The Staff Canteen Live 2024: Networking lunch at Store, Stoke Mill

​On Monday 20th of may, we HELD OUR networking lunch at Liam Nichols' STORE at Stoke Mill, in Norfolk.

THE guests

15 chefs joined us at Store, Stoke Mill:

Dan Lawrence, Head Chef / Owner at Socius;
Lee Tyler, Head Chef at Meadowsweet;
Richard Bainbridge, Head Chef / Owner at Benedicts;
James Carn, Head Chef / Owner at Lark Restaurant;
Mark Abbott, Head Chef at Midsummer House;
Eric Snaith, Head Chef / Owner at Titchwell Manor;
Galton Blackiston, Head Chef / Owner at Morston Hall;
Lee Cooper, Executive Chef at Bedford Lodge;
Jimmy Preston, Head Chef / Owner at XO Kitchens;
Thomas Aubrit, Head Chef / Owner at L'Hexagone Bistro;
Byron Franklin, Head Chef at Castor Hall;
Nick Harris, Head Chef at Jarrolds;
Justin Sharp, Head Chef / Owner at Pea Porridge;
Daniel Smith, Chef Patron at The Wildebeest;
George Colley, Owner at Brick Pizza, Yard Pasta, The Weavers Arms.
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Galton Blackiston, Chef Patron at Morston Hall, attended his first TSC networking lunch today. "I have been blown away by it," he comments. "Liam is a great chef and [The Staff Canteen] chose a great place. Not only having great food, great company and great chefs to interact with, but also the suppliers who have sponsored the event are all interesting to me because I am still heavily involved in the kitchen at Morston Hall.

"There has never been a harder time for hospitality, and I have been around for a while," Galton jokes. "Meeting other chefs face-to-face has been lovely. We are all going through the same thing, we've got to stick together."

Richard Bainbridge, Chef Owner of restaurant Benedicts, said the lunch had been "absolutely incredible! We don't normally have many things that come to Norfolk, so when I got the opportunity to come it was brilliant, and actually being around a table with so many other chefs as well as suppliers has been really eye-opening.

Being in a confortable environment where you naturally have a conversation [with the suppliers], I found that if it was something I was interested in, I actually had the opportunity to ask questions that I might not normally do over an email or on the phone. So I found it really rewarding." he concludes.

THE SPONSORS

Special thanks to our seven sponsors that made this lunch possible Chef Works, Control Induction, Winterhalter,  Williams Refrigeration, Continental Chef Supplies, Nespresso Professional and Rathfinny. 

When asked about why the concept of The Staff Canteen networking lunches work for them, Richard James, Brand Abbasador at Rathfinny Estate said: "The key thing about sales is partnerships, so for us at Rathfinny it's not about volume, it's about building up a partnership and relationship with the customer, in this case it's the chef. Here today at Store, it was all about being able to get that relationship going, start the discussion and then we'll follow it up with emails and face-to-face conversations."

THE MENU

The guests indulged in an exclusive menu prepared by Liam Nichols and his team:

Selection of Canapes
Rathfinny 2019 Rosé
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Smoked trout tartlet, served with pickled radish,
lightly cured trout eggs, nori powder, cornflowers
and parsley emulsion.
Rathfinny Classic Cuvee 2017 served from magnum
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Teriyaki glazed pork, roasted scallop with a katsu curry sauce,
green coriander oil, lime zest and an Asian inspired shallot salad
Cradle Valley Pinot Gris 2022
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Gently cooked cod, served with sweet fennel, fresh dill,
herby panko breadcrumbs, fish cram sauce finished with
herring roe and lemon juice.
Rathfinny Blanc de Blancs 2019
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Aged beef cooked over coals, carrot fondant, braised beef, asparagus
bordelaise and bearnaise sauce.
Rathfinny Blanc de Noirs 2019
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Set mascarpone coated in chocolate soil, coffee gel,
chocolate ice cream and coffee tuile
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The last bite
A selection of white, milk and dark aero.
Nespresso Professional Exclusive selection Galapagos Blend

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