The Staff Canteen Live 2023: Networking lunch at UNALOME by Graeme Cheevers

On Tuesday 18th April, we were Thrilled to welcome chefs and suppliers to our TSC Live Networking lunch at UNALOME by Graeme Cheevers.

Chef Patron Graeme Cheevers and his team created a delicious menu to be enjoyed by our guests.

Some of Scotland's finest chefs were invited to UNALOME by Graeme Cheevers to sample an extraordinary culinary adventure made possible by his fantastic team, and supported by some of the industry's most prestigious operators. 

Chefs 

Guests attending this month's lunch were  Fraser Smith, Head Chef, Angels with Bagpipes; Gary Townsend, Head Chef, 1 Devonshire Gardens; Paul Wedgwood, Chef Owner, Wedgwood the Restaurant; Peter McKenna, Chef Owner, The Gannet; Stuart Ralston, Chef Owner, Aizle and Noto; Dean Banks, Chef Owner, Pompadour Restaurant at Waldorf Astoria; Paul Gunning, Chef Owner, Purslane Restaurant; Jiri Koutny, Executive Head Chef, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants; Garry Watson, Chef Owner, Gordon's Restaurant with Rooms; David Jamieson, Executive Chef, Archerfield; Colin Anderson, Chef Director, Brett Glasgow; Brian Grigor, Chef Owner, Eòrna Restaurant; Nick Nairn, Chef Owner, Nick’s at Port of Menteith; Nick’s on Henderson Street, Bridge of Allan; Nick Nairn Cook School; Murray Cooper, Sous Chef, Kitchin Group; and Ruairi Mitchell from Dulse. 

Sponsors

Chef Works, Lightspeed, Nyetimber, Unox, Valentine Equipment

What the guests said

Dean Banks, Chef Owner of the Dean Banks Group, said: "Today's been amazing and it's been a great way to meet sponsors. I've had a good converastion with Nyetimber; we have a new restaurant opening in Scotland, so it's been amazing for that. Also, we spoke to Unox as well for the ovens, we had a good conversation with them as well, so I think it's been great networking with the companies attending. We've already created two deals that we think we will be happy to go ahead with, and we've also had a delicious lunch."

Dean added: "I don't like cold-calling or random messages coming through, I like face-to-face personal relationships, so today has been really important for this, because we get to meet people from these companies, create that initial relationship, and from there we can create really good business together."

Speaking to chefs, Dean added: "I'd highly recommend coming to these networking lunches for all chefs out there to meet the other chefs in your area. It's great networking, we always see each other on social media, so to actually speak to each other it's really great."

Fraser Smith, Head Chef, Angels with Bagpipes, said: "I've really enjoyed it! I'm not normally one for these social events but when you're coming somewhere like this and putting on an event like this it's something that every chef wants to get involved in and see, particularly the inner workings of the restaurant."

When asked about the opportunities to network with companies, and the suppliers sponsoring the event, Fraser added: "I don't really take the phonecalls, and if I'm looking for something I'll find it myself, but it is a good way to make contact. When speaking to some of these companies, you can find out that there might be something that might interest me that I might not know about, so that's something really positive to come out of it."

Talking about the opportunity to taste a product on the menu at the event, Fraser said: "[Nyetimber] is a product we used before anyway but it came off the list eight years ago. Having it today with each course makes you realise it's defintiely something that you should have on your list."

Sam O'Kane, National Development Manager at Chef Works, said: "It's been amazing! These events give us the opportunity to meet the top chefs within a region, which is always nice. For us, as a sponsor, we don't come here to sell, we come here to build relationships with these guys and it creates a nice environment where we can enjoy some incredible food and chat. You always feel that because of the way the environment is you are always going to build a relationship which will be good in the future."

Talking about Chef Works history with the events, Sam added: "For us, as an event, it's one of the most important of the month. We like the format, as a brand we're very relaxed about how we deal with our customers, we like to build that relationship, so what you guys have created is exactly who we are, which is nice."

Sam added: "It's the right environment to do business. It creates an environment where you can have a conversation that will lead onto something else."

Alex Smith, Account Executive for Lightspeed, said: "Today's lunch has been amazing. It's always a pleasure to come to The Staff Canteen's networking lunches, in particular coming to UNALOME and tasting Graeme Cheevers' food. It was incredible, every single dish was wonderful, and the company was great as well. Everyone was very engaged to talk about what was going on with their restaurant and the industry in general, so it was very exciting to be here today."

"From a sponsorship opportunity, these events give you the opportunity to have honest, real human conversations, with chefs that would ordinarily be too busy or unwilling to open themselves up to questions around your business, and how you can increase efficencies with theirs, to ultimately make hospitality a better place to be in the UK."