The Staff Canteen Live 2023: Networking lunch at Whatley Manor Hotel

On Monday 20th november, we were excited to welcome chefs and suppliers to our TSC Live Networking lunch at the stunning Whatley Manor Hotel in the Cotswolds.

Award-winning chef Ricki Weston and his team created a fantastic menu enjoyed by our guests, at Whatley Manor Hotel in Malmesbury. 

Some of the South West's most skilled and renowned chefs were invited to Whately Manor Hotel to sample an exclusive menu cooked by Ricki Weston and his team. 

Chefs 

Gavin Edney, Executive Head Chef, The Headland Hotel; Santosh Gurun, Head Chef, Pheasant Inn; Samuel Squires, Executive Head Chef, The Old Crown Coaching Inn; Richard Davies, Executive Chef, Calcot Manor; Sean Ducie, Head Chef Queens College Oxford; Oliver Snowden, Head Chef, Green Templeton College; Paul Evans, Chef Owner, The Season Kitchen; Jake Nicholls, Head Chef, The Queensberry Hotel & Olive Tree Restaurant; Chris Coates, Head Chef, The Holt Hotel; Carl Cleghorn, Executive Chef, Thornbury Castle Hotel and Restaurant; Ben Gibbons, Head Chef, St Anne's College; Bobby Southworth, Head Chef, The Greenbank Hotel; Anuj Thakur, Executive Chef, Tewkesbury Park

Sponsors

Chef Works, Lightspeed, Nyetimber, Udale, Nespresso, Winterhalter, Williams Refrigeration

What the guests said

Commenting on how he found the event as a sponsor, Malcolm Harling, Sales and Marketing Director at Williams Refrigeration, said: "This lunch has been absolutely superb - Ricki has been absolutely amazing. We had six courses and the opportunity to speak to nearly every chef, by way of moving around the tables, was an excellent idea and certainly one that I would do again."

Looking at the format of the event, Malcolm said: "Today I spoke mainly about food. The products that we sell are there to chill and freeze food, but what we spoke about today was the challenges that chefs face, how we can overcome them, and how we can provide solutions for them. Hopefully it didn't come across as a hard sell but purely a solution based intiaitive." 

As a chef invited to the event, Jake Nicholls, Head Chef at The Queensberry Hotel & Olive Tree Restaurant, said: "It's a really good event. It's nice to see everyone and see it all from the otherside. It was good to catch up with the other chefs and see what they're doing, see how they are, and again with the sponsors as well, we've had a quite few nice chats."

Commenting on how sponsors interact with chefs during the event, Jake said: "You get to interact with them and they're also telling us what they're doing and what they're offering, and we're able to then explain our needs. I'm going to get in contact with ChefWorks next week because we're looking for new jackets at the moment."

Discussing his favourite dish, Jake said: "Either the plum dessert or the scallop dish. It was really lovely."

Talking about what today has meant for her and her company, Marsha Dawson, Regional Sales Manager at Nespresso said: "It's been fantastic. It's been a really enjoyable day, the food has been outstanding, Ricki and his team have done a phenomanal job. The highlight for me was starting in the kitchen, standing around with other guests, tasting the canapes, and networking with each other."

Looking at the format of the event, Marsha said: "The format worked very well, doing this speed-dating style where we get to sit on different tables with each of the different chefs. I've had interesting conversations on each table, so it's great to meet some new very good contacts."

As a chef invited to the event, Richard Davies, Executive Chef at Calcot Manor, said: "It's been an incredible lunch today. Ricki's food is absolutely fantastic, big shout out to Ricki and the team at Whatley. The wine pairings from Nyetimber were absolutely beautiful as well."

Discussing the format of today's lunch, Richard said: "Being a bit long in the tooth, I know a lot of these companies and a lot of the sponsors today, but actually having them interact and move around the tables is really good. Having sponsors on our table, where we can learn a bit more about the branding, the product, and the ethos behind the company as well, is really beneficial."