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70 invited guests including chefs, suppliers and colleges sat down to an afternoon of gastronomy to celebrate 10 years of the The Chefs Forum on the 10th January at Dakota Hotel in Manchester. The event, organised in conjunction with The Manchester College, enabled 20 chef students to work in the kitchen under chefs Adam Reid, Dan Moon, Exose Grant as well as Sam Karle and Amanda Gasiorowska from Dakota Hotel, Manchester.

Tuesday 15th June 2021 saw the final for The Chefs’ Forum, Young Pastry Chef of the Year, 2021 being staged at West London College in Hammersmith. Over the Spring bank-holiday weekend, our panel of expert judges virtually-marked the entries from twenty semi-finalists, competing from colleges across the UK.

The Manchester College hosted the launch of The Chefs’ Forum in Manchester with a galaxy of culinary stars. Students from the Catering Department joined an All-Star brigade of top chefs in the kitchen to cook a four-course lunch for industry professionals from across the region. Top chefs cooking on the day were TV Chef James Martin (James Martin Manchester), Lisa Goodwin-Allen (Northcote), Simon Wood (Wood Restaurant) and Andrew Nutter (Nutters Restaurant).

On Monday 13th May, The Chefs’ Forum held its London quarter two event at Café Spice Namaste. TV Chef Cyrus Todiwala works closely with the colleges in his Asian cookery competition ‘Zest Quest Asia’. Mentoring and nurturing students is very close to Cyrus’ heart and he donates his time to young chefs on a regular basis.

The Chefs’ Forum Academy launched at Coleg Gwent in September 2019 to enhance employer-engagement for catering and hospitality students at the college. Wednesday (29) January saw a fantastic showcase of culinary expertise, canapés, cookery demos and butchery take place at Marriott St Pierre (Chepstow) to showcase the industry and drive registrations to Coleg Gwent hospitality courses for the coming academic year.

Unique partnership between The Manchester College and The Chefs’ Forum sees students work at James Martin Manchester. The partnership was celebrated with a networking event held at James Martin Manchester on Monday 15th July 2019. Manchester College students joined Head Chef Doug Crampton in his kitchen for a day of work experience as students made and served canapés to nearly eighty top chefs and front of house professionals from across Manchester.

The Chefs’ Forum at The Waldorf Hilton on Monday (22) July. It was the perfect venue to welcome over one hundred chefs and hospitality professionals for a day of fabulous cookery, cocktail demonstrations and industry networking. Executive Chef Karl Richardson lead a team of students from West London College, University of West London and ‘Syfters’ in his kitchen to produce stunning canapés to be served at midday during the networking session, showcasing his menu.

On Monday (14) October, the Head Chefs from Iconic Luxury Hotel properties, Cliveden House, Chewton Glen, The Lygon Arms and 11 Cadogan Gardens helped young people from West London College and East Kent College create a mouth-watering lunch for 80 extremely discerning diners in the luxurious surroundings of The Cliveden Dining Room.

The Chefs' Forum stages Hospitality Industry Taster Days at colleges all over the UK. Here is an example of such an event staged at The Winter Gardens (Weston-super-Mare) for Weston College. This event drove registration for the new intake and gave 400 school children a real insight into what to expect from a catering course at Weston College and curriculum enrichment via The Chefs' Forum Academy, now operational across five UK colleges.

VIP guests enjoyed an exclusive ‘Demo and Dine’ event to mark the next phase of Chefs' Forum Academy sessions at The Manchester College. A masterclass in fine dining from chefs including Masterchef: The Professionals finalist Exose Grant Lopo-Ndinga was delivered at The Manchester College during a celebration event with The Chefs’ Forum Academy.

The electric customer event was all about introducing new e-tron technology to the fifty or so VIP guests who attended, whilst showcasing the finest culinary talent and staging a delicious afternoon tea. TV Chef Cherish Finden and students from Bath College took to the Audi chef demonstration stage to create the Audi gecko in chocolate. The Bake Off Professionals judge invited guests to assist with finishing the shiny edible Audi geckos with a brilliant pearl dust powder.

The Chefs’ Forum (London) spring event took place at The Dorchester on Monday (27) January. Dating back to the 1930s, this landmark lodging is one of the world’s most iconic hotels. A destination in itself, The Dorchester was the perfect venue to welcome nearly two hundred chefs and hospitality professionals for a day of fabulous cookery and cocktail demonstrations and industry networking.