Why Boiling Point, Starring Stephen Graham, is a Misnamed Triumph
Sitting in the Duke’s Playhouse cinema in Lancaster waiting to watch Boiling Point I was surprised by the amount of people who turned up to watch it. The space was half-full for a 6:25 evening performance.
Only a couple of days before at the Vue I had watched the latest Spider-Man with far less people. In the case of Boiling Point all of us were rewarded by a brilliant 90 minute single take of an evening service in a, presumably but not necessarily, London, restaurant.
So brilliant is this single take that you forget that the camera has not switched off once and everything has played out in one go as if it was all being performed on a giant stage. The low lighting, the deliberately low volume level of the sound recording and the depth of the restaurant with its open kitchen were all exploited to maximum effect.
I encourage all chefs to go and see it because it is brilliantly done and highlights several key issues of the lives of chefs and front of house staff. But, and here’s the thing, the title does not do this film justice.
Reviewers have pounced on it as being a meltdown and with Boiling Point in mind I half expected to see Gordon Ramsay walk on set, strip off to put on his flawless white chefs jacket and take charge in his usual manner – ie, fire the culprits and have a go at the owners.
The fact is, though, that boiling point it is not. This is not a film about anger. The film cleverly reveals the emotional cracking point of a vulnerable and over-stretched chef as he tries to salvage a terrible service for which he is largely to blame.
As a former chef who had a nervous breakdown trying to run a small restaurant and catering company I saw myself so often in Graham’s exquisite performance: the lack of time for anyone else in his life, the promises broken, the let-down of fellow staff and the inability to be able to focus for more than five minute on anything important.
This is what is so heart-wrenchingly beautiful about all the performances. Every one of the major characters have a flaw they are trying to work out – whether it’s Andy played by Graham or Carly the exasperated and loyal sous chef played by Vinette Robinson who launches into a tirade mid-way through the film at manger Beth played by Alice Feetham. This rant got cheers and claps from the audience.
And that moment was when I realised that this was a piece of work that went far beyond the sensational title of Boiling Point. This was real life and everyone who has worked in a restaurant under pressure will recognise something truthful in it.
Reviewed by Chandos Elletson, The Chefs’ Forum Editor
Spare a Moment to Help Chef’s wife Claire Galmiche
Everyone at The Chefs’ Forum is thinking and praying for Claire Galmiche, the wife of much-loved French chef Daniel Galmiche, as she battles stage four cancer. According to her Go Fund Me page Claire is suffering from unimaginable pain that can only be dampened by a cocktail of very strong drugs.
She is currently in a private hospital, The Wellington, and is hoping to raise enough money to pay for treatment that she cannot get on the NHS. Her desire is to try to get back home where she can start to recover. But none of this is certain and Daniel Galmiche has had to put his work on hold to care for his beloved wife.
All of us who work in hospitality, whether it be in the kitchen or front of house, know what a passionate, kind and considerate group of people we are. And, as a consequence, we also know when it is time to take pause and offer our help.
In this case we urge you to take a moment to visit the page on Go Fund Me and read the extraordinary words of a woman who has reached a point where the pain is too much to bear. However, you will read what the help of those around her – some she knows, some she doesn’t – has meant.
The generosity of the hospitality industry has been immense and it has ensured that she is getting the right treatment. But the battle is only half won.
We thank you in earnest for your support, no matter how small.
Please click here to donate.
Catherine Farinha Gives an Introspective into the Last Ten Years of The Chefs’ Forum
10 years ago I was made redundant. I had been working for a food magazine and I was pregnant with my third child. It was a time to think on my feet and make some hard decisions. I knew I could accept my lot or I could fight to keep myself and my family afloat.
I launched Red Cherry (Bristol) and I’ve never looked back. The Chefs’ Forum was the marketing platform I created to enable my PR clients to talk to chefs in industry – as well as tomorrow’s chefs who were coming through the colleges.
It was this mix of people who wanted to meet each other and learn from each other that has formed the bedrock of The Chefs’ Forum and over the years nothing has changed. I still get up every morning looking forward to helping my clients to get their products heard about and all our wonderful chefs to enjoy a richer profession.
There were a fair few naysayers along the way (who know who they are), who loved to discourage my ambition, telling me that I was taking on too much being a mum of three, that London was too big for me and to avoid launching there… that The Chefs’ Forum would be a ‘flash in the pan’, would never last and was too commercial…these people weren’t marketeers and didn’t have the vision that we did.
In 2013 my good friend Alexandra Duncan joined me as National Business Manager to help grow the business from two regions to eleven and has been a wonderful asset to the business.
It’s been ten amazing years of being privileged enough to work with some of the finest chefs in the country and over thirty catering colleges.
There have been many highlights but I’d like to mention a few that stand out.
We launched in London in 2015 at Westminster Kingsway College with Pierre Koffmann, Ruth Rogers, Cyrus Todiwala assisted by Arthur Potts Dawson and we’ve now got an Academy at West London College in its third year.
The Chefs’ Forum became a registered trademark in 2016.
We have successfully run multiple marketing campaigns with a plethora of major chef brands including Bragard, Chef Works, Adande, Rational, Mitchell & Cooper and Robot Coupe to name just a few.
But Red Cherry is not just about the big brands that everybody has heard of. Our bedrock business is about helping smaller brands break through and become the bigger names of tomorrow.
However, doing marketing is just one part of what we do and it’s an important part. But, where we really have started to make a difference is in colleges focusing on supporting young chefs
The chefs that I originally worked with, like Josh Eggleton and Chris Wicks in Bristol had found that they weren’t recruiting enough young chefs for their businesses and didn’t seem to be communicating in the best way with catering colleges. So for me it was all about oiling those wheels of communication. With my marketing, advertising and sponsorship background, I saw the commercial opportunities of inviting industry brands to these quarterly meetings with chefs and colleges. It gained its own momentum from there.
We work formally with colleges themselves to give their students work experience
We give the students work experience by preparing and serving food at our various industry events – This reached a peak of forty per year before the pandemic.
We then invite the chefs that we are working with at those events back into the colleges to teach them. It becomes part of the colleges formal curriculum enrichment programme and we pay the chefs as guest lecturers for this, as we appreciate they are taking time out of their restaurant – mostly on their days off. We can then ask them to teach in multiple colleges and we now have six academies nationally. There is a big emphasis on employer engagement as part of the national curriculum this helps a lot.
2016 saw the launch of the first Chefs’ Forum Academy at Weston College… we now have six Chefs’ Forum Academies with another three set to launch this year -Our plan is to have a Chefs’ Forum Academy in every region of the UK.
Every teaching Monday or Tuesday of the academic year, we have chefs and industry experts within a two-hour radius into a college we work with. We are bringing in Michelin starred chefs, pastry chefs, game keepers, chocolatiers, costermongers, butchers, and fishmongers. They talk about best practice, husbandry and management as well as teaching culinary skills.
We are seeing a lot of colleges having to cut catering as a subject because it’s expensive to run as opposed to tourism or business studies which is cheaper as there is no equipment involved. We have seen colleges with so much old equipment and ovens. We then have to help out with brands that work with us to give them equipment that may have previously been used in demos or exhibitions. There definitely needs to be more funding. We also work with schools to try to get them think about catering or hospitality as a career.
In 2019, James Martin, Simon Wood, Lisa Goodwin-Allen and Andrew Nutter helped us launch our Manchester chapter at The Manchester College and our Academy there is now in its third year.
Overall it’s been an incredible ten years but during lockdown we began a new chapter of producing our very own publications and to do this I sought out Chandos Elletson, one of the original founders of Restaurant Magazine and The World’s 50 best Restaurants to help us create original content and we have got off to a flying start. We published The Great Game Guide and the Wild Alaska Seafood Guide in 2021, 2022 will see the launch of The Chefs’ Knowledge – A new culinary repertoire.
The new team has swelled with the addition of Lee Yarlett, Alice Kamara and Alicia Kember and we produce everything we do in-house. I’m very proud of the team we have assembled. You need to be a special sort of person to work within The Chefs’ Forum as we are often making quite big asks of brands or chefs.
So you need to be resilient and tenacious and have very thick skins. We are often told no, or asked to do “impossible” things but our hard work and determination when it pays off is very fulfilling.
My belief for the next ten years is undiminished. Aim for the sky as there are no limits. You get out what you put in for most careers. You also really have to believe in yourself and take opportunities as they arise. If you over-think things too much you can often miss out on an opportunity by being scared it won’t work – so jump at a chance and don’t be afraid of failures or things going wrong.
Take a look at the film of our tenth birthday celebration at Dakota Hotel in Manchester to see exactly why we love what we do.
Here’s to another ten years of curriculum enrichment, coupled with market-leading employer and brand engagement.
Patience is Key to Buying a Restaurant
Chef Andrew Birch, along with his wife Rachel, have taken the plunge that so many chef couples have taken in the past and committed themselves to a future as patrons of a rural restaurant.
Together they’ve bought the old Checkers restaurant in Montgomery in Powys, Wales, that was run successfully for many years by husband and wife team Sarah Francis and Stéphane Borie and Sarah’s sister Kathryn. They were collectively known as The Frenchman and Famers’ Daughters.
“I fell in love with Montgomery when I was in Powys researching for Great British Menu,” Birch told The Chefs’ Forum. “The restaurant had been up for sale since 2017 and the price had come down low enough for us to be able to put in a bid. We were successful but it came with a catch. It was late 2020 and the previous owners had just signed a letting agreement for holiday lets for an extra year. The last tenants move out on Monday and that’s when we move in.
“It’s been a long process but we’re excited and looking forward to being our own bosses. It’s funny but we are very similar to Stéphane and Sarah. My wife was a working pastry chef like Sarah and we both have young children. Also, our planned opening date of the 11th March is the exact same day they opened back in 2011. We are going to keep the same name. It has a history and a good reputation we hope to keep going.
“We’ve reduced the size of the restaurant dropping from 50 to 30 but will keep the same emphasis on local and excellent but we want to keep the same informality even though fine dining is still what we want to focus on.”
Birch’s last job was at The Savoy Grill for Gordon Ramsay having previously been exec chef at a string of high-profile country house hotels.
“My friend Matt Worswick, the exec chef at The Savoy Grill, knew I was going to be open The Checkers and he knew that I was having to be patient. With all the staff shortages going on he got me in to work for 6-8 months.
“Everyone, including Gordon Ramsay, knew I was only going to be there a short time, but they couldn’t have been kinder. Gordon asked what he could do to help, and in the end, introduced me to a whole host of advisors. I’m very grateful to him and Matt.
“The Savoy Grill is a very busy restaurant and it was a pleasure to work there and learn about the operation. However, after many years in a management position I am looking forward to getting back to the cooking that I love.”
Andrew Birch spoke to Chandos Elletson, The Chefs’ Forum Editor.
Keeping a Positive Mindset in the Dark Hours of Cancer
Pastry chef Lucy Thompson was horrified to discover the return on her breast cancer last summer. She had every reason to believe that her first brush with the disease was over and she was in remission. However, a lump in the same area became a huge worry that the whole saga was to begin again. Before she knew it she had had to find the positive mindset that enabled her to overcome everything the first time round.
“It was very frightening,” she told The Chefs’ Forum. “I thought I was free but then I had to deal with it again. I was lucky that I had remained in contact with the MacMillan nurse from the hospital and she got me back into hospital to get checked out. I was on chemo a month later and now, six months in, I am almost through it.
“My second experience has been very different. The first time round the chemo was not as harsh and I was able to keep working at Ashridge House near Berkhamstead where I am a pastry chef. Being able to create and be with my colleagues really helped me to keep my spirits up. It enabled me to not let the cancer take me over and dominate my life.
“I knew this time that I could draw on that experience and one way I know I can help others to cope is by passing on this advice: don’t let the cancer own you. This time the chemo I have had has been much stronger and I haven’t been able to work. My work have been incredibly supportive both times and that has meant a lot to me. So, now, even if I don’t feel like it I will put on make-up and a nice outfit because it makes me feel better.
“I am hoping to be back at work soon doing the chocolate work I so enjoy and would like to help as many people in the profession and beyond to cope with the adversity that serious illnesses heap upon you when you least expect it. I am almost through the chemo and all that remains will be a small amount of surgery to remove any remaining cancer cells. I feel very lucky.”
Having just launched a Chefs’ Forum Academy at Central Bedfordshire College, we have invited Lucy to teach students pastry once she recovers and she is very much looking forward to sharing her fantastic knowledge and skills.
Here is some of Lucy’s work:
The Chefs’ Forum is here to support chefs in any element of their professional lives and encourage anyone who may be worried about anything to get in touch as were always here to listen, talk and help.
New Business Focus – Proving that Bread is the Essence of a Community
We welcome Arisaig Bread Shed to The Chefs’ Forum Community. Opened during lockdown in the small village of Arisaig in North West Scotland – you can see the isles of Eigg, Rum and Skye from the village – the new bakery business, run by husband and wife Aubrey and Chris Bradford, is thriving on a very simple premise and looking forward to an exciting year.
“Lockdown made us,” explained Audrey. “We were able to refine our primary purpose which is making sure that there is always bread for the community. We bake twice a week and deliver it ourselves running our business on Facebook and Instagram.
“We’ve found that there is real demand for good bread and our local residents love it. We opened up in Arisaig about 18months ago and learned the hard way. My husband Chris has been making the bread by hand (I make the pastries) and we’ve only just got our first mixer! So he’s thrilled.
“It has been a labour of love but our bread and our mad pizza van has been so well received. We both did courses at The School of Artisan food near Nottingham when we were living down there. We don’t come from hospitality. I was a manager in the NHS.
“The menu is simple and our bread has got better and better the more we make it; Good sourdough, croissants, seasonal pastries and now a pizza delivery. This year we will start to add some value in the summer when the tourist influx starts. We want to do bakery delivery boxes and picnics for boats and walkers.
“There is so much love in a local bakery and I’ve really started to appreciate that the term artisan really means something. It’s a craft and the more you work it the more you learn. What we do no compared to what we did at the start is miles apart but that’s the joy of it.”
Bread is a huge part of the dining experience in our restaurants, always served as an entrée to fine dining experiences.
There is ever-increasing demand for bread recipes to be taught in our Chefs’ Forum Academies.
It is fantastic that Audrey got in touch and told us about her fantastic business born in lockdown – We would like to wish her the very best and look forward to inviting her and Chris to our next Scottish Chefs’ Forum event.
Audrey Bradford talked to Chandos Elletson, The Chefs’ Forum Editor.
The Chefs’ Forum Nominated for Game Educator Award
The subject of game is huge and at The Chefs’ Forum we are champions of education. So, our recent nomination for an award at The Game Awards has got us buzzing. Our whole mission is not only to raise awareness of game on menus and in restaurants but also to educate chefs, schools and members of the public on why game is such a big deal.
We do this in a number of ways. First of all we start at the root and have published The Great Game Guide – A national guide to the best game chefs available to buy here.
Why not head over to our sister website and see what we’ve been up to? Visit site here.
We have been on highland estates learning about deer management, we work with deer butchers and deer managers. We’ve been on shoots to learn about grouse, partridge, pheasant and wild birds. And we’ve done the same with wild boar.
We work with chefs all over the country to discover how they take the raw product and turn it into exquisite dishes for everyone to enjoy. But there is so much more work to be done.
We know that wild deer is out of control in certain areas of the UK and something similar is happening with populations of wild boar around the Forest of Dean. It is extremely important that this message gets out. We need to be eating and working with as much wild deer and boar as possible to keep numbers under control.
There is a great movement going on to begin the task of rewilding farmland. This is an important initiative but it is crucial that deer numbers are kept low for if they are not then rewilding will be a whole lot harder because wild deer eat the shoots of young trees and plants – the very things we need to grow taller to counter climate change.
This is just one aspect of education that we are involved in. Add to that our chef education with our work in colleges and academies and we have a whole canvas of work underway to promote game to a wider and more diverse audience.
A recent conversation with top chef Cyrus Todiwala sums it up:
“It’s easy to forget that Indian chefs know much more about game than British -born chefs,” he told us. “That’s because it has been hunted and cooked in India for thousands of years. We know how to cook it, how to spice it and how to enjoy it. Game goes beautifully with spice.”
So, if you are planning on voting in the Eat Game Awards, we’d really appreciate your vote as Best Game Educator!
For more information on the awards click here.
Chefs Wanted to Review Paul Rankin’s Upcoming Taste of Japan TV Series
Getting paid to watch a food show and then discuss it is a job most chefs would love. If that’s you then we invite you to join us on Monday 24th January from 10-11am for a special live event when excerpts from Paul Rankin’s new show will be aired…and we’ll pay you to attend!
The new series entitled Paul Rankin’s Taste of Japan will air on Sky channel Ayozat TV on the 22nd & 23rd January 2022, 12:00-13:30. Due to Covid the chef was unable to physically go to Japan so footage of him preparing dishes that were inspired by the footage (produced by an English-speaking interviewer in Japan) will be included in the programme.
What we need you to do is get involved with reviewing the series and tell us what you make of it and whether you’d be interested in using the Japanese ingredients the future or event visiting Japan on a food tour to meet the producers and soak-up the culture?!
47 Elements is heading-up this project and is delighted to have had the opportunity to work with Chef Rankin on this, he said
“We are proud to showcase some of our national culinary treasures in this series to air on Sky TV next month and are really looking forward to gaining insight into what UK chefs think of the content of the episodes and ingredients showcased. Japanese food is seeing a real upsurge in popularity in London at the moment and there are many exciting new openings launching in the new year.”
Top Chef Brazil winner and Masterchef semifinalist, Luciana Berry is looking forward to opening Mano in London’s Soho at the beginning of January, which is a Brazilian Japanese fusion restaurant, she said
“This series sounds very exciting. Brazil hosts the largest Japanese community outside of Japan and some amazing cuisine has been created as a result. I cannot wait to get a virtual culinary tour of Japan, learning about all of the fantastic ingredients we will showcase at Mano. Our menu is based around sharing a perfect marriage of Japanese techniques, Brazilian flare and delicious ingredients from both countries – What great timing?!”
This is an opportunity to work closely with the Japanese government and influence the sorts of ingredients and customs they are keen to promote in the UK. Your opinion is very valuable at this stage.
The aim of the series is also to raise the profile of Japan and its wonderful food producers to encourage a wider audience to visit and discover enchanting food and culture of this amazing country.
The show features 6 episodes. Each episode is 30 minutes but only excerpts will be screened during the live event.
The episodes are as follows:
Title: Paul Rankin’s Taste of Japan
Episode 1. Wagyu Beef
This episode is all about Japanese Wagyu beef. Clara is in Japan to try it for herself starting with the world-famous Kobe beef as well as the lesser known Iga. She’s tasting it, learning the history and finding out just what makes it so special. In the kitchen, Paul is celebrating British Wagyu with two incredible dishes; Tataki with Mustard Miso Sauce and Wagyu Steak with Asparagus, Shitake mushrooms and a duo of dipping sauces.
Episode 2. Kyoto Old and New
We’re exploring the culinary offerings of Kyoto, once the capital of Japan, now it’s considered the cultural centre of the country and Clara is discovering that there is no shortage of incredible food. From traditional multi-course kaiseki dining at a Michelin starred restaurant to rough and ready ramen at a top-secret noodle joint. Kyoto is also renowned for its vegetable production so there’s a visit to a local farmer who grows 150 varieties for the regions’ top chefs. Back in the kitchen Paul is celebrating vegetables with his Veggie Open Sushi and he’s revealing his recipe for the perfect Teriyaki Salmon Bento Box.
Episode 3. Sake and Seafood
Paul is cooking with some incredible seafood and delicious sake in this celebration of Japanese cuisine. On the menu are Miso Grilled Cod with Pickled Cucumber Salad and Savoury Custard with Dashi and Shrimp. Clara is getting stuck into some sake with a visit to not one, but two breweries, travelling between two of Japan’s main islands, Honshu and Hokkaido to learn how it’s made and get a taste of the very best, she’s also sampling perhaps one of Japan’s most famous dishes, sushi.
Episode４Street Food Updates
New street food is always being born in Japan. This time, a new style of Japanese-style curry (katsu curry), which is also popular in the UK, “Vegan Soup Curry” in Hokkaido. In Sapporo, Clara discovers a new style of ramen, “Kani Miso Ramen”, and “Soup-less Spicy Noodle” in Hiroshima, highly addictive. Paul is inspired by it.
Episode５Kobe‘s Challenge
Kobe is working on the SDGs throughout the town and is particularly focused on the field of food. Craft beer makers not only make beer for local production and local consumption, but also use the remaining malt squeezed from beer as bread ingredients and hops to improve the soil. Vegetable farmer makes special vegetables according to the needs of chefs in Kobe City. In addition, travelers can experience harvesting seasonal fruits, grapes, pears, peaches, etc., and there are cafes where you can buy kobe vegetables and eat them. This time, try strawberry picking. Paul also thought about cooking with sdgs in mind.
Episode６Tokyo Rediscovery
Tokyo is well-known as there are so many famous restaurants. Media often features Traditional ones but Clara introduces two hideaway and unique izakaya in residential areas. One is a restaurant that combines Japanese sake and Western food, bread dishes. The other is a greengrocer in the daytime and change to Izakaya at night. Finally, Clara would like to introduce a French restaurant. Travelers sometimes miss their food from hometown. It is a bistro of French chef who won over iron chef. Paul also challenges the izakaya menu.
To sign-up please email alicia@redcherry.uk.com We look forward to seeing you.
Marrying 1950’s St Tropez with Brazilian Brilliance
Restaurateurs Romain Fargette and Alexis Collette are set to open at new restaurant in London’s Mayfair at the beginning of January which will combine “the vibrancy of Latin America with the unbridled glamour of 1950’s St Tropez.”
The Chefs’ Forum caught up with Luciana Berry, a Masterchef The Professionals semi finalist, who is overseeing the menu to find out more.
“The menu is based around sharing and is a perfect marriage of Japanese techniques and Brazilian flare and ingredients,” Luciana said. “It’s a very exciting project. We should be open early in the new yea. I’m just putting the finishing touches to the menu now.
“You can expect to see a lot of my favourite dishes such as:
Cured and dried beef with cassava. “Cassava is our potato and we use it in so many ways like cassava chips with wasabi mayo.
Costelao and miso “This is ribs flavoured with a miso glaze.”
Moqueca de camarao “Amazonian river prawns & cashew in a special broth. Really delicious.”
Queijo de Prala, Brazilian beach cheese which has been skewered and glazed.
Bacalhau, I love these. Salted cod croquettes which are really crunchy. What I love about Mano is that there are so many different ideas and ingredients in Brazil than diners in London have never come across before. London is so diverse now that I think that what we are doing will be very exciting and new. A great example is Pudim – a Brazilian creme caramel made with tapioca.
Underneath the hood of the menu is a fusion of Japanese and Brazilian. It’s not widely known but the biggest community of Japanese outside Japan is in Brazil and it’s that community that is so fascinating to me.
“Latin American cuisine is so varied and none more so than Brazil. There are amazing dishes and fantastic ingredients and I am looking forward to exploring all that it has to offer.”
Shutting Up Shop Early
Chances are if you are reading this you have more time on your hands than you imagined in the run up to Christmas.
In an extraordinary run of events more and more restaurants are taking the opportunity to close early and lick their wounds. There is simply so much uncertainty amongst customers and worries that staff will fall ill to continue.
The latest to say goodbye until the New Year is The Clove Club. The World’s Top 50 restaurant (32 and the highest in the UK), run by chef Issac McHale, used instagram to break its news – and has received 1,000 likes in less than 24 hours which sums up the feelings of support that the industry is receiving.
“We tried our best,” the restaurant said. “It is with a heavy heart that we have made the difficult decision to close the restaurant from Friday 17 December until the New Year, re-opening as planned on Friday 7 January. Our final service for this year will be dinner this evening.”
The Clove Club are not alone. Luke Selby, former winner of The Roux Scholarship and chef patron of Evelyn’s Table has done the same along with Barrafina in Drury Lane and Kol in Marylebone.
Tom Kerridge released details of 654 cancellations and Michel Roux Jnr said his daughter Emily had had 300 cancellations at her restaurant Caractere.
This is a difficult time for hospitality. The new Omicron variation has delivered a conundrum for chefs and business owners: close down early or stay open and mop up those remaining customers who want to celebrate.
Are you closing down early? Let us know.
