The Staff Canteen Live 2018 Networking Lunch at Galvin at Windows

The Staff Canteen Live Networking Lunch was held at Galvin at Windows in The Hilton on Park Lane in Mayfair, London.

• Read more about The Staff Canteen Live Networking Lunches
• Who is Joo Won, head chef at Galvin at Windows?
• The next The Staff Canteen Live Networking Lunch will be at The Beehive, White Waltham on Monday, June 11. Register your interest for the event here.

The headline sponsor for this month’s lunch was HIT Training. Chefs and sponsors enjoyed a six-course menu with matching wines from head chef, Joo Won and his team.

Chefs

Chefs in attendance were: Asimakis Chaniotis, executive head chef, Pied a Terre; Ana Paula Oliver, head of pastry, Restaurant Associates; Fergus Wilford, sous chef, André Garrett at Cliveden; Adam Lestrelle, head chef, Arthur’s Restaurant at Liberty London; Ben Pope, head chef, The Plough Pub; Adam Bateman, group operations and development chef, Principal; Liam Fauchard-Newman, senior sous chef, Fenchurch at Sky Garden; Gavin Leary, chef lecturer, Westminster Kingsway College; Nick Vadis, culinary director, Compass Group UK and Ireland; Tom Moore, senior sous chef, The Lansdowne Club; Christian Sharp, head chef, Cornerstone and Tom Buckwell, executive head chef, The Fox in Farnham.

The menu at Galvin at Windows

Upon arrival, chefs and sponsors had a Pommery champagne reception and were served a selection of canapés including Korean chicken and crab with a peanut sauce. Next, Joo Won gave the guests a tour of the kitchen at Galvin at Windows, before everyone was seated for lunch. Joo and his team prepared a six-course tasting menu with matching wines, followed by coffee, teas and petit fours. Dishes included lightly cured Norwegian Fjord sea trout with wasabi emulsion, plum soy & shizo (fish supplied by Seafood from Norway) and a dessert of Macerated strawberries, basil sorbet, olives, sable & mascarpone cream.

What the chefs and sponsors had to say about The Staff Canteen Live networking lunch

Robert Bird, director of sales for HIT Training said: “I think it’s been fantastic. Getting a group of people together to talk about some of the situations in the industry, like recruitment and training for chefs and it helps to grow the industry.

"To come to a restaurant and sample the food, which was absolutely out of this world. We were just saying now how laid back the chef was, letting us come in to his kitchen and have a look around. There was a fantastic sommelier too. It’s a really, really good event and it gives people the chance to talk, which is good.”

Charlie Hodd, Key Account Manager for London at Vranken Pommery Monopole agreed: “I think today went well. We’ve been working with The Staff Canteen for over a year on these now and it’s a really great way for us to connect with the chefs.

"One of the things that Pommery as a brand associates with is gastronomy, so to be able to come to these lunches and connect with top chefs and restaurants really enforces that side of the brand and also helps us to develop new relationships.”

Liam Fauchard-Newman, senior sous chef at Fenchurch at Sky Garden also enjoyed the event. He said: “It was a gorgeous sunny day and the food was delicious – what more could you want on a Monday?! It’s the first time I’ve been to a Networking Lunch but it was brilliant and it was great meeting not only chefs, but suppliers. It was really beneficial in every way.”

Liam added: “You would never find a chef who would go out and just interact with a supplier unless they were trying to sell something or wanted your business, so this really is excellent, where you can just talk to them.”

Fergus Wilford, sous chef at André Garrett at Cliveden agreed, and said: “It’s been a great experience with great food and it’s important to meet people in the industry that are at the same level as you, that you might not get to meet otherwise.”

The lunch was sponsored by HIT Training, ChefWorks UK, Seafood from Norway,  Champagne Pommery, Koppert Cress UK and Lactalis Professional.