The Staff Canteen Live 2019 Networking Lunch at Alyn Williams at The Westbury

The July edition of The Staff Canteen Live Networking Lunch series was held at Alyn Williams at The Westbury yesterday.

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London's top chefs came to the historic hotel in Mayfair to enjoy a meal cooked by head chef Charlie Tayler  and met with suppliers in an informal setting. 

Guests were greeted with Champagne and canapés  before being given a tour of the kitchen followed by a four-course menu, wine flight and petits fours. Ingredients were supplied by the event sponsors. 

Chefs 

Attending were chef Marianne Lumb; Andrew Turner; head chef at Tredwells, Eve Seeman; chef Elliot Miller of Artists Residence; executive chef of Richmond Gate Hotel Fabio Petrucci; Javi Blanco, head chef at Eneko Basque Kitchen & Bar;  Jonas Karlsson, head chef at 100 Wardour Street; Markus Bohr, executive pastry chef at Harrods; Martin Cahill, executive chef at Rosewood Hotel London; The Cavendish head chef Nitin Pawar; Andras Katona, head chef at Avenue; Nathan Richardson, head chef at The Guinea Grill;Craig Johnston, sous chef at The Berkley, Tom Buckwell, executive chef at TB Caterserve and Scot Paterson, head chef at Ting restaurant,  Shangri-la.

Sponsors

The event's headline sponsor was Zenith Hygiene,  the UK's largest independent manufacturer and supplier of cleaning and hygiene chemicals and ancillary products. 

It was also supported by Koppert Cress, Les Vergers-Boiron, Chef  Works, Seafood from Norway and Udale Speciality Foods.

Nitin Pawar, head chef at The Cavendish said he thought the event was "brilliant."

"It's great to see head chefs, suppliers and to find out about current trends." 

Meeting suppliers in this setting, he said, means "you can see the product and understand the trends, like sustainability, what cleaning products chefs use, everything." 

Andrew Swanson, head of business development at Zenith Hygiene said today's event was great.

"The food was lovely, the company was very good." 

"It was quite a relaxed event; it's nice to sit down with people and spend some time without it being forced." 

Les Vergers Boiron product manager Christian Mayolle  said:"The food was outstanding and I think the spirit was there because people were very open to discuss and to exchange. It was really nice and I'd like to thank The Staff Canteen, I can see that there is a lot of work behind everything." 

"It was a really nice experience, even with people who already know our brand, it was nice to chat with them." 

Elliot Miller, head chef at The Cambridge Street Kitchen at Artists Residence said that not only was the food delicious, but "it was lovely to meet new people in a relaxed situation."

Events like this, he said, give suppliers "a bit more time to really speak to people about products and what they do." 

Asked if he knew any of the sponsors, he said: "Zenith I currently use, Boiron I use through Ritter Courivaud and Norwegian Seafood I know of because some of my friends use them, and I would potentially use them in the future" 

Fabio Petrucci, head chef at Claygate Averna in Richmond, said: "A very big well done to everyone because the location, the place, the food, the people were all great." 

The chef said there was a mix of companies there that he knew and didn't know, and that events like this allow chefs to "bond with suppliers, to understand what they do, how they do it and if it can fit your philosophy or concept of food. I think all of them [here today] match what I'm planning to do."