A great feat at the Great 8 night
September was quite a month! Last Monday was a big night for
us at Freemasons, hosting the first of the Great 8 nights to raise money for
Hospitality Action. I was really proud of all of our staff – kitchen and
front-of-house were all flawless.
A clash with the AA awards dinner meant that some of the
actual chefs were not present and instead sent their number 2s. For instance
Simon Rogan was represented by Daniel Cox, a former winner of the Roux
scholarship and he was excellent. But the other absentees meant that the
pressure fell a little more on my shoulders and I had to do one complete extra
course – goat’s curd with cobnut dressing, fig ice cream and salt-baked
beetroots, as well as my pork dish of pork belly, trotters and scratchings. In
fact I dressed and served every course that left the kitchen.
However, I think we earned a lot of respect and I am sure
that the deputies will be returning to their kitchens singing the praises of
Freemasons and its staff. I would like to think that it wasn’t just down to the
fact that we were hosts that we came out on top when the guests scored each
dish.
During the previous week I hosted the final event of the Visionary
Dining Chef of the Year down in Northampton.
The winner, Sujan Sukar, one of 11 heat winners, will cook one of my dishes at
the grand final, held at The Lakes School on October 20th with a
first prize of being able to dine at any restaurant in the world. He was
actually on our trip to Mugaritz earlier in the year but the judging process
was blind, so there was no favouritism. He has entered five of the Pro Chef
events and I was really proud when he said that I had been the most
professional and inspirational.v
04/10/2011 05:39:00 Filed under: General Comments: 1