It’s Thursday morning and we’re still laughing at last night’s jokes. The Main Reception Room was alive with chatter, there was an audible hush that would descend as the dishes were brought out. Food was at the centre of everyone’s thoughts, they were so impressed that although 4 separate judging panels chose the dishes, they actually all went together very well. It was difficult to choose a stand out dish, some felt the beef was the star, it melted in the mouth and the intense jus really brought the dish together beautifully. Equally, the innovation of the crab dish intrigued many of our guests, one said ‘If someone had told me that tonight I’d eat salty vanilla mayonnaise, I’d probably decline the invite. But it’s been a taste revelation!’
Our evening began with a speech from John Campbell, a Michelin starred chef, on supporting chefs and taking a chance on inexperienced chefs. His speech set a tone for the evening as Harry, our 17 year old chef’s apprentice who won the dessert round, was praised by many of our guests for his performance throughout the rounds.
Each course was paired with a wine that would enhance the flavour of the dish, again the crab dish was brought alive by a Saint-Veran ‘Madam Noly’, Domaine de la chapelle. Some of our more discerning guests were taking note of the wines they enjoyed, and the English sparkling wines that were served at the drinks reception were particularly popular.
The banquet was of course the culmination of a lot of hard work from not only our chefs, but the serving staff, Alan our Deputy General Manager, Patrick one of our Business Executives and Richard our General Manager. Great City Chefs 2017 has been a massive success and we hope you enjoyed following us along the way. Roll on next year?
