Seven chefs, seven dishes for Hospitality Action

Next month Michelin-starred The Raby Hunt will be hosting a guest chef night with a twist and all proceeds will be donated to Hospitality Action.

Chef patron James Close will be joined in the kitchen on July 3, by chefs he describes as ‘six of the most interesting up and coming’ cooks from the UK who will all be serving food ‘which you have to be able to eat with your hands’.

James said: “We launched the Development Sundays last year to allow us to experiment with dishes before they made it onto the main menu. This is taking that to the next level and it will bring these amazing chefs to the North east for a one-off event. They will each be cooking one course to give people a taster of what they do.

“Each chef will serve their dish personally and each guest will have a card they can tick off each time they try a dish – it’s like a mini tasting menu.”

It is a standing event, with live music and a DJ plus a champagne bar and the chef line-up is John Freeman from Restaurant Sat Bains, Mark Birchall who is soon to open Moor Hall, Sam Nutter, ex Noma and now he has Bror in Copenhagen, Development chef John Feeney, James Knappett from Bubbledogs and Luke French from Joro Restaurant.

James said: “It will be a completely different style of service for us all, all the chefs who are cooking are up and coming – I wanted to step away from the old school and focus on the new wave.”

In November last year James announced he was dropping all lunch services so his team could have a better work/life balance but also to allow them time to be creative and develop new dishes – it was a gamble but one he says has paid off.

“It has worked massively,” explained James. “Almost too much because everyone wants to come to the Development Sunday so it has become quite strenuous to keep doing them. That’s why I’m now only looking at doing them when I can offer something unique such as the event next month.

“I hoped some of the dishes would make it onto our regular tasting menu and they have, the Amalfi Lemon dish and the pork skin are both on there.”

He added: “Not doing lunches is the best thing we ever did. It allows us to focus on dishes, up the standards, bring them onto the menu and importantly we have the energy to do all that.”

>>> Read: Michelin-starred chef slashes working hours to combat chef shortage

Hospitality Action, is the trade charity for nearly 180 years, provides a lifeline for current and former hospitality industry workers who find themselves in a crisis, both at work and in their personal lives.

 *Tickets are on sale now for Seven Chefs, Seven Dishes and are priced at £65 and include a glass of champagne. To book call: 01325 374237 or email: enquiries@rabyhuntrestaurant.co.uk