The Staff Canteen Live 2020 at HRC, Day 2

 We kicked off day 2 of our TSCLive event at HRC with a demonstration by the nation’s sweetheart, chef Tom Kerridge. 

He was joined by the head chefs of his two Michelin-starred establishments - Tom De Keyser of The Coach and Jamie May, who recently replaced Aaron Mulliss as head chef of The Hand and Flowers in Marlow. 

Mr Kerridge lent a helping hand while Jamie made deep fried guinea fowl with truffle, sour kale, smoked bean royale and BBQ sauce, and Tom De Keyser made curried eel - a dish emblematic of the food The Coach is known for - heigtened British classics. 

Next up was Michelin-starred head chef of The Harwood Arms, Sally Abé, whose gastropub was recently named best in the country. 

The recently-announced GBM 2020 contestant prepared a starter on the menu at her London establishment: devilled crab tartlet served with lovage mayonnaise and topped with fresh herbs.

Executive chef at The Holborn Dining Room, Calum Franklin, together with sous chef Nokuthula Mbambo stepped up next, exemplified how centuries' old British dishes like the humble pie fit right in the world of modern gastronomy, with their dauphinoise, comte and caramelised onion pie, intricately decorated, baked and served with a parsley sauce.

Adam Handling, the chef and owner of 10 restaurants (3 of which are ‘waste restaurants’ - including his Ugly Butterfly venture at the Cadogan in Chelsea), then came up on stage, joined by chef Jamie Park, The MasterChef: The Professionals 2017 finalist who heads up Adam's three East London venues.

They cooked a wagyu beef fat-cured lobster served with carrot puree, charred pak choi, and a lemongrass sauce, topped with pickled carrots and herbs. 

To showcase how they apply their zero-waste ethos, they made three additional dishes using the waste from the first: Lobster bisque with fermented cauliflower stalks and thai basil, lobster claw - KFC-style - and lobster 'bolognese' made with coquillettes pasta, bisque, mirepoix, lemongrass, ginger and cream.

Finally, mixologist Miles Cunliffe gave a mocktail demonstration using non-alcoholic spirit Stryyk - making a not-gin-and-tonic and a take on the Clover Club, using an egg-free foam -  proof that even the drinks industry can adapt to customer demands. 

While on stage, the hospitality professionals talked the audience through their prepararations and shared their thoughts on issues affecting the industry, about their inspirations and more specific points, like how they rose to prominence in their roles, how to get (and maintain) accolades and how to attract women into the industry.

After their demonstrations, they answered the audience’s questions, from practical tips and advice to where they like to eat on their days out. 

All the chefs on stage had the assistance of a student from Milton Keynes College, our TSC Live partners, and ingredients, tools and equipment were supplied by our sponsors - Westlands, Major International, Rational, Hoshizaki, Santa Maria, Meiko, EauVation, Global Knives, Alliance (Te Mana Lamb), Diversey/Zenith and Pommery - as were the goodie bags they received as thanks for taking part. 

For the second consecutive day, audience members were given the chance to enter a raffle to win a 12-piece set of Global knives worth £1695 RRP. The winner will be picked on Thursday and their ticket number shared across our social media to collect their prize. 

Speaking about the event today, Henry Boers, a Westlands grower, said: “It’s been a good day, we’ve met lots of people and had some really good feedback.” 

“From my point of view, it’s nice to see the end of the story, we’ve had a lot of happy people which is a win.” 

Given the popularity of the company’s products with professionals in the food industry - and namely with chefs, he said: “we do the best that we can do to provide the best, so it’s great when we get good feedback from them.” 

Marym Hussein, a level 3 professional cookery student at Milton Keynes College, who has been helping out behind the scenes and joining the chefs on stage said it was “an honour” and “amazing” to be in the same room as the people she met over the course of the past two days. 

“They’re such talented chefs and they’ve all been really welcoming, they let us help them out on stage which was really cool. It’s nothing we’ve done before as we’re college students so it’s really good.” 

“I think nowadays a lot of people struggle to find motivation and to meet these chefs and hear their advice, it’s really inspiring. I think they should do it more."

Tom Kerridge – who admitted that standing up and talking in front of crowds has become a common activity for him – said it had been great to give another TSCLive demonstration.

“It was great for the two head chefs Jamie and Tom who’ve been in the businesses for so long and driven The Coach and The Hand and Flowers forward massively – it’s good for them to let people know what they do, industry wide.” 

“Normally, it’s me cooking something for a domestic audience, but actually to showcase what we really do, with the heart, soul and foundation of everything that we’ve built – the guys that do it and drive it every day, it’s been really great and I hope it’s been good for everyone here listening to us to meet the guys.” 

As this year at The Staff Canteen we want to highlight those chefs who have been instrumental in training some of the best young cooks in the industry, we asked the chef how it felt to be looked up to.

He said: “Being a mentor – I find that a bit uncomfortable. For me, the biggest compliment are the people that have been with us for a long long time. For me it’s allowing them to grow, allowing them to become. Their professional and personal development is huge.” 

“For them to start as young chefs and grow up to be amazing cooks and industry leaders – and they’ve built that team around them. So we’ll support them in helping them support the guys underneath and keep building that pyramid. That’s what the profession is about. Personal, professional growth in an amazing industry.” 

As for why he decided to be involved in this year's event, he added: “TSCLive is a really good opportunity for us to go and see what’s going on, as we are developing business and you see what’s on the ground.

"You get an opportunity to meet and network and then also for people in the industry – whether it’s young students or guys that are driving their own businesses, it’s really good to mix with other people that are in the industry and have the same sort of issues and problems and you can network and all find solutions together.” 

Tomorrow, we will conclude our TSCLive event at HRC with another corker of a series of demonstrations from James Knappett & Sandia Chang of Bubbledogs, Darby's Grill and Oyster bar chef owner Robin Gill & restaurant manager Emma Underwood, and finally, Michelin-starred chef of Murano, Angela Hartnett and Lime Wood head chef, Luke Holder. 

 Follow this link to register for a free ticket to HRC.