Staff Shortages Force Michel Roux Jnr to Stop Serving Lunch

As the search for staff hots up one of the biggest names in the industry has taken the decision to stop serving lunch from June 14th until further notice. Rather than overwork what staff the restaurant the decision means that dinner service can continue to be served with a high level of detail and professionalism.

Making the announcement on Instagram Michel Roux Jnr said:

“As you are all more than aware, the past year has sadly taken a great toll on the hospitality industry, but with restaurants finally being allowed to re-open to everybody’s relief there is still a trickle effect of major problems affecting our industry, in this instance, staffing.

“Since opening, restaurants up and down the country have suffered greatly with staffing problems partly due to new Brexit regulations as well as there now being a major lack of well-trained hospitality professionals since the pandemic struck. Whilst we have been working our hardest to resolve this issue over the last couple of months, Le Gavroche is sadly understaffed for the time being.

“Whilst it is incredibly frustrating and painful to report this, we have decided to open for dinner only from 5pm starting from June 14th until further notice. The alternative at this point would be to essentially overwork our existing staff which we are not prepared to do as I’m sure you can understand. Our staff wellbeing is of utmost importance to us both mentally and physically and we work hard each and every service to ensure our standards are at the absolute highest of culinary excellence.

Humane Shellfish Restaurant to Open in Paignton Next Month

A new, quayside ‘Crab-Shack-style’ dining concept in Devon aims to become the first of its kind in the UK to use humane methods to kill or dispatch shellfish prior to cooking.

The Crab & Hammer is a new restaurant owned and operated by The Blue Sea Food Company and will celebrate the amazing bounty of Devon’s coast by offering an unrivalled menu of shellfish, pot caught by a couple of crabbers owned by the business owners as well as 12 local day boats fishing out of Kingswear and Salcombe.

From July 12^th, locals and visitors will be able to soak up the majestic beauty of Torbay, taking in the busy comings and goings of a working harbour and celebrate spectacular local seafood on the glorious Paignton harbour, whilst looking over the bay towards Torquay.

Chef John Paul Medhurst will be heading-up the kitchen at Crab and Hammer, he is delighted to be joining the team and is a real fan of the Torbay area, he said

“Provenance is paramount, which is why I’m delighted to be involved with the Crab and Hammer. We have our own Crustastun crab stunner, to humanely dispatch crustaceans prior to cooking, which sets us apart from anywhere I know. I could put empty plates on the tables and just wait for the crab to walk through the door. In terms of what’s ethical, the bar has been raised.  I’m really looking forward to welcoming guests to what will be a must-visit dining destination with sustainability and humanity at its core.”

Blue Sea Food Managing Director David Markham said:

“There is a great deal of press at the moment about the environmental impact of fishing and indeed the sentience and welfare of seafood. Our aim with Crab and Hammer is to offer the freshest possible seafood, cooked extremely well in a welcoming and casual environment. We are delighted John Paul is on board and look forward to putting Paignton firmly on the foodie map.”

Jack Clarke, Sustainable Seafood Advocate at Marine Conservation Society (MCS) and Publisher of The Good Fish Guide concluded

“We welcome Blue Sea’s efforts to improve the sustainability of their products. We look forward to working together, toward more sustainable crab fishing.”

Crab & Hammer will open in early July, taking bookings from the 12th after a week of soft openings.

Signature dishes will include: Hot and cold seafood feast served hot or cold with Singapore chili sauce, Cajun sauce or as nature intended, ‘straight-up’!

Another special will be the crab bahn mi – our take of the South East Asian classic baguette inspired from David’s time spent in Laos.

Also available; oysters, classic crab and lobster rolls, crab cocktail / salad as well as an epic burger and several delicious vegetarian options including a burrata salad.

Covers: 50 seats inside and 30 outside, so plenty of space, whatever the weather!

Open from 7am to 11pm for Breakfast, lunch and dinner. There will also be a take away menu.

www.crabandhammer.co.uk

The Staff Canteen is Proud to Introduce Hospitality Rewards

The Staff Canteen is proud to introduce Hospitality Rewards, a brand new benefits and rewards platform for hospitality professionals.

Powered by The Staff Canteen, the online platform and app offers a range of benefits for industry workers, with discounts and offers on everything from food and drink, outings to health and wellbeing from an array of sought-after brands. These include FitBit, KitchenAid, Lucky Saint, Vue Cinema, and more.

Additionally, Hospitality Rewards has access to exclusive deals with hospitality-specific brands, giving you discounts on products like Tog Knives, Falcon Enamelware and Crocs – not to mention discounted access to services such as private accountancy, knife sharpening, health insurance and virtual college courses.

Unlimited access to the website and app are available for as little as £4 a month for individuals and POA for businesses. The app can be found on the App Store and Google Play. For more information and regular updates on the scheme, visit Hospitality Rewards on their social media channels.

On the launch of the rewards platform, Kris Hall at The Burnt Chef Project said: “It’s well documented that providing staff with additional perks helps improve morale and overall wellbeing. Importantly it shows that they are valued within your organisation. Hospitality Rewards is a low cost way of rewarding staff and The Burnt Chef Project is pleased to be able to work with them in improving cultures within hospitality.”

Founder of The Staff Canteen, Mark Morris added: “I’ve been in hospitality for longer than I care to remember, this has been the toughest year the industry has ever faced. I’m proud to be part of the team at The Staff Canteen, and through our partnership with Hospitality Rewards, a platform that will offer the amazing people that make our industry the sector it is. Members will benefit from huge saving on every day items, and equally allow employers the opportunity to invest in their teams, something we feel will be more important than ever going forward.”

The Chefs’ Forum & Rational to Stage Ground-breaking Education Catering Seminar

The Chefs’​ Forum has teamed-up with Rational to stage an Education Catering Seminar on the 23rd June, from 2-4pm.  This free-to-attend event is open to all school catering managers, chefs, kitchen planners and designers- and will serve to address the challenges and opportunities facing this vitally important sector of the catering industry.

Hosted by The Chefs Forum’s Director of Education, Neil Rippington, this ground-breaking event will explore current topics affecting all elements of the Education Catering Sector:

■ Natasha’s Law and allergens – Are you ready?

■ Technology

■ Waste reduction and sustainability

■ Tomorrow’s kitchens

■ The next generation of school chefs

Adam Knights, Marketing Director, Rational UK comments,

“We are looking forward to the education catering seminar and are very grateful to the experts taking part. Working in partnership with The Chefs’ Forum our goal is to provide an ongoing platform for individuals from the education catering sector, who together can make a change for improved education catering standards.”

The Chefs’ Forum Education seminar will look at all issues listed in the points above, alongside others, in a wide-ranging analysis of the sector and the challenges it faces. Education catering needs to adapt and begin to communicate with children and young people in a language they understand. Don’t remove all the fast food, instead, make the fast food healthy. The technology and ingredients are available to make a difference in education catering. The remaining piece of the jigsaw is remembering to identify the customer: the children and young people. They will tell you what they want and how they want it.

It is also time to look in more detail at vending options. By harnessing technology that can produce faster, healthier food, students can access food options at different points rather than ushering everyone down the same line. By addressing such issues, the amount of food waste will naturally start to come down. We have a history of evidence to suggest a ‘one size fits all’ does not work in education catering. There must be a new way of thinking. Everything needed in education catering has already been applied in different commercial locations, from motorway services to complex staff catering operations in large office sites.

As caterers in the education sector, we need to produce food in a healthier, more exciting and appealing way, aligned with food service operations that meet the needs and expectations of our customers.

The panel invited to comment on these topics made up of the following experts:

Phil Rees-Jones – Director of Campus Facilities at Cardiff University and TUCO Ltd Chair

Jacquie Blake – LACA Vice Chair and Commercial Operations Manager, Nottingham City Council

Neil Porter – LACA & Operations Manager BAM Construct UK

Brian Turner CBE – Celebrity Chef and Supporter of Chefs Adopt a School

Holly Charnock – LACA School Chef of the Year and School Chef Sefton Council

Kevin Tombs – RATIONAL UK Limited

Jacquie Blake has worked in the education catering sector for many years.  She is the Vice Chair of LACA, which represents 3,300 organisations providing 3 million lunches in 22,000 schools every day.

She said

“I am delighted that this seminar is taking place and that I have been invited to join the panel.  Natasha’s Law is coming into effect this October and we need to help our chefs and cooks prepare. LACA has produced a free risk assessment tool for caterers, which I will be sign-posting delegates to during the event. We need to look at how kitchens in education are designed and the sort of equipment that chefs are expected to cook on.”

In addition, if we can support project planning in the early stages, then we can help our LACA members reduce their carbon footprint and cut waste. My aim is to help make Nottingham become a carbon neutral city by 2028 and we can only achieve this if all elements of the catering sector are in sync.”

Delegates can register FREE to attend the event on the 23^rd June between 2-4pm by emailing: catherine@redcherry.uk.com

The Chefs’ Forum Education Catering Seminar – Calling All School, College & University Chefs!

Why the Education Seminar is lifting the lid on education catering with hot topics for discussion and a focus on how school, college and university kitchens could look in the future.

Education is one of the toughest nuts to crack when it comes to catering provision. In such a challenging role it is almost impossible to get everything right, and it is set to become even more challenging. Year on year, allergens and complex diets complicate menu development, and with Natasha’s Law coming into effect in October this year, education caterers will be under more pressure to keep all food labelling compliant. With so much to consider, in addition to a vast range of dietary needs and preferences, there is much work to be done.

Education catering, to date, could be likened to that of forcing a square peg into a round hole. Forcing a food regime on children does not work. As Jamie Oliver discovered, even though his campaign to revolutionise school meals was worthy in the extreme, he soon realised that what children wanted to eat, and why, differed considerably to the way he saw it.

Feeding children is hard, full stop! It is not like working in a restaurant where the chef aims to create a balanced menu. A school caterer, for example, caters for large numbers, deploying a small team and a very tight budget. Furthermore, in many case, several of the supporting staff require further training and development.  This is where Rational offers help through its excellent provision in after sales service, including bespoke training sessions and menu development webinars. The aim here is to support education caterers, often working in challenging conditions, to execute exciting, appealing and nutritious menus.

Catering teams are challenged to provide a service for children and young people of different ages with a whole scope of likes and dislikes. At the same time, they also have to consider the social aspects of dining and the challenges of peaks in demand and managing queues. Where do we start? Well, actually, new technology can help to make a difference. By using new technologies, such as combi-ovens and air-fryers, caterers can begin to look at fat reduction whilst still offering a variety of healthy and nutritious menu choices. Innovative cooking suites have revolutionised cooking processes to maximise efficiency whilst producing more consistent foods.

Breakthroughs in clean-label ingredients also help with healthier sugars and plant-based fillers that reduce refined sugar and fat content without affecting mouth-feel. In short, our diverse set of  diners can have their cake and eat it! Dietary trends and lifestyles are also providing opportunities for caterers from the rise of plant-based and vegan diets. Such diets are often less expensive to produce and focus much more on health and wellbeing. One concern to look out for is the nutrient deficient dangers of a vegan diet – especially protein and essential amino acids. However, such concerns are easily overcome with sound planning and the use of the right ingredients. Oats, for example, are protein rich, and tempeh, made from soy, can be cooked in similar ways to mince, produced from meat, to provide a wide range of vegan dishes.

Using nuts in vegan cooking is great source of protein and good for cooking at home, if nobody in the household has an allergy. However, using nuts in education catering, due to the serious impact of nut allergies, has become a serious problem. The aim of the imminent ‘Natasha’s Law’ intends to prevent casualties and serious incidents as an outcome of anaphylactic shock in the future. Caterers will have to work within the parameters of Natasha’s Law to ensure compliance.

The Chefs’ Forum Education seminar will look at all these issues, alongside others, in a wide-ranging analysis of the sector and the challenges it faces. Education catering needs to adapt and begin to communicate with children and young people in a language they understand. Don’t remove all the fast food, instead, make the fast food healthy. The technology and ingredients are available to make a difference in education catering. The remaining piece of the jigsaw is remembering to identify the customer: the children and young people. They will tell you what they want and how they want it.

DISCUSSION TOPICS ON THE SEMINAR:

■ Natasha’s Law and allergens – Are you ready?
■ Technology
■ Waste reduction and sustainability
■ Tomorrow’s kitchens
■ The next generation of school chefs

ON THE PANEL:

Phil Rees-Jones – Director of Campus Facilities at Cardiff University and TUCO Chair

Jacquie Blake – LACA Vice Chair

Neil Porter – LACA & BAM

Brian Turner CBE – Celebrity Chef and Supporter of Chefs Adopt a School

Holly Charnock – LACA School Chef of the Year

Kevin Tombs – RATIONAL

It is also time to look in more detail at vending options. By harnessing technology that can produce faster, healthier food options using forced heat and microwave technology, students can access food options at different points rather than forcing everyone down the same line. By addressing such issues the amount of food waste will naturally start to come down. We have a history of evidence to suggest a ‘one size fits all’ does not work in education catering. There has to be a new way of thinking. Everything needed in education catering has already been applied in different commercial locations, from motorway services to complex staff catering operations in large office sites.

As caterers in the education sector, we need to produce food in a healthier, more exciting and appealing way, aligned with food service operations that meet the needs and expectations of our customers.

To register for this FREE event on WEDNESDAY 23rd JUNE: 14:00-16:00 please email catherine@redcherry.uk.com

Nicholas Balfe is Coming Holm

Nicholas Balfe, chef Patron of Salon in Brixton is heading to the South-West to open a new restaurant, Holm in rural Somerset – an old bank in South Petherton has been remodeled. Balfe is one third of the team than owns Brixton’s Salon and Peckham’s Larry’s and Levan restaurants.

The founding team will comprise Nicholas Balfe, Mark Gurney and Matt Bushnell

The Chefs’ Forum spoke to Nicholas to congratulate him on the new opening and to find out more about why he has chosen Somerset to launch his newest site, he said

“Having spent my early years in Somerset and Dorset, I am extremely passionate about the west country. I’ve been in London for the last sixteen years and now I have a young family, I want them to be at one with the land as I was growing up.  I want to take my children foraging and exploring beautiful natural surroundings offered by lush green countryside and scenery.  I am most excited about the abundance of wonderful local produce that Somerset has to over and have already made plans to visit various producers, who I intend to work with directly.”

Nicholas is also looking forward to working with local catering colleges as part of The Chefs’ Forum Academy, both for his London sites and Holm in the West Country once it launches this Autumn.

The all-day space will comprise 30 indoor seats with an outdoor grill and terrace adding extra capacity. The bank’s old vault will become the wine cellar which will be heavy on biodynamic wines.

Guests and locals can look forward to breakfast dishes like caramelised apple and miso buns or Montgomery cheddar croques. In the evening, dishes like Brixham mussels with lovage, creme fraiche and cider will sit alongside Somerset ex-dairy tartare with pickled mushrooms and cured egg yolk. Or Coal-roasted celeriac with garden brassicas and seaweed bernaise. For dessert Wood-fired plum clafoutis and miso ice cream.

Holm will also serve ciders and perries from local producers along with cocktails and homemade soft drinks using herbs and botanicals picked from the garden.

Dealing with No Shows. The Industry Fights Back

Customers are back in restaurants and life is getting back to normal and, it appears, some things haven’t changed. The issue of the no-show is still apparent and with fewer tables and social distancing is causing real problems.

Andy Witheridge, chef Patron of The Salty Monk in Devon, spoke for a lot of chefs and restaurateurs recently when he said that lockdown had given him an opportunity to reevaluate his life. One of his prime concerns since opening up again has been to look at the whole issue of no show and what to do about it.

“I’m charging a £10 non-refundable booking fee on all bookings,” he told us. “I’m doing this because I am sick of the no-shows. Also, I’m no longer frightened to kick out rude tables in the middle of their evening if they are rude to my staff. It’s a no-nonsense approach because a small amount of people are ruining it for everyone else. Someone has to make a stand.”

A recent survey by  the team at Carbon Free Dining listed the following reasons given by customers for not cancelling a booking they had made:

• 45% don’t cancel because it’s not easy to find cancellation information.
• 27% don’t cancel because they can’t be bothered.
• 18% don’t cancel because the restaurant doesn’t send reminders and they forgot they had a booking.
• 9% don’t cancel because they book several restaurants and decide which they’ll attend nearer to the time.

Liverpool-based Foursquare Group have started their own campaign – #savemyseat – to help businesses cope with the issue by charging a deposit. According to Four Square  the pre-covid figure for no shows was around 1 in every 5 bookings. The aim of the campaign is to help normalise this practice and make deposits a part of table booking.

Where do you stand? Let us know how you are copping with no-shows.

Finalists for The Chefs’ Forum, Young Pastry Chef of the Year Announced

17:00 on Friday 28^th May saw the close of the semi-final for The Chefs’ Forum, Young Pastry Chef of the Year, 2021. Over the Spring bank-holiday weekend, our panel of expert judges marked the entries from twenty semi-finalists, competing from colleges across the UK.

The challenge required the students to produce a chocolate-inspired entremet consisting of at least four layers, using a chosen chocolate from a range of five, carefully selected and supplied by sponsors Valrhona.

The standard of the entries was impressive and the creativity shown by the students was amazing. The consideration of textures and flavours showed great imagination and careful thought in terms of the eating experience.

Chair of judges, Jamie Houghton of Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons and President of the UK Pastry Team said:

“Having looked at all the candidates’ work thoroughly; I was very impressed by the standard of entries. The students have worked hard and it will make for a very interesting final. I’m looking forward to being able to see everyone’s work and tasting their creations at the final.”

Neil Rippington, Director of Education at The Chefs’ Forum said:

“Supporting Jamie and the team of judges over the weekend was a pleasure. I was enthused by the number and standard of entries; it shows what great talent we have in colleges throughout the UK. We want the competition to celebrate this and showcase the career potential in such a creative and rewarding profession.”

After great deliberation and debate, the final eight students were selected to progress to the final, held at West London College on June 15^th.

Congratulations to the finalists:

• Adam Barrett, Doncaster College
• Annie Carter, The Manchester College
• Connor Pogson, Halesowen College
• Holly Jackson, Hopwood Hall College
• Kimberley Nutley, West Suffolk College
• Morgan Upcott, Coleg Gwent
• Taylor-Jade Frendo, The Manchester College
• Unaisa Hussain, Leicester College

The judges were thrilled and inspired by the enthusiasm and dedication shown by the students. The judges commented on how difficult it was to select eight to go through from so many high-quality entries, but this is the nature of competition.

Great thanks and appreciation go out to the judges for their contributions to date and for confirmation of their presence at the final on June 15^th. At the final, the students will be working under time constraints and the judges will taste the finished products, as well as analysing the skills and techniques used.

The Judges

• Jamie Houghton – Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons and President of the UK Pastry Team
• Luke Frost – L’Ecole Valrhona
• Chris Underwood – Belmond Cadogan Hotel
• Thibault Hauchard- Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester
• Michael Quan – Hotel Café Royal
• Daniel Pearse – The Savoy

Catherine Farinha, Director and Founder of The Chefs’ Forum said:

“I am really pleased that the competition has been taken so seriously by the students and the colleges. The take-up was beyond expectation and the quality of the students’ work was outstanding and extremely well thought through. I can’t wait to sample the entremets in person at the final.”

The competition is kindly sponsored and supported by Valrhona, Matfer Bourgeat, Mitchell & Cooper, Oliver Harvey, Angel Refrigeration, Welsh Fine Food Cluster (Calon Wen Dairy), First Choice Produce and Vanillaism.

How’s Your Head Chef?

Mental health is no joking matter. The last year has had a devastating effect on lives, businesses and the minds of everyone in hospitality. If you are in any way struggling to get back to normal it is important to understand that you are not alone.

Please, whatever you do, do not suffer in silence. If you feel anxious, nervous or panicked about returning to work please let us know if there is anything we can do to help. Equally, if you are out of work due to circumstances beyond your control then we are here for you, too.

Feel free to drop us a line or call us for a chat. We are here for you.

Life has its ups and downs. Times of joy and times of sadness. It’s easy to slip into habits and patterns that can be hard to escape from without sharing what your going through. Chances are there’s someone close to you at work who may be going through the same thing but they are keeping it quiet as well.

Our message to all chefs in the wake of mental health awareness week no matter how experienced is this: it’s OK to be not OK. Your mental health is important to the way you function in a team. If you are struggling and you need help, even if you think you don’t, give us a shout.

We’ll do what we can to help you find what you need. It all starts with a chat. We don’t need to know the details but we will certainly listen and help you to find the help you need closer to home.

Hospitality is a community and as a community we all have a duty to care for each other as much as we care for our guests.

School Taster Day at West London College with the Chefs’ Forum Academy

The Chefs’ Forum delivered an interactive School Taster Day on Wednesday 19^th May alongside the staff of our Chefs’ Forum Academy at West London College and accompanied by some of the industry’s leading chefs.

Catherine Farinha, Founder of The Chefs’ Forum, welcomed the students, schools, and all participants to the taster event. Denise Charles, Head of Curriculum for Service Industries at the West London College, introduced the students to the Hospitality and Catering department, providing an overview of course options and outlining the opportunities for students to enrol onto study programmes at a variety of levels.

Tracy Round-Turner, Assistant Principal at the West London College, supplied an insightful video interview, outlining the strength of the partnership between the College and The Chefs’ Forum. Tracy highlighted the many benefits the College has enjoyed as a Chef’s Forum Academy, including the great work that took place during the restrictions imposed by the pandemic.

In advance of the taster day, all students in the schools were provided with samples fresh strawberries, peaches and passion fruit, generously supplied by First Choice Produce, as well as three varieties of single-plantation chocolate supplied by Valrhona. This enabled the students to try the base ingredients featuring in the exciting demonstrations they were about to view.

After the introductions, we headed to the kitchens of ‘The Grill at The Dorchester’ where Head Chef, Tom Booton took us through a delightful creation of his dish, ‘English Strawberries, Posset & Lemon Verbena Ice Cream’. Tom spoke of the importance of high quality, local and seasonal produce. He also mentioned how the considered treatment of fine ingredients can result in beautiful, elegant, yet simple dishes. Tom went on to emphasise that “…in every mouthful, the guest should get a balance of the flavours and textures incorporated into the dish.” The dessert looked stunning and Tom had a very jealous audience as he tucked in to test out his own creation.

We then flew virtually to Dipna Anand, Chef Proprietor of Brilliant Restaurant, author and celebrity chef, to make two highly refreshing inspired cocktails using ‘Passion Fruit Two Ways’. First up, Dipna demonstrated how to make an alcohol-free ‘Passion Fruit Mojito’. We were taken through the origins of the Cuban cocktail, traditionally made from white-rum and ‘muddled’ mint. Dipna used the same processes that would be used to make a traditional Mojito, but omitted the alcohol, replacing it with beautifully sweet and refreshing passion fruit pulp and juice.

For her second drink, Dipna made a Passion Fruit Lassi, a traditional Indian drink made from a natural yoghurt base. Dipna explained that there are many versions of ‘lassi’, some being sweet, others salty or savoury and even spicy. On this occasion, Dipna made a sweet passion fruit lassi, demonstrating how to finish cocktails with simple fruit and herb garnishes to enhance the visual appeal of the drinks to customers. Both drinks looked thirst-quenching and would provide a fresh fruit lift and sparkle at any meal occasion.

After her demonstration, Dipna said:

“It was great to be taking part in the college’s taster day alongside The Chefs’ Forum, who are always so supportive of students pursuing hospitality and catering. Students got a first-hand virtual experience of what to expect on the course and found the session extremely useful and encouraging. I showcased drinks for a change during this event, which went down a storm. It’s satisfying to know that through my skills and words of encouragement during the online session, students are convinced and positive to join our brilliant industry.”

After a quick break, we returned to the kitchens at One Aldwych with Executive Chef, Dominic Teague.

Dominic produced a delicate dish of ‘Poached Peaches and Vanilla Crème Fraiche’. Dominic explained the importance of trying to utilise fruit when it is at its very best in terms of ripeness. This also led to discussing how important it is to consider the condition of fruits when poaching them.

Dominic explained “If fruits are ripe, they will need very little poaching time, perhaps none at all, and maybe best left to macerate and infuse in a flavoured liquid. Fruit that is underripe, however, will need a longer poaching time and perhaps required some additional sugar to add to the sweetness.”

At the end of his demonstration, Dominic went on to say:

“How great to be able to share some knowledge and insight into our wonderful industry, especially as we come out of this unprecedented year. Full credit to The Chefs’ Forum for facilitating this great initiative. I hope the students enjoyed as much as I did.”

The final demonstration was provided by Chef, Laurian Veaudour (Bake Off: The Professionals Winner 2020). Laurian hosted a chocolate tasting of three chocolates from Valrhona, France, one of the world’s leading single-plantation chocolate producers. The students shared their views on which style of chocolate they preferred, while Laurian produced an exquisite Valrhona Chocolate & Hazelnut Brownie with a Chocolate Whipped Ganache.

At the end of his demonstration, Laurian said:

“It was such a pleasure to be a part of the taster day. It is great to be able to inspire the new generation of chefs and bakers around the country, especially with the wonderful produce with can find on our doorstep.”

It’s such a shame we couldn’t try all the dishes and products, however, recipes cards were sent to the schools for everyone to try at their leisure. We hope the taster day inspired the students and teachers to try making the recipes at school or perhaps having a at home!

Maggie Haddad, Careers Coordinator Kensington Aldridge Academy said:

“The event was super insightful, particularly for our Year 10 pupils who are yet to explore their post-16 options. The live and interactive experience (not to mention the edible goodies!) went down incredibly well and has even inspired a couple of our pupils to set up their own food blogs! All round, a great taster event.”

And Zara Sahir-Ahmed, from Brentside High School said:

“The students really enjoyed tasting the food. We would love to see the demonstrations again in person.”

Nearly 100 students from the following 6 schools participated in the taster day with West London College:

• The Green School for Boys,
• Kensington Aldridge Academy
• Belvue College
• Phoenix Academy
• Brentside High School
• Alec Reed Academy