Sunday 27 October 2013

Halloween Night

Ok so not quite halloween yet but with it happening during half term we had ours early.

On the menu

Hellfire chicken wings ( we are quite close to the caves )

Nightmare noodles ( with samphire garnish )

Devils chocolate cake ( chocolate and chilli )

As usual the food was amazing!

We also like a bit of a show so I didn't just want to use candles in our pumpkins, so what better theatrics than a bit of dry ice chucked into the mix!

I don't know if some of the ideas I have are either insane or genius! What other school would you find dry ice in the kitchen?

Either way the students and teachers loved it with comments like "best night ever!" and "Oh My God, thats amazing" I must be doing something right!

Just want to say a big thanks to boss for letting me use -70c ice around the boys and my staff for putting in extra effort!

Bonfire Night next!!!

Thursday 17 October 2013

Back to the Food!!!

So im guessing you are probably bored of hearing about awards and nights out, so heres todays lunch.
Slow Roasted Belly Pork
Ok so I took 12 kilos of boned belly pork and slapped it in the oven on 150c for a good 4 hrs.
Because the belly is fatty it needs time to render out the fat making the meat more tender.
After it was cooked I squashed it flat with another tin and a very large can of beans and let it cool. We have a blast chill so its cold in less than 90 mins. This makes the belly more even.
I then cut it up to about 85 decent portions. 45 mins before service I smacked the oven up to 200c to crisp up the skin and heat up the meat. It only takes about 30 mins but I wanted 15 mins resting time.
All that was left to do was slice potatoes and onions and cook off some veggies.
Job done and less than £1 a plate
Enjoy!!

Wednesday 16 October 2013

Eucatering Excellence Awards

So the company I work for was shortlisted for an Educatering Excellence Award at The Royal Garden Hotel on Monday Night.

I was gutted when I found out I couldnt attend but my luck soon turned when my boss called to say she couldn't go!!! After a while and a bit of talking to the powers that be i was finally given the go ahead to get my tux ready again!!!

Needless to say it was another amazing night. Fantastic food, fine wine and great company!

We all enjoyed the final of Schools Got Talent and loved the Twitter Wall, made some good contacts and hopefully new friends.

Our company didnt pick up an award but the night was so good it didnt really matter.

Massive thanks to everyone invloved in making the night so great and a big welldone to all the winners and everyone shortlisted.

I look forward to the next event!!!



Sunday 13 October 2013

Food Service Cateys

So when I found out I was nominated for a Caterer and Hotelkeeper Food Service Catey for chef manager of the year award I was chuffed to bits!!!! Just to be nominated is something, but to actually be selected for the shortlist is amazing!
So off we trotted to The Park Plaza Hotel in Westminster for a champagne reception with the cream of the crop from the catering world. Did I feel out of place at all?? Just a bit!!
After our superb 3 course meal with several glasses of fine wine the awards began, and soon enough the chef manager of the year award (now i'm a bit nervous!!). Sadly though the award wasn't mine to be had this time.
Massive congratulations though to everyone that did pick up an award and a big thanks to Mark Lewis and everyone involved in making the night so special.
As for me? One of the top 3 in the country!!!
I'll take that!!!!