combined with sales and marketing expertise that helps The Chefs’ Forum team drive down the food cost for college events and enables the students to cook with the finest ingredients.
West London College also benefitted recently from top quality Welsh lobster being supplied to the college by the Welsh Seafood Cluster for a masterclass with Tom Westerland, Head Chef at Crockers Henley.
Both beef rib and lobster are ingredients that college budgets simply don’t permit, so it is so rewarding to involve trade suppliers to help the college in this way.
Two NVQ2 Professional Cookery students, Ratmir Plokhov and Laurie Ballard, both took part in Michael Dutnall’s talk to catering students and they have both been taken on at The RAF Club. Ratmir has secured a trade test and Laurie has got work experience.
Ratmir told The Chefs’ Forum
“I’m so happy to be working at The RAF Club! I completed a trade test which was a very different experience to anything I had done before. It was a great learning experience and I was able to complete it with confidence in a really supportive environment.”
After working at a Chefs’ Forum Academy event student George Jones-Leonard, NVQ1 Professional Cookery, has secured a job at Chotto Matte on the days that he is not at college and Patrycja Ludzkowska recently graduated level 2 Patisserie & Confectionery is now working at LOUIE London in the pastry session.
Head of Curriculum at West London College, Denise Charles, said:
“Being part of The Chefs’ Forum Academy gives students the opportunity to network with guest Chefs and Front of House experts. Students are gaining valuable work experience and jobs after the masterclasses which just shows how important it is to get the two sides of the industry to meet in the middle.
“Our students are keen, open-minded and excited to get to work in the industry and meeting and working with guest chefs and front of house experts is really helping them to develop.”
Catherine Farinha, Director of The Chefs’ Forum said: “This is such good news. In our tenth year it is so satisfying to hear that students are graduating into good kitchens through our academies. But we are going further than that. Through the colleges we are opening the doors to school students too with special taster days.
“In April we have a taster day at West London College where Michael Dutnall of The RAF Club, Jesse Dunford Wood from Parlour and Poppy O’Toole from Poppy Cooks will be demonstrating and introducing the students to the chef world. And Japanese sushi expert Keiko Urakawa will be making sushi.
“These taster days are a great way of introducing school students to the hospitality profession and they are a now a big part of the Academy.”
For more information about launching a Chefs’ Forum Academy at your college, chefs wishing to join the guest lecturing team, or brands wishing to sponsor The Chefs’ Forum Academies, please email catherine@redcherry.uk.com
Central Bedfordshire Schools Attended a Ground-breaking Hospitality Industry Taster Day at Central Bedfordshire College
Bedfordshire’s secondary schools jumped at the opportunity to visit Central Bedfordshire College with their students to attend a ground-breaking taster day event to encourage the next generation of chefs and hospitality professionals to study at the regional centre of culinary excellence.
Secondary school pupils from years 8-11 in all Bedfordshire schools were invited to the college on Wednesday 9th March to get a sneak-peek into what the hospitality business is all about.
The two-hour introduction to hospitality featured a canapé reception followed by cookery demonstrations by local chefs and a special guest appearance by Masterchef: The Professionals finalist, Exose Grant.
Exose said
“I love doing events like this as Its really important that us chefs pass on our skills to the next generation. I was really impressed with the student’s confidence and willingness to learn when she joined me on the demo stage, hearing that she loves making crepes shows me that already she has a passion for pastry… and that is so great to see.”
Chefs Sudha Shankar Saha (The Blue Monk) and Jay Michael Howard (The Legstraps) also took to the demo stage to showcase pan-fried sea bass and steak respectively, both giving top tips for embarking on careers as chefs and telling the students what a great choice it would be.
In a first for The Chefs’ Forum Academy Taster Days, students also enjoyed a special, live performance of a brand-new theme tune to introduce taster days at its Academy colleges.
The opening theme tune, “Inspiration”, composed by Dieu-Donne Toyaleke AKA lowkeylimit, will be coupled with a flash mob of break-dancers dressed as chefs will be performed live on taster days and will also be used to help attract younger students and school leavers to consider a career as a chef as a backing track to promotional college videos, also produced by The Chefs’ Forum media team.
“It’s really important that we use all available media to reach younger foodies,” explained The Chefs’ Forum, Director Catherine Farinha. “We asked Dieu-Donne to pen us our very own motivational tune and he’s done it in a way that is instantly appealing and recognisable to a younger audience.
“We have to use every opportunity to reach out to younger audiences that they can come to college and learn from experienced chefs, but all done in a way and in a language that they understand.”
Listen to ‘Inspiration’ here:
The song was written by music artist Dieu-Donne, bother of Exose, who formerly worked for Celebrity Chef James Martin, before recently taking over his own kitchen at Boulevard Manchester.
The lyrics are all about the support and opportunities and leading employer links that are available to students studying hospitality and catering at Central Bedfordshire college.
Catherine Farinha, Director of The Chefs’ Forum, said:
“These Taster Days are very important for introducing school pupils into the hospitality profession and a great way for colleges to attract students.
“The Chefs’ Forum is all about bridging the gap between colleges, the chefs’ profession and the wider hospitality community. I’m delighted to be working with the fantastic teaching team at Central Bedfordshire College to enrich students’ learning and forge greater employer links. They have just become a Chefs’ Forum Academy which means they now have access to our huge chef database and can maximise the skill base and knowledge of leading chefs.”
Andrew Cluskey, Chef Lecturer at Central Bedfordshire College concluded
“This is a brilliant way for us to engage with local schools and showcase our fantastic training kitchens and restaurant here at the college. The visiting students will get the opportunity to see our students on stage cooking with top chefs and they will event get the opportunity to try their hand at filling and decorating eclairs. We’re really looking forward to using cookery demonstrations, music and street dance to really connect with our next cohort, who will hopefully become some of the next generation of chefs and hospitality professionals of the future.”
The Chefs’ Forum Academy sees top chefs visiting the college to teach students in their training kitchens. Michelin-starred chef Daniel Clifford, Chef Patron of Midsummer House, Ross Pike, Chef Director of Oakman Inns, Paul Nichols of The Woburn are all regulars at the college, inspiring students and forging employer links and enriching students’ learning.
Photography and film by www.garethdaviesmedia.co.uk
Chefs Unite for Ukraine
London chefs, food & drink suppliers and restaurants have all joined the effort to raise funds for beleaguered Ukraine since the recent Russian invasion.
Leading the way is Ukrainian bar Pinch in Fitzrovia, which has a White Ukrainian cocktail on its menu, and is donating 15% of its total profits to the Ukrainian armed forces.
Dark Arts coffee has a new blend aptly called “Russian Warship Go F**K Yourself” and is giving 20% of proceeds to help support those affected.
Jesse Dunford Wood’s Parlour and 6 Portland Place are donating profits from their legendary Chicken Kyiv. He told The Chefs’ Forum: “Chicken Kyiv, or Kiev as it is formerly known, has been our number one seller for the last 12 years since I went to Kyiv to research its origins in 2010. It’s our pleasure to help those in need at this time.”
Following suit is Il Portico in Kensington which has put Chicken Kyiv back on the menu for the first time in four decades. £5 of the £15 price is destined for Ukraine with the same donation being given by L’Escargot in Soho for its Kyiv which is served with a Ukrainian regional potato cake called deruny
The restaurant group Drake & Morgan are raising money for The Red Cross. Rebecca Mascarenhas and chef Phil Howard are hosting dinners on March 14 at Elystan Street, Church Road, Kitchen W8, Home SW15 and Flour + Water to raise money.
Galvin La Chapelle & its next door Bistro & Bar are adding £1 onto bills throughout March to go to Action Against Hunger which has an urgent appeal for Ukraine. The same is happening at Hawksmoor with the steak group matching the donations itself to double up.
Finally, a #cookforukraine campaign on GoFundMe run by Instagrammers Clerkenwell Boy & Layla Yarjani of NEXTGen London has teamed up with food writers Alissa Timoshkina and Olia Hercules plus friends. They’ve raised over £60,000 since the crisis in Ukraine began.
Top London Chefs Gather to Celebrate Welsh Seafood and Drinks
The Chefs’ Forum in conjunction with The Welsh Seafood Cluster, celebrated a sensational lunch featuring the best seafood from the Welsh coastline at L’Oscar London with 70 top chefs in attendance.
Nia Griffith, North Wales Seafood Cluster Manager from the Cywain project’s Welsh Seafood Cluster welcomed the chefs to the lunch and told them all about the project which supports and champions Welsh Seafood.
Nia said
“It’s really important that we showcase our wonderful producers to UK chefs. It was a great opportunity to welcome sector leaders to meet the chefs and students who cooked the lunch and fully appreciate the versatility and quality of Welsh Seafood within the delicious dishes that these top chefs have created with the various species showcased on the day.”
Catherine Farinha, director of The Chefs’ Forum, said: “We are delighted to be here at L’Oscar in the opulent but stunning library dining room. On St David’s Day we are celebrating Welsh Seafood and with the Welsh Drinks Cluster we have been able to pair the seafood with Welsh wines and Mead that complement the dishes.
“Many of the chefs cooking lunch today have worked alongside us for years and it’s great to invite them all to such a unique venue and Allan Pickett’s kitchen.
“The chefs have been joined by students from four of our Chefs’ Forum Academies: Coleg Gwent, Pembrokeshire, Central Bedfordshire and West London.”
The guest chefs who joined Allan on in the kitchen on the day were Tom Westerland (Former National Chef of Wales and Head Chef at Crockers Henley), Peter Gorton (International Chef Consultant), Richard Davies (Great British Menu Winner 2013 and Executive Chef at Calcot & Spa) and Jamie Houghton (President of the UK Pastry Team and Pastry Sous Chef at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons).
Welsh Seafood and drinks producers took to the microphone throughout the lunch to present the produce used in the chef’s recipes to the guests while they were enjoying the dishes and the Welsh drinks paired with them that included Velfrey Quality Sparkling Wine, White Castle Sparkling Wine, Wye Valley Elderflower Mead, Llaethliw white wine and Ancre Hill Rose.
The guest chefs and food and beverage team were supported by hospitality and catering students from West London College, Central Bedfordshire College, Pembrokeshire College and Coleg Gwent, who have also participated in Welsh Seafood Chef’s Academy sessions with the Welsh Seafood Cluster.
Not only did the students get an excellent day of work experience and using the skills that they learnt in these sessions, but also the experience of staging a prestigious industry event for top chefs and hospitality employers, while also having the chance to network with their peers from other UK colleges and sample fine Welsh produce on St David’s Day at a top London hotel. These are all huge benefits of being part of The Chefs’ Forum Academy programme of curriculum enrichment.
Allan Pickett, exec chef of L’Oscar Hotel, said:
“It’s a pleasure to work with such fine students and senior chef peers, cooking with the amazing bounty of Welsh food and drink. It was fantastic to see how inspired and enthusiastic all of the students from the four colleges were on the day. I’m equally delighted to have served such distinguished chefs as guests on the day. I have worked with The Chefs’ Forum since the beginning ten years ago and its to see how much it has grown both in education and influence. It’s a great time to be Welsh with such fantastic produce.”
The participating chefs created a truly spectacular menu featuring oyster, crab, mussels, scallops and lobster.
Richard Davies, exec chef of Calcot Manor, in charge of the lobster ravioli, said: “Cooking with this level of quality makes my job easy. The Welsh Lobster ravioli were stunning and it tasted even better as a result of being dispatched humanely with Crustastun. The meat was far sweeter as it was less stressed.”
Hannah Cooper, Level two student from Coleg Gwent, Cross Keys was really happy to be offered the opportunity of representing her college in London, she said
Hannah Cooper from Coleg Gwent College said: “I am excited to be here. It’s given me an opportunity to see a London professional kitchen and an insight into L’Oscar and meet some really great chefs.”
The Chefs’ Forum lunches are a great way of bringing everybody together through food, showcasing top chefs and inspiring the next generation of hospitality professionals.
This Welsh Seafood Lunch showed chefs from all over the UK the reason why they should incorporate the finest quality Welsh seafood and drinks into their menus!
Please let us know if you would like any further information on this wonderful Welsh produce and we would be delighted to connect you with the team.
Photography by www.harryelletson.com
Gordon Ramsay & The BBC Want You!
A prime time series for BBC1, called Gordon Ramsay’s Future Food Stars, is being put together by Studio Ramsay, the brilliant television company created by Gordon himself.
The first series will begin airing in Spring 2022, but the show is already on the hunt for their second series contenders.
The straight-talking TV Chef’s producers are looking for ideal chef candidates with a small food or drink business who will be put through a series of challenges to test character, drive and business acumen.
At The Chefs’ Forum, we know many chefs who have worked for Gordon and far from his TV character of shouting and swearing, he has often been described as very fatherly and nurturing, taking the time needed to ensure practice makes perfect, all the while helping chefs to learn new skills and sharing his knowledge.
During filming, Gordon Ramsay will make a great mentor for the successful contenders and all of them can look forward to enriching their professional knowledge and network as a result of participating in the series.
The winner of Future Food Stars will win a “life-changing” investment opportunity but in order to get it you’ll have to jump through some hoops with some challenging business and culinary tasks and specialist foodie missions!
To apply you must be running your own food truck, stall, small café or eatery. You may, alternatively, have a spin-off product, gadget, have developed a home dining kit or have even developed a private chefs service.
No matter what you are doing, if you are a serious chef entrepreneur and you need investment then the G-Man wants to hear from you. And remember, this is prime time and could be a dream come true. And even if you don’t make it remember that plenty of chefs who didn’t win Masterchef: The Professionals received a significant boost to their career and media profile. Our advice?
Get applying today at www.futurefoodstars.co.uk
Brazilian Super Chef Luciana Berry Follows in the Footsteps of Lloyd Grossman
Remember Lloyd Grossman? Chefs of a particular age will remember him fronting the original Masterchef series before the revamp we know today. To cut a long story short he launched an enormously successful range of tomato sauces into retail that has been copied endlessly ever since. And they are still popular.
Well, fast forward to the present and Brazilian chef Luciana Berry, herself a semi-finalist on Masterchef The Professionals in 2019 (and Top Chef Brazil winner 2020), has teamed up with restaurateur Eduardo Barsotti to launch a range of Brazilian sauces aimed at home cooks who want to add a shot of Brazil into their everyday cooking.
Called The Authentic Brazilian Cuisine the sauces enable the home cook to get a quick introduction to Brazilian flavours. The range is well thought out and covers the three most popular base sauces for cooking in a Brazilian style:
- Pimento – a Brazilian chilli sauce
- Moqueca – an aromatic sauce
- Refogado – a typical Brazilian base sauce
Speaking to The Chefs’ Forum Berry said:
“I created these sauces to make cooking Brazilian food simpler and therefore encourage more and more people to try it or themselves. Simply heat the sauces, add your chosen ingredients and plate up. It couldn’t simpler.”
Our own sales executive Alicia Kember went to the launch at Omnino restaurant in London, run by Barsotti, and she was impressed by the evening.
“The launch was a relaxed and fun evening consisting of cocktails, canapes and a cooking demo by Luciana herself. She demonstrated a variety of simple Brazilian dishes which were bursting with flavour. Guests enjoyed mingling and exchanging ideas about South American dishes in the intimate layout of the bar at Omnino.”
Where to buy:
- Açougue do Gaúcho Ki Carne – 24 Station Rd, Brent Park, London NW10 4UE
- Novilho de Ouro – 74-76 Hermit Rd, London E16 4LF
- Carlos Farm Butchery – 34 Upton Ln, London E7 9LN
Rising Costs Means Raising Quality – At a Price
At Le Gavroche in 1992, during the first Gulf War, a decision was made not to increase prices in a time when the restaurant market was hit with fewer customers and rising costs. Instead, it was decided to increase portion sizes. There would be no “two-for-one” deals to tempt diners back into the restaurant. Le Gavroche knew its customer base and knew what was needed: reassurance.
Today, thirty years later, the restaurant market has changed. There are now customers galore but fewer staff and ingredients and energy costs are putting a squeeze on margins. At some point there will have to be a reckoning. Something will have to give.
In retail supermarkets are keeping basic costs low for essentials but other, less essential, ingredients are seeing steep increases. Retailers understand their customer base as much as Le Gavroche did in the past.
We talked to two operators at the top end of the market outside London to see how they were faring and what decisions they were making. The conversations were interesting and revealing.
First we spoke to Neil Kedward of Seren Collection. The small Welsh-based group runs The Grove of Narberth and the fine dining restaurants The Coast at Saundersfoot and The Beach House at Oxwich.
“It’s not easy at the moment,” Kedward admitted. “But, it’s not easy for everyone. However, we’ve never been so busy. We are beginning to see some softening of bookings in the short term and we are working on a 20% drop at worst case. The staycation business is unsustainable as more and more international travel opens up.
“However, revenue management figures are a cause for optimism. The problem will be the rising costs of ingredients among other things and also rising competition. It’s incredible but there are now pop-up restaurants and catering vans that are charging £13-16 for a burger – and they are busy. The demand for good, local, honest cooking is increasing and customers are prepared to pay. But, at the same time prices for local ingredients are going up as more and more outlets want it.
“We have taken the decision to invest in our staff – all our venues are down to four day weeks and it’s made a huge difference to morale and enthusiasm. But what I see happening is that our prices will rise. We are aiming for higher quality and higher quality of service. That’s our customer base. We believe that quality will survive.
“As this situation worsens there will be a logical fall in volumes – of people going to restaurants. Where it was affordable before it will start to become too expensive as restaurants that worked on extremely tight margins can no longer afford to do so.”
The same focus on quality and service is a high priority for Eden Hotels. We spoke to incoming group Operations Manager Jayne O’Malley.
“We have to focus on the positives,” she explained. “Business continues to pick up with increases in reservations and weddings are back. But, with the current shortage of team members particularly in kitchens and the additional challenges we have this year around legislation, specifically Calorie Labelling Legislation coming in April this can seem quite daunting.
“Our focus is on the creative use of local and seasonal food, minimal waste and sustainability, making sure our chefs and restaurant teams don’t burn out, due to guest demand. The quality and consistency of the service we offer will be the key to the way we move forward, whilst also working with increasing prices, shortfalls in supplies and the challenges of a return to VAT at 20%”
What does this mean for the future? Neil Kedward explained that they were still looking at opportunities but the focus had changed.
“We’re always looking. We’ve been looking since 2016 when we opened our last venture. However, the way we look at opportunity now is based on certain pros and cons. Do we have the right team in place? Are the foundations right? Is there enough business? We’ll have to wait and see how the business as a whole settles down this year.”
How a Restaurant in a Distillery Got a Star in 2022
You can take the chef out of Michelin but you can’t take the Michelin out of the chef. Taking on the mantle of head chef at The Glenturret Distillery in Crieff was a gamble for chef Mark Donald who had held a star at The Balmoral in Edinburgh. It was a away from the safe zone of Michelin-star kitchen and clientele. But six months later and all is smelling beautifully of roses with the award of a first star for the new restaurant.
But, then again, this was no ordinary distillery. Glenturret had been bought by Lalique, the makers of fabulous crystal glass and purveyor of luxury goods – and they had out-of-the-ordinary ambitions. They poached Donald to open a restaurant in the distillery. In Scotland distilleries attract visitors in large numbers so the idea was not outlandish. Add to that Lalique also owns Michelin star restaurants in France such as René Lalique in Alsace, and the one Michelin-starred Château Lafaurie-Peyraguey in Bordeaux.
Donald and Managing Director John Laurie set out to put Glenturret on the map when they opened in the summer of 2021. They billed the restaurant as the first “in-distillery fine dining concept” and took aim at the local “terroir”. It didn’t hurt that Glenturret dates back to 1763 and is reckoned to be Scotland’s oldest working distillery.
The £125 tasting menu doesn’t hold back in its ingredients. It includes:
- Tattie scone, winter truffle, Baerii platinum caviar
- Langoustine, buttermilk, Daurenki Tsar Impérial caviar
- Scallop kedgeree
- Dover sole with white asparagus
- Sika deer, hay smoked celeriac, sour quince
- Maracaibo millefeuille, green coffee and Glenturret Triple Wood
The restaurant also has an extensive international wine list curated by executive sommelier Julien Beltzung, which comprises more than 400 bins.
Donald told The Herald: “I am so proud that Michelin have acknowledged the hard work, creativity and dedication from my team – and everyone at The Glenturret. Our Scottish heritage and surroundings are vital to the heart and soul of the restaurant.”
Simon Rogan’s Long, Slow Climb to a Third Star is a Lesson in Patience
Almost exactly twenty years to the day since Simon Rogan opened his Cartmel restaurant, L’Enclume, in 2002 he finally won the accolade of his dreams: a third Michelin Star. The culinary cognoscenti have long known how good L’Enclume is but fewer know the amount of time and dedication Rogan has put into the journey.
One of the quirks of the Rogan story has been his involvement with the Roux Scholarship. Back in 2000 whilst he was head chef at Addington Place in Croydon his then sous chef, Frederick Forster entered and won The Roux Scholarship. The prize was a 3 month stage at a 3 star restaurant. Forster chose Pierre Gagnaire in Paris.
For Rogan this was also a game-changer. He’d spent two years in the 1990’s working at 3-star chef Alain Senderens at Lucas Carton in Paris and he had seen what it took to get the ultimate accolade.
“I remember what it did for me personally when my first chef I had working for me won (The Roux Scholarship) and that was Freddy Forster,” Rogan remembered years later. “My conversations with him while he was on his stage at Pierre Gagnaire in Paris were a catalyst for me to follow the path that I did – because it was so interesting, so fresh and so new.
“What winning the competition brings is that it takes (the winner) to a new environment, a different way of looking and doing things and sometimes it takes you off in a direction that you don’t expect.”
Forster’s win was not forgotten and over the course of twenty years Rogan has had more Roux Scholarship success than any other chef patron. Both Mark Birchall and Tom Barnes were working at L’Enclume when they won the competition. Birchall went to Spain to do his stage at El Cellar de Can Roca and Barnes chose the Belgian restaurant Hof Van Cleve.
However, other winners of the Roux Scholarship have also had an influential role in Rogan’s restaurants. Dan Cox, who won in 2008, later headed up Rogan’s experimental research kitchen Aulis and Harry Guy, winner in 2016, later became operations manager of Rogan’s London restaurants Aulis and Roganic. Other winners have spent time in his kitchens before entering and winning the competition. Spencer Metzger, who won in 2019, worked as a chef de partie at L’Enclume in 2016.
Whilst it is impossible to say what effect all these winners had on the eventual success on L’Enclume it is clear that they did have an effect. They were inspired by what they learnt elsewhere and brought this learning back with them where it was assimilated into the whole.
Rogan’s twenty-year journey has been a lesson in patience, investment in younger, ambitious, chefs and a willingness to embrace the new. Spending time in different kitchens in different parts of the world really has an enormous effect on young chefs and L’Enclume has become the restaurant it is by harnessing some of that knowledge.
