Sword of Excellence

Employer Showcase: Andrew Brownsword Hotels

Comprising thirteen properties in countryside settings and city centre locations, Andrew Brownsword Hotels is owned by Christina and Andrew Brownsword CBE DL who strive to create very special places that truly embody their own ethos of great hospitality. The collection includes award-winning Gidleigh Park in Devon, 5 AA red star hotel and spa, The Bath Priory, 900-year-old Amberley Castle in West Sussex, five Cotswold properties: The Slaughters Manor House, The Slaughters Country Inn, Buckland Manor, Minster Mill and the Old Swan plus stylish London pied à terre, Sydney House Chelsea.

ABode Hotels are located in the heart of Canterbury, Chester, Glasgow and Manchester. Each ABode Hotel is individual in design. Their distinctive interiors have been designed to offer unique hotels which embrace the heritage of the building in which they are set, whilst at the same time offering a contemporary experience that reflects their city centre location.

The high-end luxury hotel collection can offer real career progression opportunities and it was our pleasure to work with them to stage a magnificent lunch to showcase the group and its excellent culinary talent.

Four chefs from Andrew Brownsword Hotels put on a masterclass of hotel cooking at The Bath Priory on Monday (4) March 2024 at the latest Chefs’ Forum lunch in a series, showcasing high profile employers across the UK.

Nicholas Chappell from Slaughters Manor, Mark Potts from Buckland Manor, Jauca Catalin from Bath Priory and Paul Peters from Amberley Castle cooked for 100 invited guests from the Cotswolds and Bath area to showcase careers at Brownsword Hotels.

They were joined by students from City of Bristol College and five excellent temps from high-end staffing specialist, Off To Work, who got to work in the kitchen and serve front of house.

Regional General Manager, Gurval Durand, welcomed his industry peers to the event, he said

“Its great to see so many of you here today supporting our local hospitality industry and our chefs here from across Andrew Brownsword Hotels at this fantastic showcase event.  I want to thank Bath Priory Hotel Manager Carlotta Pascual-Solera and Jauca for working with The Chefs’ Forum team to pull this all together and I am very pleased with the result.  The food has been wonderful and the atmosphere in the room so positive and inspirational for young chefs and hospitality professionals.  This is what our industry is all about and it is our pleasure to host you all today, we would be happy to welcome you back to eat with us or visit our spa in the future.”

Catherine Farinha, Director of The Chefs’ Forum, said afterwards: “Our careers showcase lunches are gathering pace now. It really is an an excellent way to bring together group talent and mix that with outstanding ingredients from our suppliers and keen students from our colleges. The Bath Priory lunch was a cracker.”

Jauca Catalin, Executive Chef at The Bath Priory said: “The lunch was a pleasure to put together and congratulations to The Chefs’ Forum. It’s such a simple idea to get four of our top chefs to cook a lunch but underneath the hood is a lot of work and that’s what Catherine and the team do so well. It was great to be able to showcase our talent to the next generation and promote excellent career opportunities available within The Brownsword Collection.”

The menu in full:

Starter – Nicholas Chappell (Slaughters Manor)
White asparagus, blood orange and sauce maltese

Fish Course – Mark Potts (Buckland Manor)
Charred smoked eel, wild garlic, buttermilk and caviar

Main Course – Jauca Catalin (The Bath Priory)
Aussie sirloin of beef, salsify, smoked Aussie brisket, lovage and red wine reduction

Dessert – Paul Peters (Amberley Castle)
Marinated compressed pineapple, coconut, coriander and piña colada

The lunch was kindly sponsored by Dole Foodservice, Meat & Livestock Australia, Brown Brothers Family Wine Group, Wedgwood, MCS Technical Products, Off To Work, Chef Works, Saucery and the Hotel, Restaurant and Catering Show.

The Chefs’ Forum would like to thank all chefs, students and temps who participated and all of the chefs and hospitality professionals who attended the event ou their day off to support and network with their industry peers and top suppliers to industry.