The Chefs’ Forum Hosts High-Impact Qualiko Chicken Menu Development Day at West London College

This week, at West London College, we hosted an exclusive Menu Development Day in partnership with premium poultry brand Qualiko, by MHP Foods.

The event brought together an elite line-up of development chefs, culinary directors, and kitchen managers spanning every major sector of the food industry, including healthcare, pub chains, QSR, Asian cuisine, hotels, contract catering, and private dining. The day served as a live innovation hub, challenging the chefs to showcase the adaptability, quality, and menu appeal of Qualiko chicken products across diverse catering landscapes.

By providing a collaborative space for top-tier culinary professionals to cook side-by-side, The Chefs’ Forum highlighted how high-quality poultry products can seamlessly elevate menus across completely different sectors, from high-volume healthcare to street-food-inspired street concepts and Quick Service Restaurants.

Gavin Jessett, Head of R&D Europe, MHP Europe attended the event to see how Client Business Development Manager for HoReCa, Paul Da Costa Greaves and the UK Marketing Team are working with chefs to promote the entire Qualiko product range and harvest market insight, which helps to shape forward strategy, he said:

“I’m delighted to be here in London today, and it is a great opportunity to see how The Chefs’ Forum has brought together the entire supply chain to spark interesting conversation and generate demand for the Qualiko product range. The chefs are the influencers who innovate in menu design, and they have certainly done a fantastic job of that today, showcasing our various products in delicious recipes. Our cooked, raw and coated poultry products were put through their paces, and some wonderful food was produced. We all learnt so much from one another, and we will be replicating this kind of activation across Europe.”

What did the chefs say?

Ilona Tomza (Development Chef, Porthaven Care Homes & NACC Chef of the Year 2025):

“In care home catering, our focus is always on combining high nutritional value with familiar, comforting flavours that residents love. Working with Qualiko chicken today allowed me to demonstrate how versatile and tender the product is, making it easy to create vibrant, nutrient-dense dishes like my pan-fried paprika chicken that fits perfectly into a healthcare setting.”

Dec Penfold (Founder/Development Chef, Dec’s Kitchen of SIDES fame):

“It was a fantastic day and great to work alongside the Qualiko team and the students at West London College. I was lucky to have Colin helping me throughout the day, he was brilliant. The quality of the chicken was excellent and gave us the versatility to create exactly the kind of food I love to cook and eat, simple, flavour-packed dishes that really showcase the product.”

Driving Cross-Sector Collaboration

The Chefs’ Forum Menu Development Day allowed these industry leaders to network, swap insights, and explore new menu solutions. The state-of-the-art kitchens at West London College provided the perfect backdrop for the event, highlighting the college’s ongoing commitment to connecting its hospitality students with live, top-tier industry events.

Culinary Innovation on Display

The participating chefs utilised a variety of Qualiko cuts to design and execute an impressive range of globally inspired creations:

Carniel Levy (Chef Patron, House of Sauce) – Brown Stew Qualiko Chicken Thigh Bao with Pickled Slaw & Scotch Bonnet Garlic Aioli

Keiko Urakawa (Head Chef, Cafe Bar Necco) – Kombu & Green Tea Cured Qualiko Chicken Thigh

Carl Newey (Development Chef, Stonegate Group) – Spring Chicken and ‘Nduja Butter Sauce

Ilona Tomza (Development Chef, Porthaven Care Homes / NACC Chef of the Year 2025) – Pan-Fried Paprika Chicken with Courgette, Feta, Mint & Dill Salad

Urvashi Makwana (Chef Team Leader, Guy’s & St Thomas’ Hospital) – Gujarati Style Chicken

Dec Penfold (Founder/Development Chef, Dec’s Kitchen) – Japanese Club Sandwich

Alex Agbloe (Kitchen Manager, Tower Hotel) – Chicken Spring Rolls

Alex Agbloe (Kitchen Manager, Tower Hotel) – Mediterranean Chicken Rice Bowl with Flatbread and Cucumber Salad

Gloria Ng (Chef, Lee Kum Kee) – Char Siu Chicken Breast with Creamy Potato Mash

Sean Simmonds (Culinary Director, Graysons) – San Choy Bow

Reflecting on the day, Paul Da Costa Greaves said:

“Our focus at MHP Foods in partnering with The Chefs’ Forum is to bridge gaps in the supply chain and industry, facilitate collaboration, and showcase our incredible poultry products. Bringing together chefs from healthcare, pubs, hotels, and restaurants to cook with Qualiko chicken products from MHP Foods, and talking to them about their menus, demonstrated the immense versatility of the product range.

The college kitchens were buzzing with creativity, and the dishes produced were a testament to the talent we have across all sectors of UK hospitality. It was also a privilege to welcome Development chefs from market-leading ingredient brands, QSR chains and wholesalers, to show how the Qualiko product range could work with their ingredients, menu and produce offers – The event was a huge success!”