Table Talk

Crowne Plaza Docklands 10th Anniversary Party

Nysha — Mon, 20 May 2013 11:46:15 GMT

Crowne Plaza Docklands celebrated it's 10th Anniversary last Thursday with an all out shindig that reflected the 10 amazing years that the hotel has been open.

As 10 years is the anniversary of Tin, they decided that it was time to resurrect Tin Man and all his friends from the WIzard of Oz for a corporate do with a difference. 80 clients and partners joined the hotel in what was a night of revelry and fun, a delicious 3 course meal was followed up with a charity raffle raising almost £300 for both Variety - The Children's Charity and RIchard House Hospice before the Wizardly team led our clients to the dance floor and ended the night in style.

It was both a fitting end to a great 10 years and a fitting start to the next 10 years and we were delighted to share this moment with our clients.

Slider Decider at The Gun, Docklands

SarahH — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:55:49 GMT

25 chefs gathered at The Gun, Docklands on Thursday 16th May to compete for the coveted title of Slider Decider Champion 2013!

A panel of expert judges including Richard Vines from Bloomberg, national restaurant critic Joe Warwick, and burger blogger extraordinaire Burgerac put each entry through a painstaking scoring process over the course of five rounds.

The overall winner was Jamie Thickett from the Opera Tavern with his Iberico pork and foie gras slider with crispy pigs head, salted liver, courgette relish, lettuce, aiola and guindilla.

Second was Yashpal Gusai of Dishoom and third was former MasterChef champion Tim Anderson representing his upcoming restaurant Nanban.

Slider Decider at The Gun, Docklands

SarahH — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:55:20 GMT

25 chefs gathered at The Gun, Docklands on Thursday 16th May to compete for the coveted title of Slider Decider Champion 2013!

The overall winner was Jamie Thickett from the Opera Tavern with his Iberico pork and foie gras slider with crispy pigs head, salted liver, courgette relish, lettuce, aiola and guindilla.

Second was Yashpal Gusai of Dishoom and third was former MasterChef champion Tim Anderson representing his upcoming restaurant Nanban.

Slider Decider at The Gun, Docklands

SarahH — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:54:44 GMT

25 chefs gathered at The Gun, Docklands on Thursday 16th May to compete for the coveted title of Slider Decider Champion 2013!

The overall winner was Jamie Thickett from the Opera Tavern with his Iberico pork and foie gras slider with crispy pigs head, salted liver, courgette relish, lettuce, aiola and guindilla.

Second was Yashpal Gusai of Dishoom and third was former MasterChef champion Tim Anderson representing his upcoming restaurant Nanban.

Slider Decider at The Gun, Docklands

SarahH — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:50:13 GMT

25 chefs gathered at The Gun, Docklands on Thursday 16th May to compete for the coveted title of Slider Decider Champion 2013!

The overall winner was Jamie Thickett from the Opera Tavern with his Iberico pork and foie gras slider with crispy pigs head, salted liver, courgette relish, lettuce, aiola and guindilla.

Second was Yashpal Gusai of Dishoom and third was former MasterChef champion Tim Anderson representing his upcoming restaurant Nanban.

Le Manoir team

Katherine — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:13:50 GMT

CARE HOME MASTER CHEFS AT LE MANOIR

A care home Head Chef was offered the chance to exercise his culinary skills at Le Manoir – Raymond Blanc’s two-Michelin starred restaurant in Oxfordshire.

Mervyn Knights, Head Chef at Queens Court, in Wimbledon is an accomplished chef working for Barchester Healthcare. Mervyn had the opportunity to work with the team at Le Manoir and work on all aspects of preparation, plating-up and adding those touches of finesse. The opportunity to visit Le Manoir came about because of Brian Lane, Head of the Barchester Chef Academy. Brian has a vast range of experience including working on super yachts in the South of France for famous names, being a stagiaire at the Fat Duck and Le Manoir, and also in training others. He has a passion for food which is matched with his passion for developing the skills of Barchester’s care home chefs.

Mervyn Knights who has been trained by Brian and now trains other Barchester chefs, said: “At Le Manoir, I prepared everything you can imagine, from vegetables, fish and meat, to stocks, bisques and used techniques like curing. I discovered how to present classic portions and all the elements that went in to creating delicate bite-sized appetisers just blew my mind.

“It was an honour to work with the team and I couldn’t believe we got the chance to meet Raymond Blanc, too. It was apparent that hard work, dedication and passion is what drives each member of the team, guided by Executive Head Chef Gary Jones.

To ensure the people at Barchester homes are consistently served great dishes, a Chef Academy has been created to offer continuous training and development to all kitchen staff throughout the company. Working with celebrity TV Chef Paul Rankin, training programmes have been devised, including apprenticeships and master chef classes.

Brain Lane, Head of the Chef Academy, said: “I organised the week’s placement so that Mervyn could see a different side to catering and bring some of the experience gained back to the Queens Court care home. Working in a new environment often sparks creativity and everything Mervyn was taught will be translated back into the care settings he is passionate about working in.”

Shaaron Caratella, General Manager at Queens Court care home, said: “We have superb cuisine and a remarkable amount of choice. Our hospitality team is flexible and understand that people’s taste can sometimes change from day-to-day. Our Chef spends a lot of time preparing menus and liaising with carers to make sure residents have what they want and what they need nutritionally.”

This year seven chefs have reached the Barchester Care Awards cook-off and will battling it out in the kitchens of Birmingham City University Campus overseen by judge Paul Rankin. The winner will be announced on 13 June at an awards ceremony at Coombe Abbey. Mervyn has won the title of 'Chef of the Year' before.

Mervyn, Sonya and Raymond Blanc

Katherine — Thu, 16 May 2013 15:13:15 GMT

5ive Star London Networking Event Press Release

Digital Magic — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:49:01 GMT

5ive Star London Networking Event

Digital Magic — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:48:07 GMT

5ive Star London Networking Event

Digital Magic — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:47:29 GMT

5ive Star London Networking Event

Digital Magic — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:46:49 GMT

5ive Star London Networking Event

Digital Magic — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:46:13 GMT

5ive Star London Networking Event

Digital Magic — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:45:08 GMT

5ive Star London Networking Event

Digital Magic — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:42:09 GMT

5ive Star London Networking Event

Digital Magic — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:41:04 GMT

Relais & Chateaux Best of British at Le Manoir

Katherine — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:27:49 GMT

Relais & Chateaux Best of British at Le Manoir

Katherine — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:27:30 GMT

Relais & Chateaux Best of British at Le Manoir

Katherine — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:26:55 GMT

Relais & Chateaux Best of British at Le Manoir

Katherine — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:26:37 GMT

Relais & Chateaux Best of British at Le Manoir

Katherine — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:26:14 GMT

Relais & Chateaux Best of British at Le Manoir

Katherine — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:25:55 GMT

Relais & Chateaux Best of British at Le Manoir

Katherine — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:25:34 GMT

Relais & Chateaux Best of British at Le Manoir

Katherine — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:25:12 GMT

Relais & Chateaux Best of British at Le Manoir

Katherine — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:24:49 GMT

Relais & Chateaux Best of British at Le Manoir

Katherine — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:24:21 GMT