Tasting Dinner Success
Last night saw the return of our 10 Year Anniversary dinner, this time with a little twist!
‘Pride’ is a word that circulates our humble little abode on a regular basis. From our front of house team, to our management team, and throughout our kitchen, we all very proud of the service and high-quality food we produce. With this in mind, we decided to give our chef brigade the opportunity to create their own dishes to serve at our Tasting Dishes which once again, showed how much pride they take in their culinary skills.
Just over a month prior to last nights event, our Executive and Head Chefs, Oli and Sam, assigned a course and list of ingredients to all of our kitchen team, from the Chef de Parties, to the sous chefs and themselves. It was then up to each member of the team to design the perfect dish with the ingredients they were given.
It was only a matter of days before the unexpected competition soon kicked in! The rivalry began with each chef determined to create the best dish of the evening. This led us to develop a full “head to head” competition, with each of our guests given the chance to judge each dish out of 10, to find an overall winner of the event. And with an extra days holiday up for grabs (plus kitchen bragging rights!) the game was on between the team.
Following the incredible event, our managers teamed up and put their mathematical skills to the test to discover the overall winner, and nobody was surprised to learn that the champion of the evening was our rising star Sous Chef, Jake Ledger.
Jakes starter was a talking point for the entire evening. Taking his dish of rabbit, fennel, walnuts, blueberry and pine one step further, Jake created a centre piece of wood, berries and evergreen, mixed with dry ice, to open up all the senses to unleash a ‘forestry experience’ which was enjoyed by both customers and the waiting team.
When asked how he felt about being voted the best dish of the evening, Jake said “it was great! I take a lot of pride in my dishes so great to have that positive recognition. Everyone did a really great job with their dishes and it was really fun to do!” We also asked him about his woodland centre piece and the inspiration behind this feature… “I’m a big fan of food theatre so thought I’d reflect the ‘woodland misty season’. Using the foliage and pine with a rosemary infused broth also helped enlighten the senses so it was more than just the taste”.
A huge congratulations to Jake, and the rest of our chef brigade for creating a fantastic experience for our guests last night. Interested in joining us for our next Tasting Dinner? Tables are available for the 19th January with further details coming soon!