We’ve brought you our top ten articles fromJanuary to Juneand now here’s the second part looking at what was most popular from July through to December in our 2015 review of the year.
We start off our countdown for the second half of the year with our Instagram countdown for August,where we celebrate The Staff Canteen's amazing Instagram followers with the top ten most liked images for each month, as decided by our followers.
The Fat Duck reopens after nine months with a new menu
Very popular in the second half of the year was the news that after a 9-month migration to a temporary home in Melbourne, Heston Blumenthal and his team are now back home and September 29 saw the reopening of The Fat Duck as it enters its 21st year.
Gordon Ramsay and Clare Smyth announce new venture
In October it was announced that after 11 years at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, Clare Smyth, with the backing of Gordon Ramsay, is seeking a new location in London to set up an independent restaurant.
Here Clare cooks boeuf tomato tartare with buffalo milk curd and black olives:
Britain’s Got Talent: Michael O’Hare, chef-patron, The Man Behind The Curtain
Michael O’Hare aka The Man Behind The Curtain, started cooking age 19 when he was at university – he’s since honed his skills at John Burton-Race at the Landmark in London and at Seaham Hall in County Durham to name a few. The Staff Canteen grabbed a gin and tonic with him at his Leeds based restaurant and talked working 45 hour weeks, how he thinks ‘grow your own’ is a waste of time and flying melons….
As part of our Britain's Got Talent feature Michael cooks three dishes here:
Sunday Times top 100 Restaurants 2015- the full list
The next most popular piece on the site for the second half of the year was the Sunday Times Top 100 Restaurants in Britain. The guide is published in association with Harden's, and is based on 70,000 reviews from more than 6,000 consumers covering the whole of Britain.
Good Food Guide 2016 Top 50 Restaurants - full list
The mid-point on our countdown is another list- this time it’s the Good Food Guide’s top 50 restaurants. The Top 50 recognises the very best talent in the country; a place on the list represents a huge achievement, with each position earned by its score in The Good Food Guide, editor appraisal and strength of reader feedback.
Michelin-starred chef slashes working hours to combat chef shortage
Number four on the countdown is the news that James Close from The Raby Hunt in Darlington decided to scrap the weekday lunch service but keep Saturdays, not only to take pressure off his chefs but also to allow them more time to create new and innovative dishes. This was in response to the apparent chef shortage, which has been a huge source for comment and debate within the industry.
Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms to change to a 4-day week
Next is another piece related to the chef shortage, this time it was the news that Michelin-starred Restaurant Sat Bains with Rooms was to change to a 4-day operation from November, meaning his staff would gain 48 days per annum more in free time.
In this video Sat creates duck breast, compressed apple and English feta cheese dishes
The highest list on our countdown is the Michelin Guide 2016 for Great Britain and Ireland. While there were no new three stars in this year’s guide, there were two new two stars and 15 one stars added to the guide.
So what is to blame for the apparent chefs shortage?
The top spot on our countdown, and the most popular piece on our site from July to December, goes to another piece on the chef shortage. This time it’s our editorial looking at what could be the cause of the chef shortage, and what has to change in order to fix it.
See which articles throughout January to June were the most viewed in the first part of our reviewhere.
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