Essential Cuisine | Britains Best Brigade

The public vote is now open as Essential Cuisine search for the UK’s best chef team in their Britain’s Best Brigade campaign.

Eight regional finalists now remain, having been judged by a panel of chefs including: British Culinary Federation Vice Chairman, Matt Davies, chef patron of Liverpool’s Hope Street Hotel, Paul Askew and executive chef at London’s Park Lane Sheraton, Andrew Bennett. Each finalist has been tasked with creating a short video to bring their original entry to life and showcase their kitchen camaraderie, togetherness and teamwork; all of which can be seen here. Voters now have until midnight on the 29th June to go to bestbrigades.co.uk, watch the videos and crown a winner, who will receive the title, £1000 cash and an exclusive menu development masterclass with a leading UK chef. Nigel Crane, managing director for Essential Cuisine, said: “The final eight are in and now it’s up to the public to decide which brigade is their favourite. Our thanks to each of the eight teams for their fantastic video entries – some incredibly strong contenders; proud, hardworking and always with a sense of fun – proof that creativity doesn’t stop at the perimeters of the kitchen. Regional pride is on the line – only one brigade will be victorious; I urge viewers who like what they see to show their support and vote today!”

The finalists in full:

Greater London Just Hospitality, London A 17-strong contract caterer with a highly sociable team serving a number of the capital’s most prestigious and creative hubs. South East Oakley Hall Hotel, Oakley, Basingstoke A multi-national brigade serving the hotel’s 2 AA rosette fine dining restaurant, bringing menu ideas from across the globe and translating them into dishes made using highly local British produce. South West The Kingham Plough, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire A multi award-winning pub with an intensely hard working brigade that delivers an exciting modern British menu, leaning heavily on quality and locality. English Midlands The Heritage Motor Centre, Gaydon, Warwickshire Home to the world’s largest collection of British vehicles, this private hire, fine dining destination has a team used to catering for anything from 20-seater VIP dinners to 500 strong gala celebrations. North East Jamie’s Italian, York The York arm of Jamie Oliver’s highly successful, casual Italian empire has at its heart a nine-strong brigade smashing 800 covers per day with a fresh menu featuring over 80 dishes. North West & Northern Ireland The Mere Resort, Knutsford, Cheshire This hotel, spa and golfing resort has three, 2 AA rosette restaurants manned by a large-scale brigade creating over 10,000 meals per month. Wales Cibo @ St David’s Walk, Mold, Flintshire An award winning Flintshire bistro boasting a locally sourced menu created by a tireless kitchen team. Scotland Edinburgh Airport Hilton Hotel, Edinburgh A modern venue with a classic menu, the hotel catering team boasts a number of long-serving kitchen stalwarts at its heart. This year Essential Cuisine is celebrating 20 years in business. Since 1995, the company has been producing outstanding stock ingredients that help to unleash the creativity of chefs in all sectors, always delivering good taste, with absolutely no quality compromise.

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