On Monday 20th september, we were excited to welcome chefs and suppliers to our TSC Live Networking lunch at The grill at the dorchester.
Head chef Tom Booton and his team created a fantastic menu to be enjoyed by our guests after drinks on the terrace supplied by Gusbourne.
MENU Beef tartare with Gangnam tops from Koppert Cress, oxtail jelly, radish, beef fat yolk, yesterday’s bread
Gusbourne Brut Reserve 2018 Lobster Scotch Egg, thermidor, bisque, caviar
Gusbourne Rosé 2016 Ribeye from Udale Specialty Foods garnished with Scarlet Cress and Rock chive from Koppert Cress, tongue, stuffed potatoes, chive mayonnaise Served with The Grills chips, gravy mayonnaise, Caesar salad
Gusbourne Pinot Noir 2019 Coffee and cream soft serve, hazelnuts and Shiso purple Banana & chocolate cheesecake, pecans, caramel
Chefs
This was our first lunch in London since the start of the pandemic and attending were Graham Garrett, chef owner of The West House Restaurant with Rooms; Theo Clench, executive chef, Akoko; Ricardo Jordan, sous chef, Launceston Place; Ben Wood, sous chef, Fenchurch; Chris Underwood, executive pastry chef, The Cadogan; Andreas Engberg, executive chef, KoKo; Alessio Gallo, group exec chef, Romet Group; Liam Whittle, head chef, The Greyhound Inn; Oli Williamson, sous chef, The Fat Duck; Robert Taylor, head chef, Compasses Inn; Elliot Miller, head chef, Lyons Seafood and wine bar; Greg Clarke, in residency, The Pass; Marty Lau, head chef, The Araki; Lee Edney, exec chef, Port Lympne Hotel and Reserve & Howletts Wild Animal Park; Jesse Dunford Wood, Parlour and Six Portland Road; Alex Webb, private chef and MasterChef: The Professionals Winner; Chris Hopkins, senior sous, Ormer Mayfair; Kim Ratcharoen, Anglo Thai; Toby Burrowes, head chef, Zuma.
Sponsors
Our headline sponsor for this event was Kopert Cress, joined by Diversey (Zenith Hygiene), ChefWorks , Gusbourne, WPA Healthcare and Udale Speciality Foods.
What the guests said
Kim Ratcharoen, who recently left Restaurant Gordon Ramsey, will be part of the team opening Anglo Thai next year, she said: "Today has been brilliant, it's a great way to meet other chefs in the industry as we are all always so busy!"
She added: "The sponsors were so passionate about what they do and really approachable - it's a great way to meet them."
"It's been a great way to network with chefs I don't know," explained Marty Lau from The Araki. "It had a really intimate atmosphere and as this was my first time at one of these events it made me feel really comfortable and I enjoyed it."
As with many of the chefs, Graham Garrett from The West House had 'been meaning to come for ages' to The Grill at The Dorchester. He said: "The food was great and Tom is a lovely guy - it's got to be daunting to cook fro 19 nother chefs, I wouldn't want to do it!"
Talking about the sponsors, Graham explained it's nice to talk to them in a relaxed environment. He said: "It's a good opportunity for us as chefs to expalin to suppliers what we want."
Former MasterChef: The Professionals Winner, Alex Webb, said: "The lunch was amazing. For me, I'm trying to open my own restaurant, so the networking with the sponsors was ideal. Getting to know them and they are going to send me some samples - it was great."
Allie Mount from our wine sponsor, Gusbourne, said: "The networking events really work for us as a huge part for us is educating about English wine, just being able to communicate the message that there is some really fantastic quality coming out of England is invaluable."
