The Michelin Guide in France has Awarded its First Ever Michelin Star to a Vegan Restaurant

ONA in Ares near Bordeaux is the first restaurant to be awarded a star for serving only animal-free products.

Claire Vallee, the owner and chef, said after she’d got the call from Michelin:

‘It felt like I got hit by a train.’

She opened the restaurant in 2016 following a crowdfunding campaign as well as with a loan from a “green” bank: Le Nef.

Before Covid restrictions forced the restaurant to close the menu offered seven dishes on the gourmet menu including favourite combinations of pine, boletus mushroom and sake, or celery, tonka and amber ale.

Vallee said that traditional French banks weren’t interested when she asked for a loan to get started.

‘They said the outlook for veganism and plant-based food was too uncertain,’ she told AFP. Her choice of location for the restaurant in the Arcachon basin on the Atlantic coast was ‘not considered promising enough”

Vallee says she doesn’t hold a grudge, though: ‘Everybody does their job. It shows that nothing is impossible. I did wonder if we were good enough because vegetable-based cooking is difficult and innovative. The most important thing is to enjoy doing it.’

Vallee cited the late Jean-Christian Jury, who ran the Mano Verde restaurant in Berlin as an inspiration.

The Chefs’ Forum Celebrates Huge Success in Virtual CPD Conference!

It was a fantastic event, providing four afternoons of superb content, spread over the last two weeks.  It served as a platform to explore and discuss a variety of highly topical issues, all with the common aim of facilitating college lecturers’ participation in Continuing Professional Development or CPD.

The ninety-five delegates from catering colleges all over the UK were also treated to sample some exceptional produce whilst learning key information and provenance relating to the products, and enjoyed a range of outstanding demonstrations; all of this through a screen and keyboard!

Day one opened with Jamie’s fascinating and highly-skilled demonstration, producing a world-class sugar ribbon, followed by Philli and Chris’ debate on the necessity for business operations to be added to future culinary education curriculum

A highly engaging and entertaining insight to Peter’s world of front of house development and management and Deri’s inspirational story of his sustainable and ethical restaurant ‘The Warren’, followed, providing excellent examples of contemporary approaches to restaurant management. This also explored the development of a business’s culture, the importance of staff sharing the vision as well as issues around social responsibility.

Headline sponsors of the CPD Conference, International Culinary Studio, joined the topical blended learning session to demonstrate the use of their blended learning solution. Ingrid and Cheryl would be very pleased to spend more time with colleagues to fully introduce the system and how this can be tailored and white-labelled to a college’s bespoke requirements. If you haven’t already, please get in contact to arrange an appointment to further explore the potential of this exciting platform.

Rounding up the first week, Biju indulged us with an outstanding demonstration of his ‘Brio-Mac-Cookie’, leaving us all drooling! You could ‘virtually’ taste its deliciousness! it was a fascinating opening two days.

Week two was equally inspiring. We tasted and explored the ethical sourcing, characteristics, and versatility of macadamia nuts with Andrew and his family at Nutcellars. Hayden supported with an excellent demonstration and recipe utilising macadamia, also featuring the outstanding venison, supplied by Curtis Pitts.

Neil Rippington was joined by my ex-colleague, Jody Seaton (Director of Learning Support/Maths and English) to examine the challenges of embedding maths and English into the hospitality/culinary curriculum. The development of a planning tool was investigated alongside examples of tools and activities to embed the subject. This is another area where it is important to share best practice and Neil believes that we could dedicate a full day to explore the subject further.

On the final day of the conference, Honey Sommelier, Sarah Wyndham Lewis, introduced us to the properties of raw artisan honey, its production, flavour profiles and an intuitive tasting masterclass. Paul (Koppert Cress) delivered a session exploring the unique flavour profiles, medical benefits and innovative uses of cresses and leaves in products and recipes. Hayden and I explored ways in which industry and education can work more closely together to develop future curriculum. I think this session created great debate and scope for further investigation, but also the reassurance of great examples of chefs/industry and education currently working together. However, the evolvement of the curriculum remains a challenging and diverse issue to take forward.

To draw the curtain on the conference, Curtis provided us with a masterclass in game in which he broke down a carcass of venison, alongside a discussion on responsible sourcing with Annette Woolcock from Taste of Game. Curtis amazed and inspired us with his passion, knowledge and skill. It was a brilliant end to the conference programme.

Huge thanks go out to all the guest speakers for their highly skilled and knowledgeable contributions. In challenging circumstances, they all did a magnificent job and the enthusiasm for the subjects discussed was as uplifting as it was reassuring.

Having received overwhelmingly positive feedback from the Conference Delegates, The Chefs’ Forum is now staging three, more in-depth CPD events in Game Butchery, Front of House Skills and Chocolate.  Full details will be released next week.

In the meantime, should you require any further information on how to get involved in future CPD events, please email neil@redcherry.uk.com

Mitchell & Cooper Left Deeply Saddened by Death of Bonzer Lead Can Opener Technician

The team at family-run barware and kitchen equipment manufacturers, Mitchell & Cooper, have been left shocked and saddened by the loss of Elliot Eastwood who tragically and suddenly passed-away on Monday (25^th) January.

Long-term staff member Elliot tragically passed-away leaving colleagues in shock at the Uckfield factory as only Monday morning he had opened up and worked as usual.

Elliot died at just 46 years old, leaving behind his loving partner Vanessa, who he met at Mitchell & Cooper.

Having worked for Mitchell & Cooper for 25 years, Elliot was a very much valued member of the family business – always the first person to arrive and the last to lock-up.

Elliot joined the company at the age of 21 as a junior technician and continued to evolve his skills, working hard to become a respected and talented Senior Cell Leader specialising in manufacturing the hugely popular range of Bonzer benchtop can openers.

He lived a stone’s throw from the factory and if any alarms were to ever sound, he was the first on site with the keys to make sure everyone was safe.

Elliot absolutely loved music, a Super fan of Iron Maiden, his passion for cooking often included too many hot chillies for the usual pallet to handle and he had a quirky hobby of collecting traditional barber shaving brushes and razors sets! 

He is described by Director Kat Cooper as “incredibly loyal and one of the hardest workers in the company and probably hand-built most of the Bonzer Can Openers out there in professional kitchens today”, “a true gent” and will be sadly missed as a colleague and friend.

Kat’s brother and Co-Director, Guy Cooper concluded

“We are all very much in shock and saddened by the news of Elliot’s passing.  He was one of the most long-standing team members and his commitment, passion and care for the Bonzer product range shone through every day.  We will always remember him singing along to the radio while working and he will be truly missed.”

The Michelin Results are Announced!

London adds two new Michelin 3 Star Restaurants and two new 2 Stars!

Despite being closed for the majority of 2020 Michelin have managed to create a guide for 2021 with two big winners in London grabbing the headlines.

Hélène Darroze at the Connaught and Core by Clare Smyth have been elevated to the elite status of 3 Michelin stars in the guide with A Wong, Da Terra and Restaurant Story climbing up to two star status.

In other parts of the guide there is a new category – The Green Star – which rewards restaurants with green and sustainable credentials. Notable inclusions in this are The Black Swan at Oldstead and Le Manoir aux Quatr’Saison.

The Chefs’ Forum would like to congratulate all brigades and chefs who won and retained their Michelin stars!

Check out the list below:

Three stars

• Hélène Darroze at the Connaught, London
• Core by Clare Smyth, London

Two stars

• A Wong, London
• Da Terra, London
• Restaurant Story, London

One star

• Osip, Bruton, Somerset
• Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall, North Yorkshire
• Dede, Baltimore, Cork
• Muse, Belgravia, London
• Latymer, Bagshot, Surrey
• Hide and Fox, Saltwood, Kent
• Behind, London
• Cail Bruich, Glasgow
• Roots, York
• Restaurant Hjem, Hexham, Northumberland
• Cornerstone, Hackney, London
• Davies and Brook, London
• Outlaw’s New Road, Port Isaac, Cornwall
• Benares, London
• Casa Fofo, London
• Pea Porridge, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
• Sola, Soho, London

Green stars

• The Black Swan at Oldstead, York
• Angela’s, Margate, Kent
• Belmond Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons, New Milton, Oxfordshire
• Coombeshead Farm, Lewannick, Cornwall
• Daylesford Organic Farm, Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire
• Inis Meáin, Aran Islands
• Inver, Strachur, Argyll and Bute
• Kai, Galway
• L’Enclume, Cartmel, Cumbria
• Loam, Galway
• New Yard, Helston, Cornwall
• Oxo Tower Brasserie, Southwark, London
• Henry Robertson at Palé Hall, Llandderfel, Gwynedd
• Petersham Nurseries Café, Richmond, London
• Restaurant Sat Bains, Nottingham
• River Cottage Kitchen, Axminster, Devon
• Silo, Hackney, London
• The Dining Room at Whatley Manor, Malmesbury, Wiltshire
• The Small Holding, Kilndown, Kent
• Where the Light Gets In, Stockport
• The Ethicurean, Wrington, Bristol
• Hypha, Chester
• Tredwells, Strand and Covent Garden, London

Deletions

• The Greenhouse, Mayfair, London (closed)
• Umu, Mayfair, London (demoted to one star)
• Ledbury, North Kensington, London (closed)
• Restaurant Nathan Outlaw, Port Isaac, Cornwall (closed) reopened as Outlaws New Road, awarded one star
• Alyn Williams at the Westbury, Mayfair, London (closed)
• The Square, Mayfair, London (closed)
• Roganic, Regent’s Park and Marylebone, London (closed)
• Texture, Regent’s Park and Marylebone (closed)
• Social Eating House, Soho, London
• Aquavit, St James’s, London
• Matt Worswick at the Latymer, Bagshot (closed – reopened as Steve Smith at Latymer, awarded one star)
• Wilks, Bristol (closed)
• Pony & Trap, Chew Magna (closed)
• Red Lion Freehouse, East Chisenbury
• Flitch of Bacon, Little Dunmow, Essex
• Oxford Kitchen, Oxford (closed)
• Black Rat, Winchester
• Braidwoods, Dalry, Scotland (closed)
• James Sommerin, Penarth, Wales (closed)
• Mews, Baltimore, Northern Ireland (closed)

Get Active for Lockdown 3.0 with The Burnt Chef Project

Raising money for a text based mental health crisis service for hospitality

The Burnt Chef Project a not-for-profit social enterprise launched back in May 2019 to challenge mental health stigma within hospitality has recently launched their Get Active for Lockdown Challenge to encourage those currently facing a sedentary lifestyle as a result of this new lockdown to get up and moving all in aid of raising money for a hospitality specific mental health crisis line.

An epidemic of epic proportions

In 2017, the NHS reported 1 in 4 Britons will likely suffer from mental health issues during their lifetime. It’s a huge, invisible issue in the UK, but it’s even bigger in hospitality.

We carried out a study among 1,300 foodservice professionals and found that this number is closer to 4 out of 5. It has been well documented by the Office for National Statistics that suicide rates have long been on the rise particularly with males between the ages of 18 – 34.

The most recent data on this we have is before we felt the affects of COVID-19 and as a result we are finding through conversation that mental health is being negatively impacted because of this pandemic.

With that in mind The Burnt Chef Project aims to launch a hospitality specific mental health crisis service which is a free text-based service available 24/7 to those who may feel anxious, stressed, depressed, suicidal or overwhelmed and who need immediate support. A front-line response to help fight this epidemic at its worst.

The service will cost approx. £10k per year to run and we are looking for financial support to help us in our mission to raise enough money to cover the first year of this service at a critical time in our industry. With that The Get Active Lockdown Challenge was born. Details of this can be found below:

The Get Active Lockdown Challenge

It keeps us motivated during this time and encourages us to get active. It’s fairly simple – here’s how it works.

Our challenge is to complete a virtual tour around many of the UK’s Michelin restaurants and raise money for a Burnt Chef crisis line.

To complete it, you can run, walk, cycle, row or do any other distance-based exercise.

Starting at the most northern point in Skye at the Loch Bay Restaurant we will travel virtually through the length of the UK finishing at Paul Ainsworth’s No6 Restaurant in Padstow over the course of 8 weeks.

As a team effort we will cover a total of over 2148 miles (3458 km) over 8 weeks.

We’re looking to raise £10,000 to fund and launch a FREE 24/7 text based service specifically for those who may feel anxious, stressed, depressed, suicidal or overwhelmed and who need immediate support.

The benefits of this service will not only provide vital support and save lives but also allow us to track usage data to enable us to better address the mental health epidemic in hospitality.

Every entrance fee will directly contribute to our goal.

Individuals can track our overall progress via the My Virtual Mission app available on Android and Apple. It also can sync with many of the favourite fitness apps so that distances are updated automatically.

We do this as a team. So, whether you add 1km or 100km it all goes towards our total distance target. It’s all about getting out and about and getting moving whilst raising some money for a vital service.

Pre-registration is already open via: www.theburntchefproject.com/getactive

Who’s Your Valentine? Chefs are Gearing up for a Takeaway Valentine this Year

We’ve been talking to various chefs about their plans for what is traditionally one of the busiest days of the year and how they are adapting to restrictions.

Chef Mo Gherras at The Cross Keys in Sherborne, has created a special at home menu for this year’s valentine’s night and is using a special piece of kit to makes things easier.

The menu, which is for two people, costs £70 including local delivery or £82.50 with wine.

“I’ve kept the menu classical,” he told The Chefs’ Forum. “I’ve gone with the classic combination of cured salmon followed by braised beef and then a chocolate fondant. I’m looking to do around 50 deliveries nearby in the local area and I’ve also done a vegetarian menu to go alongside that.

“The vegetarian menu consists of teriyaki mushrooms followed by semolina and pumpkin gnocchi – and then the chocolate.”

Gherras was keen to add that his Rational Vario Cook Station is a great help in making these kind of evening offerings much simpler.

“It keeps all the cooking in one place and with the ability to cook 50 portions at once I can create a great menu with little fuss. “

Meanwhile, Tom Cenci is offering a delicious three or five-course ‘Ultimate St Valentine’s Feast’ on the Your Fork website.

Tom is inviting you to cook a special St Valentine’s Day feast. Covering either 3 or 5 courses, and available with or without a Your Fork Ingredient Box, Tom’s pre-recorded video will guide you through such culinary delights as cocoa seared onglet, braised cabbage, miso caramel butter (or a vegetarian option of cauliflower cheese pithivier, pickled walnuts and radishes), crispy polenta with truffle mayonnaise & triple chocolate brownie with honey ice cream.

Order the ingredient box to receive a full hamper of all ingredients, a bottle of wine cooking aprons and some extra special St Valentine’s Day treats to make sure that your day is as romantic as possible.

Tom is a real powerhouse of cuisine, cutting his teeth at Cliveden House Hotel & Duck & Waffle, Tom opened his own restaurant, Loyal Tavern in London’s Bermondsey. Most recently he has fronted the kitchen team at Stoney Street in London’s famous Borough Market.

Michelin-starred chef Galton Blackiston of Morston Hall is going with a five-course menu showcasing some of his fantastic Morston Hall Smoked Salmon that he smokes himself in a purpose-built smoking cupboard.

Here’s a film of Galton in action when we visited him earlier this year:

The other fantastic courses on offer include Butternut Squash and Parmesan Velouté, Hand-dived Orkney Scallops, Beef Wellington and Passion Fruit Tart.

Richard Davies at Calcot Hotel and Spa in Tetbury is creating special four course menu around foods deemed to be aphrodisiacs!

According to Richard, Asparagus, Salmon, Chocolate, truffles, nuts and celery all help to set pulses racing and encourage amorous tendencies!

Lisa Goodwin-Allen created a Gourmet Valentines Box that has now sold out.  Northcote offer different menus each week and they are so popular, that they have added the option to be notified when new menus are released.

What are you cooking for Valentines Chefs? Please let us know!

UK Pastry Team Captain Delivers Virtual Masterclass to Pembrokeshire College Students

The Chefs’ Forum Academy at Pembrokeshire College is going from strength to strength.  Current restrictions on chefs coming into the college mean that chefs are filming recipes masterclasses in their kitchens to, so students still get the curriculum sessions that make Pembrokeshire College the number one choice in West Wales for budding young chefs and hospitality professionals.

UK Pastry Team Captain and Pastry Sous at Le Manoir Aux Quat’Saisons in Oxford joined students at Pembrokeshire college via a live video link yesterday to create some stunning pralines.

Jamie was really pleased to have been invited to take the session on chocolate tempering as it is a real passion of his, he said

“Teaching the students how to temper chocolate and make prolines at Pembrokeshire College was really rewarding for me as I remember being really appreciative of chefs coming in to talk to work with me when I was at college.  I found it invigorating to have my tuition enhanced and reinforced by top local chefs from prominent local restaurants.  It also offered us a link into the professional kitchens and I used the masterclasses as an opportunity to secure work experience and trial shifts.”

Due to Covid-19 limitations, the chefs are unable to come into the college and teach the students in person as they normally would as part of The Chefs’ Forum Academy project.  Instead, the chefs have created a fascinating film of their recipe to be shown to the students in a Microsoft Teams call with a recipe card to accompany.

The chefs join the session via a live video link to host a question and answers session with the students where they will be able to quiz the chef on their career, the recipe that has been shown to them and general insight into the industry.  The chefs also give live feedback on the students’ individual versions of the dishes they have created in the film.

This new way of learning sets out to maintain employer engagement and curriculum enrichment while restrictions remain in place.  Once these are lifted, the students can look forward to different chefs and industry experts coming into the college on a weekly basis to teach them in their usual learning environment.

The weekly Chefs’ Forum Academy masterclasses involve various local chefs and front of house professionals from all over the UK, linking up with the college to give a compelling and inspirational course of study throughout the academic year, culminating in work experience opportunities at the participating properties and businesses once students are permitted to participate in such activities again.

The teaching team at the college are delighted to welcome the guest chefs into the college to enrich students’ learning.  Many of whom are participating in The Chefs’ Forum Virtual CPD Conference that is set to continue this week.  Jamie also gave a demonstration in last week’s conference, this time in sugar work.  He was equally happy to be involved with continual professional development for college teaching staff and said

“I really enjoyed giving a demo to the lecturers, it’s good to give the lecturers a different insight to the industry because when you’re in the a college environment, it is really important to update skills and keep in touch with chefs in industry.  CPD sessions with The Chefs’ Forum offer new insights and keep hospitality and catering lecturers up to date with industry trends.  I am still friends with my lecturers in the Colchester Institute and we still chat about what’s new in the industry and current menu trends and techniques.”

Wendy Weber, Head of Health, Childcare and Commercial Enterprise said

“I coordinate The Chefs’ Forum Academy sessions at the college and it’s great that we’ve been able to adapt the way we deliver masterclasses to adhere to current Covid-19 restrictions. We have had to find new ways to deliver our curriculum enrichment sessions to ensure our students are benefitting from the best learning experience possible and having such an inspirational chef as Jamie Houghton, Captain of the UK Pastry Team, teach our students was simply fantastic.  We have been so impressed with the way in which Jamie and all of our teaching chefs have all rallied together to make this work for our students and The Chefs’ Forum Academy.  It just goes to show that they really prioritise inspiring the next generation and the future of our industry.”

The Chefs’ Forum Academy benefits the college, the students and local employers.  It is these relationships that will flourish to galvanise and support the future stars of our hospitality industry – A truly positive step in the right direction in such uncertain times.

All chefs taking part wholeheartedly support The Chefs’ Forum Academy and are looking forward to working with students at West London College as part of The Chefs’ Forum Academy scheme of learning. Other chefs already signed-up to the scheme, creating compelling and inspirational masterclass films and recipe cards to accompany include  Matt Waldron (The Stackpole Inn), Douglas Balish (The Grove at Narberth)Tom Booton (The Dorchester), Dominic Teague (One Aldwych), Lisa Fearne (Y Sied Cookery School), Thomas Leatherbarrow, Chanaka Fernado (Buddha Bar), Gurpreet Dham (The Royal Lancaster), Charlie Taylor (The Westbury) and Peter Fiori (Coutts), Daniel Pearse (The Savoy) and Michael Dutnall (RAF Club)– This list is set to grow considerably as more chefs are allocated teaching dates and confirm their availability.

In normal times, the chefs would come to the college each week and take a three-hour master class to enrich the learning of the students in line with the subjects they are required to learn to achieve their qualification. Pembrokeshire College is the only college in West Wales to be working with The Chefs’ Forum Academy and this makes it an attractive choice for any young person wanting to learn from the very best chefs in the industry.

At the same time as learning new skills, cooking techniques and recipes, the students are forging relationships with the visiting chefs which will help them in their efforts to find work on leaving college as the chefs will already be familiar to them.  Many learners get offered part time work whilst still in college – This served to make them more work-ready and enables them to get work experience whilst studying – A win-win situation for all involved.

The Chefs’ Forum Academy also operates in The Manchester College, Bath College, West London College and Coleg Gwent with further colleges set to adopt this fantastic programme of curriculum enrichment later this year as part of a roll-out strategy lead by Neil Rippington, Educational Consultant at The Chefs’ Forum.

The Chefs’ Forum serves to bridge the gap between education and industry, inspiring young chefs and front-of-house professionals.

Jamie is set to deliver a series of masterclasses to all Chefs’ Forum Academy colleges over the coming weeks and months.

The Chefs’ Forum would like to invite Executive, Head and Pastry Chefs who would like to know more about the project to get in touch.  Any London hospitality employers interested in supporting the college and offering their expertise in teaching as part of The Chefs’ Forum Academy should email The Chefs’ Forum Academy Coordinator: rebecca@redcherry.uk.com

The Chefs’ Forum CPD Conference Goes Completely Online

In a change to the billed CPD Conference 2021 to be broadcasted live from West London College, The Chefs’ Forum had to quickly pivot to take the event completely online as the country was put into lockdown measures once more.

The Chefs’ Forum is delighted to welcome Neil Rippington, former Dean of the College of Food at University College Birmingham, on board to develop our educational offer and grow the estate of Chefs’ Forum Academies currently running in accredited colleges all over the UK, as well as offering hospitality and catering educators the opportunity to participate in regular CPD events throughout the year.

Six fantastic masterclasses have taken place last week, with another six set for Thursday and Friday this week.

Catherine Farinha of The Chefs’ Forum said,

“CPD is an unbelievably important focus and this is evident in the fantastic take-up of the event by ninety-five college lecturers across 17 catering Colleges in the UK and Ireland!

 Research indicates that learning new skills increases job satisfaction and the significance of CPD is that every piece of development enhances a chef’s CV and value. CPD can lead to new opportunities, support career progression and provide the confidence to take on more senior roles. This also applies to all other positions throughout hospitality.

With this in mind, Neil and I have put together a programme of events where industry leaders and high quality, artisan suppliers can discuss both business and development in a way that colleges can commence the development of innovative and highly relevant curriculum content. The programme, spread over last week and this, is providing a mix of interactive masterclasses, blended with sessions to explore the hottest topics impacting the success of students as they enter the industry. It aims to provide the essential link between suppliers and producers with industry specialists and hospitality educators.”

Jamie Houghton, pastry sous chef to Benoit Blin at Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons kicked-off the proceedings last Thursday with a fascinating sugar demonstration in which he recreated a replica ‘world-cup’ ribbon. This was streamed live from the unfortunately unoccupied kitchens of his iconic workplace in Oxfordshire.  Jamie showed the delegates a wonderful film from the ‘Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie’ final 2019, which was a noteworthy reminder of Jamie winning the prize for the best piece of sugar work in the entire competition.

Next was an insightful session featuring Masterchef 2020 finalist Philli Armitage-Mattin and industry icon, Chris Galvin, discussing the need to teach business acumen and appreciation to hospitality and catering students from grass roots. The conference was overwhelming in its’ support of developing students with the wider skills and knowledge needed to thrive and succeed in an exciting, but competitive and challenging industry, or to perhaps own their businesses one day.

The third session was a fabulous introspective into the career development story of Peter Avis, General Manager at Galvin at Windows.  Peter gave a fantastic insight into his journey, from pot wash to heading up the operation in an iconic Michelin-starred restaurant.

Delegates agreed that we need to do more to offer continual professional development to front of house professionals. This is exactly what The Chefs’ Forum plans to do going forward, including full day events across a whole range of disciplines to meet the needs of front of house professionals, as well as the chefs of course! We will also return to our regular visits to suppliers alongside study tours and butchery masterclasses, once restrictions are lifted.

Last Friday’s line-up comprised of a talk on sustainability by Deri Reed, Sustainable Restaurant Association’s Chef of the Year 2020. Deri walked us through his crowd-funded restaurant opening of his wholly sustainable ‘’The Warren’ in Camarthen, where he funded the opening by encouraging customers to forward-pay for meals and experiences.

The delegates also enjoyed a fantastic presentation on blended learning, delivered by educational expert and our conference host, Neil. Neil divided delegates into virtual rooms to discuss the trials and tribulations of teaching students online, sharing best practice and their personal experiences.  Headline Sponsor, International Culinary Studio, also presented a blended-learning solution via their virtual learner management system. The platform has been approved by City & Guilds in New Zealand, allowing students to submit work for assessment and manage their portfolio to achieve their qualification. This presents a fantastic opportunity for UK providers to embrace this technology and develop a tailored blended learning programme to suit their bespoke delivery requirements.

Neil added,

 “The past week has shown us that we absolutely have the right people in place to develop something special for the future of students and the industry they are passionate to thrive in. There are great career opportunities for people entering the industry but the skills, knowledge and understanding needed for sustainable success requires more than the creation of aesthetically pleasing dishes presented on cool and trendy tableware. All of the aspects considered in this CPD conference, including high quality, sustainable supply, good business acumen, a great skills-set and a passion for the industry provide a solid foundation for an exciting future.”

I want to say a huge thank you to all the guest speakers who have taken part so far and I am very much looking forward to another week of compelling, interactive world-class demos and masterclasses.”

We are planning further sessions to explore blended learning approaches and resources to enable  educators to share and learn from their peers in other colleges as well as receiving more in-depth tutorials from Neil, as required.  For information, Neil has become somewhat of an expert in the practice of virtual learning and is currently working with Harvard University, USA, to deliver a pioneering programme in Culinary Psychology.

Last week’s sessions were rounded-off with a sensational patisserie demonstration by Movenpick Dessert Chef of the Year, Biju Joshwa. The delegates were mesmerised by Biju’s talent as he created a Brio-Mac-Cookie, a brioche bun filled with gooey ganache loveliness and topped with a Nutcellars’ macadamia nut and milk chocolate cookie!

Checkout Biju’s recipe HERE

Denise Charles, Head of Curriculum for Service Industries at West London College concluded

“We were very much looking forward to broadcasting The Chefs’ Forum’s CPD Conference from our college training kitchens to showcase our facility to other UK Colleges.  Sadly, restrictions tightening meant that we could no longer invite the guest speakers onto campus.  All wasn’t lost as my team and I were able to join the conference via Zoom and it worked perfectly; we all benefited from excellent CPD sessions that were very interesting and engaging. 

This has shown me that I can fulfil my CPD obligations for both my team and I in this format now and in the future and I think it’s great to see how many people can be linked-up from around the world on one call. 

Blended learning was of specific interest to m, for we as a college have been running digital pathway training over the past month, where teaching staff are shown various online delivery methods as part of the new normal in the way we deliver distance learning.

As a result of Neil Rippington’s blended learning masterclass, I have learnt how to organise ‘breakout rooms’ on Zoom and am using them for my students in a lecture this week to enable them to do customer/server interaction roleplay in pairs!

I have added my hours spent on the conference to my CPD log and have asked my staff to do the same.  We are very much looking this week’s sessions and receiving our digital certificates from The Chefs’ Forum at the end of the conference to verify our Industry CPD hours for the awarding body”

Seventeen colleges and ninety-five delegates registered to take part in the conference, originally planned to be streamed online from the college kitchens, that has now to take a different tack.

The event, aimed primarily at college lecturers and educators, is taking place over two weeks with the second half of the event taking place on Thursday and Friday this week.

Delegates can look forward to an action-packed, two-day event with six hours of compelling and innovative masterclasses and demonstrations including a session with Hayden Groves and Neil analysing cookery from an industry and educational perspective, honey tasting with Bermondsey Street Bees and a live venison butchery from the Curtis Pitts larder!

Koppert Cress will also be giving a ‘Cressperience’ of their microgreens and microherbs and Andrew Emmott will talk about the provenance of macadamia nuts from Milawi and the Neno Macadamia Trust he set up to support smallholder farmers.

Samples and goodies have been sent out to the delegates, so they can try the demo recipes themselves.

For more information on this or future CPD events, please email catherine@redcherry.uk.com

Government Declines to Reveal if a Minister for Hospitality is Really on the Cards Following Key Debate in Parliament

After securing over 200,000 signatures asking for a dedicated Minister for Hospitality the debate took place in Westminster Hall on Monday 11th January 2021.

In a two-hour session MP Catherine McKinnell (Newcastle upon Tyne North), who led the debate, summed up the case for the hospitality industry by saying:

“The Government should want to get this right and should want the maximum possible engagement with the hospitality industry. A seat at the table and a strong voice for the hospitality industry would be in the Government’s interest.”

However, Paul Scully, the government Minister with responsibility for food and beverage at The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, said:

“It’s not within my gift to create a new ministerial post, that power rests with the prime minister, but I can assure you that the two of us are doing all we can within government to understand and represent the interests of the sector.”

Both sides of the debate were keenly put but, in the end, the government position remains one of “we’ve listened”. The government believe they have the sector covered across two different. ministries: food and beverage is handled by Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and Hotels & Tourism handled by Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.

As a result of the debate some awareness of the public support for a hospitality ministry has been raised with government. It remains to be seen whether this will be actually translated into meaningful action. The government will do nothing more until it actively has to do so.

The industry reacted positively to the debate, however. Claire Bosi, editor of Hospitality & Catering News, who brought the original petition, said:

“I am very happy with the response form the debate on Monday. Scully said that he’d learnt a great deal about the industry in the last eight months, but it takes far longer than that to learn about an industry with 3 million employees and contributed masses of taxes to the treasury.  We need somebody heavily-invested in the industry to represent our industry professionals and bridge the gap between the government and industry.

“The pressure on the Prime Minister will continue and we will provide him with every piece of evidence to show why it is in his best interest to have somebody to advise, if anything like this ever happens again.”

Minister at BEIS Paul Scully said during the debate:

“I congratulate the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell) on securing the debate and representing the petitioners so well. They are understandably crying out for help to get across the line, after such a difficult period. Hospitality has undoubtedly been one of the hardest pressed, if not the hardest pressed, sectors over the pandemic. I thank everybody who has contributed to the debate for the way in which they have put the case for their constituents.

However, as was predicted on The Chefs’ Forum last week, the government Minister with responsibility for food and beverage at The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Paul Scully, told the debate that the industry was already covered by multiple departments. He said:

“I congratulate the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North (Catherine McKinnell) on securing the debate and representing the petitioners so well. They are understandably crying out for help to get across the line, after such a difficult period. Hospitality has undoubtedly been one of the hardest pressed, if not the hardest pressed, sectors over the pandemic. I thank everybody who has contributed to the debate for the way in which they have put the case for their constituents.

Since taking on responsibility for food and beverage hospitality businesses in March last year and establishing a dedicated sponsorship team within the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, we have worked extremely closely with representatives from across the sector, so there has always been development. I will come back to the question of a dedicated Minister in a second, but essentially, this was split across a number of Departments and we now have a dedicated hospitality team that is working really hard.

I also put on record my gratitude to the sector itself for how its representatives have engaged with me and my officials throughout the pandemic. It is important to recognise that the hospitality sector is not just pubs and restaurants: cafés, the wedding sector, nightclubs and all the associated businesses that we have heard so much about today, including specialist suppliers, are also going through this. I thank them in particular for how they engaged with the safer workplace guidance to allow essential businesses to stay open, but also to allow these businesses to reopen at various points. Understandably, as we have discussed, the fact of the matter is that there has been opening and closing depending on the tier system, and that has been a source of frustration for everybody, especially—as my right hon. Friend the Member for New Forest East (Dr Lewis) says—those that have had to pour away beer and throw away food at various points during this period.

We continue to work together with the sector across Government to make sure that we can strike the right balance between the covid-19 restrictions and the corresponding business support measures. As we have heard, we responded with an unprecedented package of support worth a staggering £280 billion, which included the grants, the furlough scheme, the various loan schemes, the business rates holiday, VAT deferrals, and of course the eat out to help out scheme. On top of that, we released additional funding worth £4.6 billion to help businesses through the current lockdown, which we estimate will help 600,000 hospitality businesses. We have also taken action to protect businesses by placing restrictions on landlords using commercial rents arrears recovery to enforce unpaid rents on commercial leases. Importantly, we have kept all the support measures under review to ensure that as far as possible, they have kept pace with the changing covid-19 situation and the need to flex restrictions accordingly.

Like those who have taken the time to sign a petition, and those right hon. and hon. Members who have taken part in today’s debate, I recognise the importance of the hospitality sector, not just to local areas but to whole communities and to the country as a whole. We have heard that the sector employs around 3.5 million people overall, and in normal circumstances generates revenues of around £63 billion a year. It is strategically important to the UK, as well, traditionally being the first sector to recover following an economic downturn and acting as a catalyst for wider economic recovery and regeneration.

Most importantly, the sector lies at the heart of communities, providing jobs and places to enjoy companionship and supporting mental health and wellbeing, social cohesion and cultural integration. It is important that when we talk about culture—about meeting people—we remember that that is what hospitality is there to do, and it is really sad that the restrictions and lockdown itself are there to stop people meeting people. As we have heard, though, that is not to say that hospitality in itself is the vector for transmission. It is really important that we do not scapegoat the hospitality sector, which has done so much—it has spent a lot of money and put in a lot of effort—to make its venues covid-secure.

Turning to the question of establishing a Minister for hospitality, responsibility is currently split between BEIS and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport: BEIS is responsible for the food and beverage industries, and DCMS is responsible for accommodation, primarily hotels, as part of its tourism remit. There is clearly some overlap between these important industries, and I work closely with the Minister for Sport, Tourism and Heritage at DCMS, my hon. Friend the Member for Mid Worcestershire (Nigel Huddleston), to ensure that the interests of this sector as a whole are fully represented across Government.

The close collaboration that we have means that the policy levers in both DCMS and BEIS can be employed effectively to the benefit of the sector. Clearly, it is not within my gift to create a new ministerial post—that power rests solely with the Prime Minister—but I can assure hon. Members that the two of us are doing all we can within Government to understand and represent the interests of the sector. Whether or not we have a dedicated Minister for hospitality, we need to ensure that the sector is in the best possible place to bounce back from covid-19, so that it can play a leading role in the UK’s economic and social recovery.

We know that the hospitality sector has often shown great resilience and innovation in adapting; such adaptation is not a new phenomenon. We saw that hospitality was one of the first sectors to recover after the 2007 financial crisis, which helped drive the UK’s recovery more generally. In order to achieve the same level of recovery that we saw following that crisis, we are committed to maintaining support to the sector until the vaccines are rolled out and businesses can open without restrictions. However, we also need to think about and plan for the longer-term recovery.

The UK has a world-leading net zero target. I want to see the creativity that helps define the hospitality sector put to good use in helping to tackle climate change, by developing and utilising new technologies and processes to minimise emissions and, importantly, waste. Although this is a challenging time for the sector, it is essential that, as we bounce back, we work with hospitality businesses to build back their industry so that it is stronger and greener.

Caroline Lucas

I thank the hon. Member for Brighton, Pavilion (Caroline Lucas), who was unable to attend the debate today but sent me a statement from hospitality businesses in her constituency, supporting the creation of the ministerial position and emphasising the important role that the sector will need to play in our economic recovery and growth. I hope that I have addressed both those points.

We have had a very interesting debate, starting with the hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon). One of the regular calls that I have with the industry includes Colin Neill from Hospitality Ulster. We also heard from the hon. Member for North Antrim (Ian Paisley), who talked about Van Morrison. Actually, a Van Morrison gig was one of the last gigs that I went to at the O2, to raise money for the Royal Marsden Hospital. The O2 itself is now one of the nightingale hospitals, and one of the people who set it up was the chief nurse at the Marsden—everything comes around in a circular fashion, which shows the unusual times we are in.

With regard to the coffee culture that my hon. Friend the Member for Winchester (Steve Brine) talked about, we should not forget that takeaway coffees also play a part for shift workers, who need such extra support, so not everything that is seen as non- essential is non-essential to certain people.

Kate Nicholls

There is no way we can have a one-size-fits-all policy. Certainly what I have learnt about the hospitality sector over the past nine or 10 months is that a lot of work is being done behind the scenes, whether with me or with my hon. Friend the Minister for Sport, or through lobbying by Colin Neill, Kate Nicholls or Emma McClarkin, or through lobbying from the chief executives of the larger pub businesses, the independent pubs, the restaurant groups and all those sorts of businesses. That means we can address issues such as the 10 pm curfew, which was a blunt instrument, as has been outlined. It clearly stopped restaurants having second sittings, but it also stopped pubs selling a lot of alcohol at that time—a lot of their profit is created at that time but it was also pushing people together. I am also the Minister for London and I saw at that time a 40% increase in the use of the tube between 10 pm and 10.15 pm. The curfew was clearly pushing people together, doing the opposite of what we wanted. It was therefore right to make the case against it and have it reversed.

From my business role through to my work with the hospitality sector, and in my work as Minister for London, I can see that any town centre, any city area or any retail area is an ecosystem. People do not go to a hotel, such as those within a mile or two of where we are now, just to sleep in another bed; they go because they want to spend time in the pubs, restaurants, theatres, museums, galleries and all the things that a city such as London has to offer. It is the same with Newcastle, Manchester or any of our fantastic towns across the country, and clearly it is also the same for rural areas such as Cornwall, which my hon. Friend the Member for Southport (Damien Moore) mentioned when he talked about tourism in his part of the world.

Indeed, that is a really interesting point about tourism in coastal or rural areas in particular, because we are now in the third winter of their three-winter scenario—we had the winter last year; then we had the summer, when they would expect to make a lot of their profits but effectively it was a winter for them; and now, as we can feel here in Westminster Hall today, this is really a third winter. It is important that we continue to work very closely with those areas.

I am more than happy to work with all hon. Members to ensure that we do not just hear the understandable cries of anguish from the hospitality sector, but work out what we can do, given the public finances, to continue to flex, work on the recovery and look at how we can stagger the reopening. In a few weeks’ time, we will get to the point with the vaccine roll-out, hopefully alongside the plateauing of the case load, at which we will have a better idea of the timescale and can start talking about a road map.

Jane Hunt

I know, because we talked about this last summer, that businesses, especially the bigger ones that have greater resources and can do that sort of forward thinking, will already be thinking about how to roll out the reopening of pubs, restaurants, cafés and, importantly, the wedding sector, which my hon. Friend the Member for Loughborough (Jane Hunt) mentioned. I would love to get to that point, whether through pilots or just through working with the wedding sector, which is understandably filling my timeline on Twitter and social media—I can see exactly why it is doing that. After that, we can deal with the nightclub sector—we heard about Sacha Lord, who does a remarkable job in raising these issues with me and colleagues—which is a really tough one to crack. Hopefully we can get to the point where it can open.

I could go on forever, but I want to leave some time for the hon. Member for Newcastle upon Tyne North. Hospitality brings people together. We have heard a lot of calls for the evidence for why various measures were put in place. If hon. Members look at the infographics and the rules and guidance for this particular part of the lockdown, they will see that there are three words at the top of pretty much every page: “Stay at home.” Unfortunately, that is what everything is about. It is not about meeting. This will be a really tough few months, because it is miserable outside. With regard to exercise and so on, it is not going to be good. We need to offer hope to those businesses and get them across the finishing line so that we have a better summer and ensure that we do not have a fourth winter.

The hospitality sector represents friendship, generosity, enjoyment and happiness. It is a tonic for loneliness and a warm welcome for visitors at the heart of our communities. In short, hospitality matters. We will continue to work with hospitality businesses to get them through the immediate crisis and then help them to build back stronger and greener.

A Call For Chefs To Demand Government Support for The Supply Chain

Dean Silver, a Director of London-based catering butcher, Fenns of Piccadilly, has set up a LinkedIn Group called “Support The Supply Chain” which aims to draw government attention to what is happening in the businesses that supply restaurants and keep them afloat.

Dean is doing a fantastic job of garnering a fantastic level of  support from his peers in the sector in highlighting the hidden struggles being felt in the supply chain.

He told The Chefs’ Forum: “My main aim is to get all of us heard.  The end goal is for this government to realise that this sector is massive.  Hospitality and our businesses have been turned on and off like a tap throughout this pandemic and I plan to try and find out why we’ve been forgotten.

“Small businesses have received grants, as have large businesses, but it’s the factories and warehouses that have been left out.  There is no help for suppliers…but without us, there cannot be an end product.

 “In a few months’ time, I fear that if the help is still not there, some of us won’t be there when the hospitality industry and ‘normal trade’ returns. There is a huge shortage of butchers as it is a sector lacking in icons, unlike the cheffing profession.”

“It is not glamorised or promoted in any way and there aren’t many young people coming into the industry – We need to change this and plan to work with the network of UK FE Colleges to showcase butchery and other professions within the supply chain.”

“It is vital that we hold on to the talent we have, and now we have left the EU, this is an even bigger worry. The work we’re doing now to highlight the plight of the supply chain will ensure that there are jobs in the sector for the next generation.”

One of the first industry icons to support Dean’s initiative was Lucianne Allen of National Catering Butcher of the Year, Aubrey Allen, she commented:

“I can only imagine that some suppliers will really struggle to survive. In our industry abattoirs are already asking for pro forma payments which if suppliers haven’t been paid and then need to restock is going to lead to a very turbulent time for everyone and a situation of shortages. As ever we would urge chefs to speak as soon as possible to suppliers and work with them on reopening to help use any surplus stock first.“

L-R – Jamie Walsh, John Pritchard and George Pritchard visiting their livestock

John Pritchard, Director of Dart Fresh in Exeter supplies meat, fish, game and veg to chefs all over the south west, he concluded

“We are actively encouraging our online retail customers to buy from us over supermarkets to support local producers and their families. In terms of wholesale, we continue to supply schools hospitals, care homes and takeaways with the finest fresh local produce and will be there for our chefs and restaurants once hospitality returns.  It is vital that the supply chain gets the support it needs to carry them through this difficult time.”

Follow and comment on #supportthesupplychain here