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The Perfect Partner for Catering Education

The Chefs’ Forum and Neil Rippington are re-writing and re-imagining the culinary repertoire so it reflects skills and not out of date dishes. The result is a landmark partnership between catering colleges, industry and The Chefs’ Forum.

Whether you are a lecturer, restaurateur or chef we want you to get involved in this process. It’s crucial for the future of the chefs profession and of hospitality as a whole.

Here, and in the accompanying film, Neil Rippington explains his process and his plans for the future.

“My project objective is to bring the industry and culinary education closer together. I get frustrated hearing chefs and restauranteurs/hoteliers constantly saying that the curriculum is out of date and the dishes/products/skills and techniques taught in colleges are not fit for purpose. If this is true, and I’m sure it is in many cases, then how will it ever be resolved without some input and collaboration?

“I understand the requirements of publicly funded and approved qualifications and the pressures on teachers/lecturers to complete programmes on time. It is a very lengthy process to write and get approval for a new curriculum as there is a massive amount of government machinery to navigate and it is a nightmare.

“To provide an example of my intentions, I have started the process with a dessert from Luke Frost (Valrhona). Luke has provided his version of the classic ‘Tiramisu’ using a variety of commodities, skills and techniques that make this classic a more contemporary and refined dessert. I will take Luke’s dessert and map it to the relevant units and the commodities, skills and techniques that students must cover in each module, across the UK’s three most widely studied qualifications.

“I intend to get a network of chefs to contribute towards this project and provide an example to colleges, Ofsted and the government that leading figures in the industry care about what is being taught in colleges by demonstrating their contribution and showing how they would approach the requirements of the curriculum, whilst meeting the needs of the contemporary industry. Chickens cut for sauté and into chasseur, sole dugleré, minestrone, tiramisu, etc., may be great dishes that have been around my entire life, but they are not representative of the current industry, and this is the message I am hearing (and have heard for some time!) When looking at the specifications in the handbooks of various qualifications, dishes are rarely mentioned, so there is an element of freedom in terms of how the processes can be used to produce a wide range of dishes and/or products.

“I plan to coordinate a wide range of dishes and products to meet the criteria across the most widely used qualifications. I will complete all the mapping so that lecturers will have fully tested/reliable recipe/dish examples that are specifically tied to the curriculum, designed, and contributed by leading industry figures across the breadth of the industry.

“In my opinion, this must be a good thing for the students, CPD for the lecturers and a bridge, partnership and voice for the industry. I am also going to cover aspects of seasonality, sustainability, produce and supply. An all-round win! It will demonstrate a step in the right direction and provide a positive example to those who say the curriculum is out-of-date and not fit for purpose! If people want to see positive change, why not contribute to solving the problem rather than adding to it?

“I also believe there is much to do in terms of students’ preparation for the workplace from an attitudinal and behavioural perspective, alongside the industry’s wider mentorship and support for young people and new staff when joining their businesses. This is another bridge that needs to be built across many areas of the industry. One step at a time.”

Staff Matter. They Need our Help and Our Care

In an exclusive piece for The Chefs’ Forum restaurateur Mike Robinson shares his thoughts on the problems facing both staff and owner operators.

I’m a restaurateur. I used to be a chef but now I’m much more involved with the creating, running and setting up of restaurants. I currently own and run three restaurants: The Woodsman in Stratford upon Avon, The Elder in Bath and The Forge in Chester. I also own a share of The Harwood Arms in London.

The Covid pandemic was a seismic event for all our restaurants and coupled Brexit a large number of our foreign staff have not returned. We miss them terribly but we have to keep going with the amazing staff we have left.

Along with everybody else in hospitality we are struggling to top up our staff at a time when record numbers of customers are returning to our restaurants expecting everything to be as fantastic as it was. This has presented us with a real problem: unless our staff work longer and longer hours something has to give, or, as a result of putting too much pressure on our staff – our service and food standards drop. That will result in customer frustration and before we know it we’ll be in a hole we can’t out of.

Soon after restaurants reopened after the lockdown Michel Roux Jnr announced that he was not opening Le Gavroche for weekday lunches due to a shortage of staff. I was inspired by that decision. It showed real foresight.

At The Harwood, we agreed to close Monday to Thursday lunch going forward, to both reduce hours and focus staff on quality and service in the remaining services. It became clear pretty quickly that this was going to work well and reduced chef and front of house hours.

After two weeks I replicated this, with local variations, in my other restaurants. The change is noticeable. Weekday lunchtimes post pandemic were busyish, but very little business trade was happening, so average spends were low.

I looked at spends per head and saw that the actual cost on staff welfare and morale, for the business we were doing, was not worth it. It was costing us in ways that were not visible on the ledger. Now, the opposite is true. Spends are up, staff hours are down. As a result we are more profitable on the services we do.

The bad old days need to be gone for good. It’s that simple. We need (and I speak for my own operations here) to keep hours to a level that staff want to work. We find that works to about 48 hours for front of house, and 52-57 for kitchen. If staff want to work less hours, we make that work. A restaurant or hotel is a big family, and whilst there are always tensions, I cannot stand walking into an unhappy restaurant. Happy staff want to give of their best to the customers and they will help us make a profit in doing so. Closing weekday lunches and offering flexible working hours works for us, maybe it could work for others too.

The long term solution is surely to make the industry shine, and make a it a viable career choice that allows staff to combine a healthy home life with a productive work life. I don’t have all the answers – I’m just figuring it out as I go, but I love and care about my staff, and want them to be happy. Walking into laughter and bad jokes is a terrific way to come to work.

The only cure for the staff crisis in the immediate term, however, is make us a really attractive place for our foreign friends to come and work. This Government is, so far, lacking in support for our great industry that employs a huge percentage of our workforce. We need a simple system to offer jobs to non UK workers and have them allowed and welcomed to the UK to work in our industry.

Priti and Boris – if you somehow read this, please help – 3 million voters are looking for your support. Without an entry scheme in the immediate future, I can see the shocking reality of excellent restaurants closing their doors due to a chronic lack of staff. The amazing move by Claire Bosi, of Chef magazine, to drive for a Minister for Hospitality has really raised awareness and done great things, hopefully it will happen. The power of the vote is huge, and I am sure if nothing else the prospect of losing those votes will have an effect.

Long term we need to support initiatives to tempt UK nationals into hospitality as a career, and a great career at that. Truly, hospitality is one of the great meritocracies – it does not care about what a member of staff or recruit has done in the past or how many A levels theyhave. Hospitality only cares about how staff feel, how ambitious they are, how caring and talented. We owners need to look after our staff and nurture and help them with their careers. In return, they will look after us.

Chef Hours Continue to Tumble as Crisis Shortage Bites

It started slowly but the move to reduce chef hours is becoming a reality. More and more establishments have come to accept and realise that the only future they have is a happy one. Fewer chefs are prepared to work the hours they did before for the same money.

And, as a result, smart operators have realised that the best way to keep their staff is to keep them happy and motivated. Sat Bains reduced the number of services before the pandemic. Michel Roux stopped lunch at Le Gavroche once it was over. Simon Wood is planning to cut output to five good services a week and now Mike Robinson will stop serving lunch during the week at his restaurants The Harwood Arms, The Elder and The Woodsman.

There are few who would disagree. The move has been coming for a long time and the old-school attitude of working every hour just for the badge was never going to last. In the 1990’s/ 2000’s there were a generation of chefs schooled in the Marco Pierre White way – exhausted, bedraggled, passionate, brilliant. The mark of a young chef in those days was his or her ambition to master the craft no matter the hours. Back then it was the only way to succeed.

However, times change and with them attitudes and ambitions. American kitchens have known for a long time that the work/life balance is important for motivation and lower staff turnover. Now it’s our turn to come to the same conclusion.

Robinson told The Daily Telegraph’s William Sitwell: “If you are working lunch and dinner 5 days a week then you are exhausted on your two days off.” And this seems to be the nub of it. But, in reality it’s more than that. The exhaustion that chefs are experiencing is not only from the physical work they do but also the mental side of cooking. There is simply too much to learn in too short a time.

Robinson continued: “We want to put the focus on quality and effort in the evening and have longer evening services. Customer satisfaction is higher, our staff are so happy and you’re only ever as good as the people you work with. If we want to get the restaurant industry booming again the one thing we have to do is look after our staff.”

What that means in reality are weeks consisting of 45-55 hours – not 70. That has to be a good thing. Harness that with achievable artisan skills and the restaurant industry will be diverse, happy and strong.

Dart Fresh Foodservice Has Teamed-up with Mitchell & Cooper for a SIZZLING Summer Chef Challenge

Dehydrate the right way this Summer and WIN a FANTASTIC PRIZE worth over £1000!

Simply post a pic of your Signature Summer Plate on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and tag three chef mates to post theirs (along with their place of work).

Make sure you tag @DartFresh and @mitchellcooper on Twitter, or its @dartfreshtrade and @mitchellandcooper on Insta!

Hashtag: #DartFreshSummerChefs

THE PRIZE:

A LUXURY Cheffy hamper of fresh produce and culinary delights – Butchery – Fish –Larder – Seasonal Fruit and Veg – Specialist Ingredients – (£150)
An Excalibur 9 tray dehydrator 9 trays, 15” (380mm) x 15” (380mm) each. Mesh screens are BPA free. 26 Hour Timer lets you set it and forget it. Unit automatically turns off when the set time is complete. Adjustable Thermostat 40°C to 74°C. Range is low enough to preserve active enzymes in fruits and vegetables. Temperature range is also high enough to meet safety standards for dehydrating meat for jerky.

All of this produce is available from Dart Fresh – Seasonal fruit and veg, plus the finest Dartmoor Beef cut on-site in our new, purpose built cutting plant.

The best dishes will be judged by our in-house development chefs for colour, creativity, seasonality and presentation!

Closing date 31^st August, winner announced 3^rd September.

Open to all chefs in Bristol, Bath, Somerset, Devon, Dorset and Cornwall.

It’s ‘all in’ for Bristol Audi as they Headline Sponsor The Great Game Guide

Bristol Audi recognise excellence in product and customer service and that’s exactly why they are proud to sponsor The Great Game Guide. Copies of the new guide, created by the team at The Chefs’ Forum, will be placed in the glove compartment of all new Audi e-tron sales.

Yesterday, (30) July, Head of Business, Steve Smith was presented with the guides, along with a handmade wooden display stand. The guides will be available in the business lounge and in all glove boxes of cars in the Audi e-tron range – Audi’s family of e-tron models are designed for electric adventure or the sustainable everyday.

Comfort and style comes as standard in Audi e-tron. All Audi e-tron models are spacious, versatile, and ready for adventure.

The all new Audi e-tron GT and Audi Q4 are now available to test drive along with the rest of the Audi and e-tron range. Combining electric car efficiency with the legendary performance and aesthetics of Audi Sport, they take their place at the top of their fully-electric line-up.

Be it in the countryside or in the city, the e-tron is ready to take you to all over the UK, sampling wonderful game cookery at the finest eateries all over the country.

Steve Smith, Head of Business at Bristol Audi said

“There is a lot of synergy between sustainability of Audi moving to e-tron vehicles and the sustainability of wild game meat. I really like the glove-box size of the guide and the quality perfect reference guide for anywhere to eat game in the country, whilst enjoying the world class levels of comfort, acceleration and exhilaration on your journey!”

The range that can be covered by the new Audi e-tron make dining anywhere in the country a reality.

Catherine Farinha, Publisher of The Great Game Guide concluded:

“We’re thrilled to have Bristol Audi on board with The Great Game Guide. We share the same values of promoting excellence in customer service. The great restaurants that excel in serving discerning clients understand why customer service and a consistently excellent offer are important.

“In putting together The Great Game Guide we have further recognised the skills of chefs and restaurants throughout the UK to make game the prized menu item it is and to constantly redefine what it stands for.

“These same values are important to businesses like Bristol Audi, who want their sales teams to understand how top restaurants can help them adopt excellence in customer service to match the excellent Audi product range. It’s an ideal partnership for us and aside from the glove compartments of the Audi e-tron models, The guide will also be on display in the business lounge and we’re giving a copy away with every e-tron test drive through Bristol Audi.”

The Chefs’ Forum will be staging a game-centric customer event at Bristol Audi in early 2022 to celebrate the Audi e-tron range, The Great Game Guide and the abundance of top chefs within it cooking award-winning menus with great British game meat.

For more information on Bristol Audi and the range of e-tron models available visit www.monmotors.com/audi

Kricket’s Annual Chef Series Returns with a Bang

World-renowned chefs join the team at Kricket White City throughout September.

Kricket’s Will Bowlby and Rik Campbell are excited for their annual Chef Series in aid of the Apne Aap Women’s Collective (AAWC) to resume this year. With 2020’s plans scuppered due to Covid19, the event returns this September at Kricket Television Centre (White City) with an outstanding line-up of world-renowned chefs: James Cochran, Michel Roux Jr, Andrew Clarke and Selin Kiazim.

A long term charity partner, the Kricket team has raised over £10,000 over the years for AAWC. This year the charity has been indispensable in its work helping Mumbai’s red-light district, an area acutely affected by the global pandemic over the last year. All profit’s for this year’s event will go towards supporting AAWC in the charity’s much needed work.

Collaborating with Will Bowlby in the kitchen, each chef will bring their own unique twist to Kricket’s modern Indian offering. With tickets at £55 per person for a 3-course sharing menu and welcome drink, the events will take place on subsequent Tuesdays in September.

Tuesday 7th September: Kricket x James Cochran

Precision and technicality shine through in James Cochran’s cooking at his own restaurant, 1251, as well as his relaxed vibe and mixed heritage. The Great British Menu regular (and 2018 winner) will work with Will to create an exclusive menu for the night, showcasing Kricket’s culinary philosophy and celebration of Indian food alongside James’ exploratory and creative style. Expect fireworks.

Tuesday 14th September: Kricket x Michel Roux Jr

A man needing no introduction, the Kricket team is honoured to have Michel as part of their series this year. A supporter of Kricket since the early days, Will will work side by side with Michel to pay respect to the dishes of the much lauded Le Gavroche restaurant in a uniquely different context.

Tuesday 21st September: Kricket x Andrew Clarke

An award winning chef, Andrew challenges perceptions with his unique style and respect for the ingredients he champions. A regular with fire cooking and with a preexisting love for the Indian subcontinent Andrew’s involvement in this year’s series is particularly fitting. The menu promises to be bold, exciting and full of theatre.

Tuesday 28th September: Kricket x Selin Kiazim

Chef Patron of the brilliant Oklava in East London and Great British Menu finalist, Selin’s worldly approach to cooking is the perfect fit for Kricket. With the chef’s Turkish/Cypriot roots informing much of her food, there is a natural synergy between Selin and Wills’ cooking. As with the offering at Kricket, Selin chooses to celebrate the cuisine of her heritage within a much more diverse context, never shying away from mixing cuisines or cultures. The event promises to be an explosion of flavour, a culinary guide to blending tastes.

Notes:

Reservations can be made from Tuesday 27th at 9am here: https://kricket.co.uk/guest-chef-series-2021/
Tickets are £55 per person
Any cancellations must be made at least 48 hours prior to the event

About Kricket:

Kricket was founded by university friends Will Bowlby and Rik Campbell in 2015, in the form of a 20-seater shipping container in Pop Brixton. The space came shortly after Rik left his job in finance to focus on the hospitality sector and Will returned from living and working as a Head Chef in India to working under Vivek Singh at London’s Cinnamon Kitchen (City). They joined forces to create their own Indian-inspired restaurant – with Rik leading FOH and Will in the kitchen. The pair opened their first permanent restaurant in Soho in January 2017, earning and retaining a Michelin Bib Gourmand in the first year. In 2018, they opened Kricket Brixton and Kricket Television Centre. The duo are launching their debut bar, SOMA, this September in Soho.

About Apne Aap Women’s Collective (AAWC):

Founded in 1990, AAWC is an anti-trafficking organisation that serves the women in brothel-based prostitution and their children in Asia’s second largest red light district of Kamathipura (Mumbai). By providing members with the tools and resources to create a better quality of life, the charity seeks to empower women who have been trafficked into brothel-based prostitution prevent the cycle of intergenerational prostitution amongst their daughters and prepare their toddlers for formal schooling. As of March 2019, the Collective has served more than 3000 women and children. Alumni have earned vocational skills, Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees and entered respected professions including accountancy, beauty therapy, business process outsourcing, dance, education, hospitality management, luxury cuisine, medical compounding, nursing, photography, retail and social work.

A Sad Loss for The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts & Hospitality

Sara Jayne Stanes, chief executive of The Royal Academy of Culinary Arts (RACA) died on Saturday 24th July aged 75. Known to many for a variety of roles and positions she held she will be remembered mainly for her 15 year management of RACA.

However, there was so much more to Sara Jayne Stanes than just RACA. Her influence stretched right out into hospitality in a way that is hard to measure. She was a trustee of Adopt a School and The Gold Service Scholarship as well as chairman of the Academy of Chocolate which she launched in 2005. She made chocolate a subject of her own and was, unquestionably, one of the leading experts on chocolate in the UK.

Chefs’ Forum Founder Catherine Farinha has fond memories of working with Sara Jayne and has helped orgainse events with her in the past, she said

“I was introduced to Sara Jayne by Harry Murray MBE and invited to meet with her at Lucknam Park, where he is Chairman – I felt very honoured indeed – It was like meeting The Queen of Hospitality. Sara Jayne and I shared the passion of bridging the gap between education and industry for a better future for future generations. We used to chat regularly, usually very early in the morning as a testament to her motivation and tireless passion for the industry. She achieved great things and has left a wonderful legacy that will benefit generations to come. My thoughts and prayers are with her family at this difficult time.”

The Chefs’ Forum’s Director of Education Neil Rippington is an Academician of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts, he said:

“I was deeply saddened to learn of Sara Jayne’s passing. Sara Jayne was a true inspiration and a champion of education, development and issues such as sustainability. I was honoured when Sara Jayne invited me to become an Academician of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts and a member of the Education Committee. Most importantly, I enjoyed Sara Jayne’s company. We shared a love of dogs and, of course, chocolate. Sara Jayne will be deeply missed by everyone, although her legacy will continue through the great work of the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts.”

Brian Turner said: “Her knowledge and appreciation of food, service, wine and chocolate was second to none and her desire to see that this was passed on to future generations through Adopt a School and the Academy’s apprenticeships scheme was something to be seen.”

Gary Hunter, deputy executive principal at Capital City College Group, at Westminster Kingsway College said: “I’m deeply saddened by the news of Sara’s untimely passing. Her founding of the Chef’s Adopt a School and the drive towards the success it has become means that it is one of many legacies she has gifted to the hospitality profession. Her passion and encyclopedic passion for real chocolate prompted her to create the Academy of Chocolate and its subsequent annual awards programme, which we hosted here at Westminster College and I have many treasured memories of emotional debates and conversation with her about this very subject. Generous to a fault with her time and energy, we owe so much to Sara at Westminster for her guidance, inspiration and support. Her visionary stance on culinary education set high standards for us all to meet in the future.”

Sara Jayne will be truly missed and the hospitality industry has been paying tribute to Sara Jayne across social media, showing great love and sad loss for another industry star.

New Students Enjoy a Summer of Industry Masterclasses at The Manchester College

The Manchester College is delighted to have collaborated with the trailblazing Chefs’ Forum Academy to stage a series of industry masterclasses over the summer for prospective students looking to enrol at the college next month.

The sessions will give an insight into careers and courses in Hospitality and Catering, Travel and Tourism, as well as Aviation.

The Chefs’ Forum, national leaders in providing bespoke experiences for the next generation of chefs and hospitality professionals across the UK. The Manchester College are proud to be the only college in the north of the UK to have a Chefs’ Forum Academy at the college, now going into its third year!

This summer, prospective students are offered the privilege of attending a specifically designed summer showcase consisting of various industry experts sharing a wealth of knowledge and experience, via interactive virtual workshops such as:

Live cook along with professional chefs, including TV stars from Masterchef
Cocktail mixology masterclasses with front of house experts
Power 5 motivational personal development
Industry-based first aid scenarios and role play
Customer service and guest experience
Cabin crew masterclass

Each session is designed to engage new applicants throughout the summer months and keep continuing ones in the loop before the September term began. Motivating students, new and existing alike is vital in keeping up the momentum of college life, especially after such a turbulent previous academic year for many learners across the country.

Chloe Graham, Achievement Tutor at the college is coordinating and hosting the sessions with The Chefs’ Forum Academy on behalf of The Manchester College, she said

“These sessions are a great way of maintaining contact with prospective students over the long summer holiday. The transition from school to college or retraining can often be a daunting prospect, so it is fantastic to be able to offer students a taster of what’s to come when they start their courses this September. As the sessions are all virtual, the students can join from the comfort of their own home and enjoy a live Q&A session with the industry experts during each masterclass.”

The Zoom-based seminars have been a wonderful opportunity to begin refilling the imagination of many young people heading into this industry, and an exciting snapshot of what professional hospitality looks like across diverse working establishments.

Chefs’ Forum Founder Catherine Farinha said:

“When I was asked by Manchester College to create a series of short introductions on the variety of careers on offer in hospitality and catering, I realised how important it was to show the sheer diversity of the sector as well as some of the practical things you need to know.

“I enlisted the help many industry experts, including a former senior steward with Virgin Upper Class who will be talking about what it takes to work at a very high level of customer service, which is mirrored in hospitality. Students who are on the Zoom can ask any questions they want – It’s a real showcase of talent and what students can expect from industry on completion of their college courses.

“I also created a class on first aid with a specialist consultant who has been at the sharp end of first aid through many industries. Students can learn what you need to know to be a responder. This sort of knowledge is very valuable in the industry and can add significant value to a CV.”

“The other two classes are on mixology and motivation. We are offering shopping lists for the class on mixology so students can make them at the same time, which is fun. Everything is alcohol free. And in terms of motivation, we are demonstrating how important it is to have the right mind set when setting out in a new direction.

“As in the all the classes and seminars students can ask all the questions they want and get one-on-one feedback from industry professionals. It’s a great thing and we are excited to be making a difference.”

The Chefs’ Forum will continue to run these sessions throughout the summer and students can join as little or as many sessions as they please.

To view the range of sessions and timings click here: https://www.tmc.ac.uk/events/hospitality-catering-and-travel-tourism-aviation-virtual-summer-industry-taster-showcase

West London College Students Help Launch The Great Game Guide at The Game Fair

Four students from West London College enjoyed an experience to remember at The Game Fair.

Organised by The Chefs’ Forum the students helped out during game cookery demonstrations with leading chefs and, later, took centre stage by assisting in the preparation and serving of a VIP garden party for celebrity chef James Martin in the sustainable show garden created by landscaping students from the Warwickshire College Group.

Catherine Farinha, said: “It was great to launch The Great Game Guide and get a load of chefs together who are in the guide as well as invite some students from West London College. They helped the chefs with their demos, assisted with comparing the demos on the microphone whilst getting valuable work experience and, of course, working alongside James Martin. I’m really proud of them.”

Lecturer Robert Carruthers, who was on hand to mentor and guide the students, he said: “This is the first time we’ve been able to take the students out this year. The Chefs’ Forum have been sending chefs in for us but getting out and doing an event like this is really good for them. It helps them to choose a line they might want to go into after they leave college.

“Last year the restaurant wasn’t open, they couldn’t get out on any field trips, couldn’t visit any hotels. This is their first outing and they’re camping and they’re cooking. So, they’ve had a good time.”

The students got the opportunity to work with top chefs on the demo stage, including:

Doug Crampton, Restaurant James Martin
Patrice St Yves, Cirton Vert Catering
Bobby Brown, Bank House
James Goss, King Arms at Rutland
Bod Grffiths, Vale House Kitchen
Tom Westerland, Crockers Henley
David Buchanan, Vanillaism
Hywel Griffith, The Beach House at Oxwich
Johnny Pons, Kingham Ploug
Joshua Hunter, Holland & Holland
Joe Bartlett, Hart Street Tavern
Stuart Banks, Crumplebury Estate

The Chefs’ Forum Academy, now in its third year at West London College serves to bridge the gap between education and industry and offers fantastic opportunities like this to students as they prepare to become industry-ready.

Level three student Keelorna Charles concluded

“I have had so much fun these past few days and really enjoyed the opportunity to cook with and try game meat for the first time. I learnt a great deal about the countryside and the great many wild species of game available. The highlight for me had to be venison – It is such a delicious alternative to beef and so versatile – The chefs’ demonstrations were truly amazing and it was great to be able to share the experience with my course peers and lecturer. I can’t wait to go back and do it all again next year!”

You can purchase your copy of The Great Game Guide HERE.

The Future of Asian Kitchens Seminar in Partnership with Rational

Following on from the success of The Future of Asian Kitchens Seminar Rational will replay the event at 11am and 11.45pm on 29th July. Created in association with The Chefs’ Forum, the seminar was first run on 21st July with Asian restaurateurs, chefs, caterers, kitchen planners and designers getting together to discuss the industry, topics and challenges which were affecting them.

Hosted by The Chefs Forum’s Director of Education, Neil Rippington, the Seminar explored current topics affecting all elements of the Asian culinary sector:

Celebrity Chef Dipna Anand (Brilliant Restaurant) and Lead Panellist Rehan Uddin (Bombay Express) opened the Seminar by talking the delegates through the heavily publicised Natasha’s law which comes into effect this October, specifically for the grab and go and ready meal market. They explained the need to prepare now and get to grips with correctly labelling readymade food. They also discussed Owen’s Law, which is currently the subject of a government petition which calls for restaurants to put all information about allergens in their food on the face of their menu, so customers have full visibility on what they’re ordering.

Dipna said

“We make sure that allergens are visible on our menus in the restaurants – We always have done. They are also listed on the packaging of our ready meals and our spice ranges. We also use an app, which allows customers to set their allergens and diet preferences within it. The dishes match those that are highlighted – This is really helpful in helping us safely navigate allergens.”

The guests then got to see first-hand the connected cooking technology offered by Rational to help them cook their menus quickly and efficiently, lessening the need for a labour-intensive kitchen in the grips of a global chef shortage as industry recovers from being closed due to the pandemic.

Raymond Chu of Grand Village Imperial showcased how he uses cutting-edge technology in his kitchen to cook time-honoured Chinese classics such as Peking duck and braised dishes that would have traditionally been made in a large pot on the stove.

All agreed that Asian cuisine has many healthy menu options and are quite heavily plant-based, therefore bang on trend with current market requirements.

The chefs swapped tips on stock rotation of fresh vegetables, using seasonal varieties and making sure that food waste is kept to a minimum.

Will Bowlby, Head Chef and co-founder of London restaurant Kricket has been shortlisted for Young British Foodies ‘Chef of the Year’ category for two years in a row. After falling in love with Indian food whilst working in Mumbai, he returned to the UK to open his modern Indian restaurant with plenty of British twists, he said

“Sustainability? We shouldn’t event be talking about becoming more sustainable, rather, it should be second nature. The less food miles on produce and energy used, the better it is for the environment.”

Will already has Rational technology in all three of his restaurants and is looking to open a fourth site in Bristol shortly with Deliveroo Editions, which connects growing businesses with hungry customers in brand new areas.

This modern ‘Cloud Kitchen’ phenomenon offered by home delivery giant Deliveroo, allows partners like Kricket to prepare amazing food for their customers – Deliveroo are enabling the most popular foodie brands the opportunity to set up in a new location, with minimal set-up costs. Deliveroo provide the premises, bespoke kitchen, marketing support and growth manager dedicated to help businesses be a successful as possible.

This is the future of Asian Kitchens and a fantastic way of growing a brand in an organic way, without huge set-up costs – Very clever indeed!

The Chefs’ Forum is all about bridging the gap between education and industry, so it was fantastic to hear from the panellists on how they treat their kitchen teams as family, with respect to make them want to stay for the long haul.

Munayum, Chef Patron of Raja Monkey in Birmingham said

“I say to all my chefs that if they treat my business with the level of care as if it were there one, then I will treat them as my family.”

Roux Scholarship finalist and progressive Indian Cuisine chef Arbinder Duggal echoed this sentiment and stressed the importance of ensuring that abuse or bullying is never tolerated in the professional kitchen.

Staffing is a huge problem at the moment, so the delegates were delighted to learn that they could introduce technology into their kitchens that could be managed remotely via an app on their mobile phones to keep an eye on their cooking processes when not at the restaurant.

The next generation and training British chefs to cook Asian food was overwhelmingly emphasised as being of critical importance.

Neil Rippington said:

“The Chefs Forum’s Future of Asian Kitchens Seminar examined all issues listed in the points above, alongside others, in a wide-ranging analysis of the Asian restaurant sector and the challenges it faces.

“Today we all agreed that here must be a new way of thinking in terms of waste reduction, sustainability and technology, at the same time as respecting time-honoured recipes and cooking styles. I am delighted with the insight gleaned from today’s event and look forward to staging a follow-up event for the Asian restaurant sector very soon.”

This was the third in a series of sector specific seminars in association with The Chefs’ Forum to gain valuable market insight to fine-tune Rational’s approach to servicing stakeholders, tailor-made to their individual requirements.

Adam Knights, Marketing Director, Rational UK concluded,

“Rational is the Chef’s company and as such we strive to understand the many modern challenges facing hospitality, to provide efficient solutions via our cooking systems, training, and support. We partnered with Rehan Uddin, founder of the Asian Restaurant Owners Network to produce our first Expert Chef online webinar showcasing how Rational cooking systems have supported Rehan in achieving his progressive kitchen goals. Our hope is that the Future of Asian Kitchens seminar inspired all participants today, providing new ideas to the challenges everyone is currently facing.”

Rehan was delighted to be support Rational and The Chefs’ Forum as lead panellist in this event to bring together progressive Asian chefs and current ambassadors of modern Asian cuisine.

He said:

“At my restaurant, Bombay Express in Torquay, it’s all about reducing the need for manual labour intensity and increasing speed, consistency and output. Having adopted the latest iKitchen technology from Rational in my restaurant, I can wholeheartedly say that it delivers top-end precision cooking in record time. This has reduced the need for a large kitchen team and that has helped me overcome the current staff shortage.”