The Manchester College Virtual Hospitality Taster Day was a Great Success!

Almost one thousand future students participated in The Manchester College’s first ever Couch to College event. The Hospitality and Catering session was hosted by the Hospitality and Catering teaching team, Masterchef Winner and Chefs’ Forum Academy Patron, Simon Wood and Catherine Farinha, Founder of The Chefs’ Forum.

Catherine Farinha interviewed Simon at his restaurant, Wood Restaurant, Manchester, in a Microsoft Teams Live event, asking him what he thinks it takes to be successful in the hospitality industry. He offered hints and advice on what young chefs and hospitality professionals should be doing to maximise on their training.

Simon recommended books to read and communicated to the students that they must never stop learning, fondly recounting foodie stories of his childhood and chefs who he admires.

Catherine was delighted to host the session with Simon at his restaurant, she said
“It is great to be able to find a way of continuing to raise the profile of The Manchester College and The Chefs’ Forum Academy while restrictions remain in place. It is crucial that we do all we can to drive registrations at the college for the coming academic year. We very much look forward to welcoming chefs back into the college again once permitted and will continue to support the college virtually in the interim. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all Academy chefs for their ongoing help and support.”

Last month, the college hosted 37 online sessions to help new students transition from school to college by meeting their Tutors, tour college campuses and explore the wide range of courses and qualifications available to them.

Watch the full session here:

Mark Cooper, Course Lead for Technical Patisserie was very instrumental in organising and hosting the event from a college perspective, he said
“This event was important for all, to give a great insight into what students can learn at college and the specialist chefs they will meet on the course – Simon Wood being one of them. They will also have the opportunity to participate in competitions and assist with the organisation of local and regional events. The virtual taster day gave a full-rounded experience of what students can expect when enrolling onto a course at our college – It was a great success for all involved and a format that we will repeat again. I would like to personally thank Simon Wood and Oliver Harvey for supplying and donating great prizes for our chefs quiz, which added a further element of interest for the participants.”

The first week of events, kicked-off by Principal Lisa O’Loughlin on Monday 6 July, introduced students to the college’s brand new Industry Excellence Academy and Centres of Excellence, as well as the Careers and Welfare, and Transition teams.

Students were also advised on how to make an application and how to enrol, while Deputy Principal Rachel Curry explained how they’ll be keeping colleagues and students safe on campus when they return in September.

Week two was all about individual curriculum areas. Students met their new Tutors and were given a taster session of their chosen subject areas. They also heard more about our array of industry partners, finding out how they shape the curriculum, offer work experience opportunities and help prepare students for industry.

Masterchef UK winner and patron of The Chefs’ Forum Academy, Simon Wood, hosted the Hospitality and Catering event. Simon said:
“This was such an important virtual event to promote the hospitality industry to the next generation of chefs and hospitality professionals in these strange times when we can’t hold traditional open days due to COVID-19. As patron of The Chefs’ Forum Academy at The Manchester College, it was a pleasure to take part in the Couch to College session and talk about my career as a chef, winning MasterChef and giving advice to those considering becoming a chef or front of house professional. Both aspects create the dining experience and I feel the session communicated this very well indeed.”

The third and final week of Couch to College focused on the student experience, with sessions on how to enrol, becoming work ready and our fantastic Duke of Edinburgh opportunities.

Students also met our experienced Employability team, who provided top tips on using social media to find a career that suits them and boost their prospects.

Deputy Principal, Rachel Curry, said:
“Thank you to everybody who has contributed to Couch to College and made it such a success. Our colleagues have worked tirelessly to deliver their presentations, showcasing all our subject areas and fantastic facilities, so it was great to see so many students take part. We hope you have got a feel for College life and we look forward to welcoming everyone back to College safely in September.”

The Manchester College is one of six UK colleges where The Chefs’ Forum operate The Chefs’ Forum Academy. The project sees top chefs and hospitality experts come into the college on a weekly basis to deliver guest lectures and practical cookery sessions to enrich the curriculum.

Hotel & Marine Expert Summit by Rational

The Digital Industry Highlight

On 26 August, 2020, opinion leaders from the F&B industry will meet for the first digital Expert Summit, initiated by Rational, titled “The New Hospitality”.  Key discussion topics include innovation, digitalization and sustainability. There will be a wide range of international specialists sharing their knowledge and giving insights into future opportunities; followed by discussions and questions in a virtual forum. In addition, participants will be able to conduct peer-to-peer dialogues and make appointments.

“Unusual times require unusual activities”, is how Nicolas Makowski, Senior Director International Key Account Management at Rational, explains the event concept. The conference will be conducted on a digital platform and similar to that of a traditional trade fair will accommodate presentations, product demonstrations, exchange and networking. “We are holding the event at two different times, giving customers from all regions of the world the opportunity to participate. The advantage of the digital summit is that we have no restrictions and worldwide participation is possible,” says Makowski.

To avoid conflicts due to the time difference, the Expert Summit will take place in two different time windows, each lasting approximately three hours. The separate events will, however, consist of the same content and have the same speakers. Interested parties are invited to register free of charge HERE

iKitchen by Rational – The System Solution for Business and Industry Catering

Shortage of skilled staff, cost pressure and digitalisation, these are the challenges operators within business and industry catering have to face. Added to this are the increased demands of their guests with regard to quality, dietary and special food requirements such as vegetarian, vegan, gluten or lactose-free as well as a varied range of products. In addition to good ideas and clever concepts, the kitchens needs a partner who knows the challenges, supports them technically and enables them to produce large quantities. Rational has created such support with iKitchen.

“Under the name iKitchen, we have combined the iCombi Pro, iVario Pro and ConnectedCooking to form a system solution,” says Simon Lohse, Managing Director, RATIONAL UK, explaining the features. The aim is to make work easier, especially in large kitchens with a volume of 500 meals per day or more, to streamline processes and save space, money, energy and raw materials. If you take a kitchen originally equipped with a boiler, deep fat fryer, pressure cooker, hot-air oven and cooker, you can replace all the appliances except the cooker with an iCombi Pro and iVario Pro while achieving space savings of up to 40%. At the same time, the cooking systems together cover 95% of all conventional cooking applications. For some applications such as cooking pasta or preparing food using the sous-vide method, they can even take over tasks from each other, thus considerably increasing the flexibility of a commercial kitchen. As a rule, cooking is also healthier. As Lohse says: “With the iCombi Pro, for example, you can deep-fry without fat. This means that the fries are crispy but have considerably less fat. In addition, steaming in the iCombi Pro preserves the vitamins and nutrients”.

The fact that both cooking systems are made for cooperation is also shown by the identically designed user interfaces, which guide the user through the menus according to the same principle. Both also have intelligent functions that make handling even easier and thus significantly reduce the error rate. Even semi-skilled workers have easy access to various cooking applications. The fact that iKitchen makes optimum use of all resources is demonstrated, for example, by overnight cooking. The iCombi Pro and iVario Pro both feature this application which will save a great deal of production time and take a lot of pressure off the kitchen operations.

The third component, ConnectedCooking, also serves to increase productivity, as the cloud-based networking solution can be used to centrally manage and transfer cooking programs, HACCP data can be saved and retrieved by both cooking systems, and they can even be controlled remotely. ConnectedCooking reduces the error rate and ensures a constant standard in food production. Only the loading and unloading has to be done manually.  Lohse concludes, “With iKitchen, business and industry kitchens can work even more successfully than before and respond flexibly to their challenges.”

WIN the Ultimate Chef Hamper Worth £800 to Celebrate the Launch of our New Website!

We’re very proud to be launching our new website after months and months of work to make it the best possible platform for all things hospitality & catering!

Simply browse our site to answer twelve questions (with helpful clues provided) to be in with a chance of winning an amazing hamper, packed full of wonderful prizes from our partners, sponsors and suppliers, including:

• 25cl bottle of Sea Arch
• Richkins mini big boy board made from Welsh beech wood with engraving of the winner’s name or logo, and a cherry wood with resin serving board with engraved logo or name.
• Foie Royale 1 x 80g goose and 1 x 80g duck
• Celltd 125g bag of Jamaica Blue Mountain coffee beans
• Chef Works Brio chef apron in a choice of 5 colours
• Santa Maria herb and spice box
• Nutcellars 140g jar of whole macadamia, 170g jar of crunchy nut butter and a 220g jar of smooth nut butter
• Dinner for two with complements from Adande at BRAT, Tomos Parry summer residency at Hackney’s Climpson’s Arch, in association with Super 8 Restaurants.
• Welsh Fine Food Cluster hamper – a selection of the finest Welsh produce from gin to cheese
• A magnum of Champagne, with complements from Meiko
• F.Dick Chefs’ Knife in a presentation box, with complements from Rational
• A whole Scottish salmon, with complements from the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation

Don’t delay, CLICK HERE to enter today! (closing date: Sunday 9th August)

We believe that this website will be your ‘one-stop-shop’ for the latest industry news, job vacancies, menu trends, outstanding produce, market-leading equipment and college connectivity.

Terms & Conditions

The promoter is Red Cherry (Bristol) Ltd t/a The Chefs’ Forum.

The competition is open to hospitality professionals in the United Kingdom aged 18 years or over except employees of Red Cherry (Bristol) Ltd and their close relatives and anyone otherwise connected with the organisation or judging of the competition.

There is no entry fee and no purchase necessary to enter this competition.

By entering this competition, an entrant is indicating his/her agreement to be bound by these terms and conditions.

Route to entry for the competition and details of how to enter are via www.thechefsforum.co.uk and on social media.

Only one entry will be accepted per person. Multiple entries from the same person will be disqualified.

Closing date for entry will be Sunday 9th August 2020. After this date the no further entries to the competition will be permitted.

No responsibility can be accepted for entries not received for whatever reason.

The promoter reserves the right to cancel or amend the competition and these terms and conditions without notice in the event of a catastrophe, war, civil or military disturbance, act of God or any actual or anticipated breach of any applicable law or regulation or any other event outside of the promoter’s control. Any changes to the competition will be notified to entrants as soon as possible by the promoter.

The promoter is not responsible for inaccurate prize details supplied to any entrant by any third party connected with this competition. The prize is as follows: The Ultimate Chef Hamper.

The prize is as stated, and no cash or other alternatives will be offered. The prize is not transferable. The Prize is subject to availability and we reserve the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice.

Winners will be chosen at random by the Promoter.

The winner will be notified by telephone and/or email and/or DM on Twitter/Facebook and/or letter within 28 days of the closing date. If the winner cannot be contacted or do not claim the prize within 14 days of notification, we reserve the right to withdraw the prize from the winner and pick a replacement winner.

The promoter will notify the winner when and where the prize can be collected/is delivered.

The promoter’s decision in respect of all matters to do with the competition will be final and no correspondence will be entered into.

The competition and these terms and conditions will be governed by English law and any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England.

The winner agrees to the use of his/her name and image in any publicity material, as well as their entry. Any personal data relating to the winner or any other entrants will be used solely in accordance with current UK data protection legislation and will not be disclosed to a third party without the entrant’s prior consent.

The winner’s name will be available 28 days after closing date by emailing the following address: catherine@redcherry.uk.com

Entry into the competition will be deemed as acceptance of these terms and conditions.

This promotion is in no way sponsored, endorsed or administered by, or associated with, Facebook, Twitter or any other Social Network. You are providing your information to Red Cherry (Bristol) Ltd and not to any other party.

Robot Coupe UK is Now Offering a Personalised HD Video Service

Robot Coupe UK is now offering a new additional service alongside its market leading onsite demos.  The need for instant service is now more important than ever.  A service to not only find a solution for the customer more quickly than ever before, but also a service to exceed expectations.

This is why we have been working behind the scenes for many months, to fine tune and bring  our new Personalised HD Video Service to life.

Having a top of the range camera with 10 x zoom, and market leading speaker system, we can allow you, and your customer to get up close to the equipment and produce, from any location of your choice.

All personalised meetings are just that.  Before we make an appointment, one of our Solution Managers and Development Chefs will talk through what is needed, followed by a simple online form, so the customer can easily upload images of the desired product they are trying to achieve.  We will then ensure the produce is on site, ready for the non rushed meeting, and try all options available till we reach the best solution.

Here’s what some of our clients said about the service:

“A big thank you to Jamie for assisting us and pleased to say I’ve bought the Robotcoupe ultra and couldn’t be happier with the service and product. Highly recommend to every busy commercial kitchen.”

“The quality of the video call was excellent, as a participant I could see everything that was being described perfectly. Overall an excellent session.”

To enquire further or to book an appointment, please contact Robot Coupe on 0208 8232 1800.

Roux Scholarship Competition Postponed Until 2021

After the 2020 Roux Scholarship was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Roux Family have decided to postpone the competition until March 2021.

The 18 regional finalists, as well as the first reserve, selected at the paper judging stage in March 2020 will automatically qualify as regional finalists for 2021 and cook their recipes for hake, palourde clams and leeks in the regional cook-offs at University College Birmingham and at the University of West London on 4^th March 2021. The judges will be Michel Roux Jr, Alain Roux, Brian Turner, Clare Smyth, Angela Hartnett, Rachel Humphrey, James Martin, Sat Bains (1999 Scholar), André Garrett (2002 Scholar) and Simon Hulstone (2003 Scholar). The six most successful chefs will be selected to compete in the national final on 29^th March 2021, when Honorary President of Judges Björn Frantzén, from three-star Michelin Restaurant Frantzén in Stockholm, will lead the panel of judges. There will be no application process in 2021.

Chairman Alain Roux said: “Having to close down the competition this year, as well as our restaurants, has dealt a double blow. But optimism and resilience define our industry and the same is true of the Scholarship. We’ve set dates to reconvene next spring and so the excitement continues!  We cannot wait to find our 2020/2021 Scholar.  Meanwhile, I would like to thank all our fantastic competitors, judges, sponsors and supporters for their patience and support.  Keep safe and see you soon!”

Co-chairman Michel Roux Jr said: “Everyone in hospitality is working furiously towards reopening and in many cases to keep afloat. It’s only right that the scholarship is postponed to 2021, when hopefully we will all be in a much better place to complete the competition and celebrate together as family and friends.”

To recap, the regional finalists are:

Competing in Birmingham

• Scott Braithwaite, L’Enclume, Cartmel, Cumbria
• Jonathan Ferguson, The Raby Hunt Restaurant,
  Co. Durham
• Oliver Marlow, Roganic, London
• Curtis Tonge, The Bull & Bear, Manchester
• Jac Webster, The Angel at Hetton, Yorkshire
• Joshua Fulcher, Restaurant 22, Cambridge

Competing in London

• Benjamin Champkin, The Newt, Somerset
• Caer Timberlake, Restaurant 22, Cambridge
• Ryan Baker, Maison Francois, London
• Julian Elkjaer, Whatley Manor, Wiltshire
• Oli Williamson, London
• Conor Bird, House of Commons, London
• Christos Sidiropoulos, The Ritz, London
• Stephen McClarty, Restaurant Associates, London
• Tobias Smith, The Leathersellers Company, London
• Olivia Catherine Burt, Claridge’s, London
• Michael Cruickshank, Bohemia, Jersey
• Oliver Dovey, BaxterStorey Fine Dining, London
• Connor Wilson*, The Traddock, North Yorkshire

CHEF LUDO HELPS HCC TARGET FRENCH CONSUMERS

A French chef from Ceredigion has been busy in the lockdown period creating recipe videos featuring Welsh red meat on behalf of Hybu Cig Cymru – Meat Promotion Wales (HCC).

Chef Ludovic Dieumegard, Head Chef of Aberaeron’s famed Harbourmaster Hotel, has featured PGI Welsh Lamb in exclusive French recipe videos which have subsequently been shared on HCC’s French language social media channels.

The videos come as Coronavirus swept Europe and closed down foodservice sectors across the continent. Mirroring HCC’s UK marketing activity, the videos aim to encourage people to bring the restaurant experience to the home – using a range of different lamb cuts.

HCC’s Export Development Executive Deanna Jones explained ‘Usually a significant portion of Welsh sheep meat is destined for restaurants and hotels in the French market. However, with the foodservice sector shutting down and with international trade shows cancelled, we have switched our marketing focus to targeting consumers directly.’

‘Ludo is a classically trained French chef who now works and resides in rural Wales and appreciates the high-quality foods which Wales produces, including Welsh Lamb. So he is the ideal ambassador for Welsh Lamb fans in France.’

‘We are very grateful to Ludo for helping us create these videos which have proved popular with French families and consumers on social media.’

The four recipe videos Ludo created were filmed at his home in Ceredigion and are a mix of fine dining recipes and easy family meals. They are available to view on HCC’s French social media page.

Ludo is also part of HCC’s ‘Culinary Dozen’ – a network of Wales’ top chefs who have been creating English language recipes and videos for UK consumers during the Coronavirus lockdown.

Go to www.eatwelshlambandwelshbeef.com to see all of the Culinary Dozen’s recipe video creations or follow the Welsh Lamb and Welsh Beef channels on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

OPEN KITCHENS: ON A MISSION TO FEED THOSE IN NEED

Open Kitchens: On a mission to feed those in need by bringing together restaurants and their communities whilst helping tackle food waste. Following recent national success, ten children will be doing a sponsored walk of 10,000 steps to help raise money for 10,000 children.

In early April, Open Kitchens was launched to provide free, nutritious meals for those in need.

In the wake of the lockdown, this not-for-profit initiative has been helping UK restaurants to repurpose their kitchens – using furloughed staff volunteering their time, empty facilities and surplus food to cook for vulnerable groups in their local communities.

There are now 45 restaurants across the country that are cooking and fundraising with Open Kitchens. These include fine dining establishments, (such as Michelin star Alchemilla and Frog by Adam Handling) all the way through to local artisan bakeries and coffee shops.

More than £230,000 has been raised nationally and more than 144,000 free meals have been produced. The initiative has also recently partnered with Fare Share, a national network that redistributes surplus food to charitable causes, meaning that restaurants are not only feeding those in need, but tackling food waste.

Hilton Hotels has also joined Open Kitchens in their fight. The global hotel company has offered its freezers as a storage point between when the meals are produced, and when they are distributed to their beneficiaries plus donating meals.  This huge development offers a significant expansion for Open Kitchens, allowing Hilton Hotels to become a nationwide hub that helps them to distribute their meals more widely while also using surplus food to produce meals.

The next initiative is to feed 10,000 children across Nottinghamshire, these meals will cost just £1.50 each and the kids themselves are stepping up to help raise money. 10 kids will be taking 10,000 steps to feed 10,000 children. Celebrities such as Gary Lineker, Caitriona Balfe, Sophie Skelton and Penny Lancaster have all pledged their support for the Open Kitchens initiative too.

George Ktori runs Yamas, a popular Greek restaurant in Nottingham city centre that was the first to join Open Kitchens.

“When Open Kitchens came to me, I was immediately on board. It’s important to help in these times and feed those who need it most. We’ve got the equipment and the talented chefs, to volunteer their time and cook fresh meals for those who don’t have access to them.”

When the pandemic began, co-founders Alex Grundy and Adam Roberts re-focused their team’s work-from-home agenda and galvanised as many business contacts as possible to spring Open Kitchens into life.

Adam Roberts says  “To get the idea off the ground as quickly as possible, we got the word out to as many organisations as we could think of in order to pool resources and the response from all angles so far has been phenomenal. Now we are putting everything we have into raising the funds required to feed those in need.”

Alex Grundy says “We still have so much to do! Now, we’re on the lookout for more local restaurants to join this incredible community effort, opening up their kitchen space to prepare nutritious meals and help us reach the thousands of people who still desperately need our support. The effort the children are going to take 10,000 steps is very humbling, please dig deep and donate what you can.”

Whilst delivering the meals, the Open Kitchens volunteers have seen first-hand how desperately this support is needed across communities.

“Liam aged 16 comes from a family of 9. The family struggle day-to-day but right now, things are worse. They have no cooker so we took some meals to the family and explained how the Open Kitchen worked, and that all the food was being cooked by restaurants. Liam said he has never eaten at a restaurant or a pub before. He wanted you all to know your food is amazing and that coronavirus isn’t all that bad as he’s now tasted restaurant food. He said it’s made him realise he wants to work hard in life so he can eat at a restaurant in person.”

Please also see below a number of direct quotes from those who have benefited from Open Kitchens.

“Thank you for your kindness and generosity. The chilli really put a smile on our faces which could be seen even through our masks . Thank you” – Ali Rhodes, Midwife at NHS Queens Medical Centre

“We’d like to thank you for your generosity and kindness during this very difficult time. You took the trouble to deliver freshly prepared hot food ready to eat for all the staff. It was greatly appreciated and enjoyed.” – Mamta Juneja, Meadow House Hospice, Southall.

“Rebuilding your life after homelessness is a life challenge in itself, but when money is tight and aren’t able to leave your home, the reassurance of knowing that people care enough to ensure you won’t go hungry is indescribably important for a person’s morale, health and sense of wellbeing.” – Nottinghamshire YMCA.

“The safety of our residents is our absolute top priority, and we are reassured to know these are reputable restaurants with strict health and safety checks in place to reduce risks and maximise support for our community’s most vulnerable citizens. If you are a local restaurant or an individual who can sponsor a meal – you can help this scheme to support even more local people. We can get through this pandemic if we pull together.” said Nick Clements, Housing Operations Manager at Nottinghamshire YMCA.

Donate as an individual or organisation via the initiative’s central Just Giving page. Just £1.85 will provide a hearty adult meal for someone who needs it and £1.50 will support a children’s meal. You can find out more at openkitchens.co.uk.

You can keep up to date with the latest from Open Kitchens anytime on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

City of Glasgow College Supports Regrowth of Vital Industry

As Scotland’s hospitality, tourism and culinary sector starts to reopen, City of Glasgow College continues its role in supporting the industry.

With a well-earned reputation for excellence in hospitality and professional cookery, the college is well placed to help the sector as it adapts to the challenges created by the pandemic.

Gordon McIntyre, Associate Dean of Hospitality and Tourism at City of Glasgow College, said:

“We’re looking at quite a different landscape for our sector as it gets up and running. There were large numbers of businesses out there, and some will be lost. Our college offers the chance for individuals to retrain, re-skill and up-skill, ready for when employers need them most, ready for a fully reinvigorated sector being established.”

Just two weeks before the country went into lockdown, the college held a Hospitality and Culinary Summit attended by industry professionals and specialists from across the country. Its focus was on forging stronger partnerships with industry and working to change perceptions of the sector, and the mind set of influencers.

“Our objective then was to make hospitality and culinary not just a career of choice, but a career of first choice,” explained May Donald, Associate Dean of Culinary Arts and Bakery at the college.

“That is more important now than ever,” she said. “Our industry will always be needed and it is an industry that knows how to regrow, and it will be reborn. We must keep looking to the future and anticipating what is required. Our staff at the college have all worked in the industry, so we have many contacts which offers a huge advantage for students who study with us.”

The college’s Hospitality and Culinary Summit underlined the value of strong partnerships which was backed by Tom Kitchin, Chef Proprietor of The Kitchin Group, who praised the college for holding the event, saying: “It was a great initiative. I am certain many businesses will enter into the practical partnerships launched that day.”

For Gordon McIntyre it is now about continuing to work with industry, the Scottish government and awarding bodies to adapt to the current reality.

“Our industry is full of people who are creative and imaginative, and who seek solutions. And that is very much something that we as a college do also. We don’t see barriers, we see round them, and that is what we will carry on doing as we ease our way through this pandemic.”

Following the success of the Summit, and with the major changes the current crisis has raised, we are keen to hear from industry on how our college can continue to collaborate, support and work in partnership with them.

Please follow this link to view our Hospitality and Culinary Summit report.

WIN A LUXURIOUS HAMPER OF SCOTTISH SALMON & AN ALL EXPENSES PAID TRIP TO THE SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS!