On Monday, March 13, Classic Fine Foods celebrated ten years in business with an exclusive event, the ‘Luscious Garden Party’ at the London Hilton on Park Lane.
The event saw over 60 of Classic Fine Foods’ partners offering demonstrations and product tastings inside a picturesque ballroom filled with flowers, foliage and a selection of gourmet foods.
Classic Fine Foods UK is a distributor of fine food from around the world – they source truffles, caviar, foie gras, dairy products, fresh and cured meats, olive oil, chocolate, fruit purees, pastry ingredients and many more delicacies! Through close partnerships with their suppliers, they deliver high quality fresh, frozen and pastry products to top restaurants and hotels as well as prestigious department stores and shops.
The event was to celebrate their ten years in business and to launch their New Collection for 2017. Classic Fine Foods’ clients were invited and given the opportunity to meet their producers and partners in an intimate setting, enjoying complimentary tastings and expert demonstrations.
One such established partner in attendance was luxury French chocolate brand, Valrhona. For nearly a century, Valrhona have been creating chocolate with aromatic flavour combinations. They were launching their new blonde chocolate Valrhona Orelys 35% which was voted ‘Pastry Innovation of the Year 2017’ by clients on the day.
Stéphanie Perrot, UK and Ireland Sales Manager for Valrhona said about the event: “We’re here first to support our partner because we’ve been working with Classic Fine Foods since the early stages. We’re happy to be here and see the company growing. We heard about this event that happened two years ago and from what I understand it’s getting bigger and bigger. For us, it’s a good opportunity to see a lot of chefs coming in and tasting products. These are people that sometimes can’t find the time to leave the kitchen and meet suppliers so it’s good!”
Also launched at the event were; Swiss Mountain balsamic fruit vinegars (voted ‘Cuisine Innovation of the Year 2017’ on the day); Halen Môn Anglesey Sea Salt; Terre Exotique salt, pepper, spices and herbs; Esprit Gourmand savoury and sweet nut assortments; Palais des thés teas and infusions; Capfruit banalime puree (banana, lime and ginger); Sosa premium technical ingredients; PCB wow e-motion pastry decorations and Bridor So Moelleux sandwich bread.
London Hilton on Park Lane’s executive chef Anthony Marshall created many of the items for the tastings during the day and he and his team prepared an incredible buffet for the evening event using Classic Fine Foods ingredients. Many of the guests enjoyed cocktails made with Palais des Thés Garden Infusions and Alain Milliat juices, and a beautiful birthday cake as they danced the night away!
Anthony said:
“Great chefs work with great ingredients. I think the marriage between Classic Fine Foods and Park Lane Hilton showcased wonderful ingredients with our unique flair on putting out a lovely tasty buffet with great comments from some of London’s top chefs - what more could we ask for?”
A highlight during the day was a stand from Classic Fine Foods London’s ‘The Taste Lab’. A place for chefs to meet, share and learn in a relaxed environment which opened recently in London and offers an exciting programme of training courses, workshops and demonstrations with the best chefs from around the world and their in-house Pastry Chef, Denis Dramé MCA. Florian Poirot, prize-winning sugar candidate from the UK Pastry Team created an incredible sugar sculpture on the stand throughout the course of the day. When preparing for the Coup du Monde de la Patisserie (Pastry World Cup), the UK Pastry Team were invited to The Taste Lab to practice their techniques and train. Chocolate candidate for the Team, Chris Zammit of Camilleri Kitchen was also at the event and said:
“It’s very interesting. To be honest, I didn’t know that Classic does so much stuff! I’ve been walking around and tasting some bits and pieces and its top of the range, top-end ingredients.”
The event was also an opportunity for Classic Fine Foods London to share their April-December 2017 calendar of training courses, workshops and demonstrations which includes:
• Florian Poirot for an ‘Artistic Sugar Sculptures’ training course
• Jean-Thomas Schneider (World Champion at the Coupe du Monde de la Patisserie 2017) with a ‘Pastry New Textures & Applications’ workshop and demonstration in partnership with Louis Francois
• Jordi Bordas with a ‘Pastry Creation’ training course in partnership with PCB Création
• Martin Chiffers with a ‘Chocolate Sculptor Competition Showpiece’ training course
For more information about Classic Fine Foods, see our website: www.classicfinefoods.com/
