First up was Michelin-starred Matt Worswick from The Latymer, it was the second time he has been on our stage and this time he showed the audience how to cook halibut with smoked almond pesto and seaweed butter sauce.
Jerome Galis asparagus, wild
garlic, confit egg yolk and morels
He said: “The Staff Canteen Live is always going to be a decent show to be a part of, it has a great reputation and there have been loads of great chefs before me who have done it so it’s a pleasure to be involved.
“It’s good fun and it’s great exposure for what we do, we’ll get loads of hits on social media so it’s a win, win.”
On the final day it’s important to mention our headline sponsor Westlands, the team there have supported The Staff Canteen Live for a long time – in fact Hotelympia was the sixth time they have headlined and they kindly gave all of our chefs a personalised I.O.Shen knife.
Westlands Growing Manager, Will Boers explained: “Being headline sponsor keeps us in the limelight with The Staff Canteen, we definitely see the benefit from it especially when the live show is in action.”
He added: “Headline sponsor or not, it’s great to meet our current and new customers face to face and great to have the opportunity to showcase any new exciting products.
“I think with The Staff Canteen Live it has definitely helped draw a crowd to us at Hotelympia and 'the right crowd', which is key to these shows we do with The Staff Canteen.”
The next dish was Jerome Galis asparagus, wild garlic, confit egg yolk and morels by the extremely talented Matt Abé who currently holds three Michelin stars at Restaurant Gordon Ramsay. He is new to the demo scene and said: “I thoroughly enjoyed the demo and the reason I wanted to be a part of the show was to showcase the restaurant and the food we are doing – I follow The Staff Canteen and you can see the power, reach and audience it has. It’s a great way for me to share my knowledge and passion with like-minded individuals in the industry.”
Matt Worswick in the
Santa Maria spice truck
Unfortunately the snow did mean Lisa Goodwin-Allen couldn’t make it down from Northcote so our final chef of the day was Dom Chapman from The Beehive who cooked hake with mushroom rice, chorizo, cockles and parsley. He is currently working with Rice Crafters and he was keen to use their product to inspire other chefs to try it too.
On The Staff Canteen Live he said: “It’s massive now isn’t it? The Staff Canteen is a massive part of our industry so to be asked to demo is an honour really.”
He added: “It’s also a great platform to talk about a new product, something I believe in and I think is delicious so I hope it will do very well.”
We couldn't put on The Staff Canteen Live without the help of of our streaming company, Solent and the students from Barking and Dagenham College.
And a big thanks to all of the chefs who took part in the show and also to all of our sponsors: Westlands, Santa Maria, Churchill china, Nestle Chef, Matthew Clark, Rice Crafters, Japanese Knife Company, Zenith Hygiene, True Manufacturing, Eco Pure Water, Pommery and Induced Energy.
If you missed any of the action from The Staff Canteen Live 2018 you can catch up over on our Facebook and YouTube and watch all the chefs live.
In these challenging times…
The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.
Over the last 16 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 560,000 followers across Facebook, X, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.
A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.
Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.
