12th April 2013
Summer 2011: Welcome
Wow another excellent awards evening –this time at the Westminster Park Plaza Hotel, and the event just gets better and better. More than 600 excited guests all waiting to see who wins what award, plus the coveted Special Award presented to the truly great chef Philip Howard of The Square and many other enterprises. So many people in the room know him, have worked with him and have been influenced by him in some way.
For the first time ever a People’s Choice Award was created to give everyone around the globe the chance to vote for their favourite from a shortlist of seven. This shows just how much we always value your opinions and it was a pleasure to see the first winner being our very own John Retallick. But every person shortlisted for any of these awards was chosen for many special reasons, soon that basis a big well done, and especially to the winners of the categories. Having been part of the judging panel, I can assure you it was no easy job to pick from the many excellent entries this year.
In April, our AGM held at The Royal Garden Hotel was another great chance to reward many people and companies who have done so much for the Guild over the past year and for many even longer. The Order of Merit, the highest honour you can receive form the Craft Guild, was presented twice this year – to Pauline Tucker and Steve Scuffell. To put it into context, 10+ years can go by and it is not even awarded. This alone shows the true value of the award and the people receiving it. David Mulcahy was presented with a Special Achievement Award from the Vice Presidents’
Council for all the great work he does.
Following the success of last year’s Brick Fund Dinner with its informal style – just great food, wine and perfect company, the Guild felt it just had to happen again and plans to hold another on June 30, again at Westminster Kingsway College. Please contact Suzanne Barshall at head office if you wish to book a place.
Our London Division in May held its first Winnie Myers Traditional Afternoon Tea competition; this should be applauded as a tribute to our very own Winnie Myers. Winnie, a former chairman of the Cookery & Food Association, has done many miles for and on behalf of the Craft Guild, and we were so pleased she was able to travel from her home in Cumbria to watch proceedings.
The 2011 Graduate Awards are fast approaching and I know the team headed by Steve Munkley is working hard to ensure these young chefs are tested to the fullest. Again we’d like to thank the ever present sponsors for their time and support to keep these events going.
As I reported in the last issue of Stockpot, I can now say we are fully twitter friendly, so for all you twitters out there please get tweeting and see just what is happening in your Guild.
You will also see subscription renewals rolling through to you that now have the option of paying by direct debit. Please take time to renew this way as it helps us keep costs down.
The Craft Guild’s National Chef of the Year competition is in full swing, so watch out for all the press releases relating to it. We’ve had some very good entries again this year and look forward to going back to the Restaurant Show in October for another fiercely contested final.
I look forward to seeing and meeting many of you over the coming months, so keep cooking!
Andrew Green
National Chairman
Craft Guild of Chefs
In April, our AGM held at The Royal Garden Hotel was another great chance to reward many people and companies who have done so much for the Guild over the past year and for many even longer. The Order of Merit, the highest honour you can receive form the Craft Guild, was presented twice this year – to Pauline Tucker and Steve Scuffell. To put it into context, 10+ years can go by and it is not even awarded. This alone shows the true value of the award and the people receiving it. David Mulcahy was presented with a Special Achievement Award from the Vice Presidents’
Council for all the great work he does.
Following the success of last year’s Brick Fund Dinner with its informal style – just great food, wine and perfect company, the Guild felt it just had to happen again and plans to hold another on June 30, again at Westminster Kingsway College. Please contact Suzanne Barshall at head office if you wish to book a place.
Our London Division in May held its first Winnie Myers Traditional Afternoon Tea competition; this should be applauded as a tribute to our very own Winnie Myers. Winnie, a former chairman of the Cookery & Food Association, has done many miles for and on behalf of the Craft Guild, and we were so pleased she was able to travel from her home in Cumbria to watch proceedings.
The 2011 Graduate Awards are fast approaching and I know the team headed by Steve Munkley is working hard to ensure these young chefs are tested to the fullest. Again we’d like to thank the ever present sponsors for their time and support to keep these events going.
As I reported in the last issue of Stockpot, I can now say we are fully twitter friendly, so for all you twitters out there please get tweeting and see just what is happening in your Guild.
You will also see subscription renewals rolling through to you that now have the option of paying by direct debit. Please take time to renew this way as it helps us keep costs down.
The Craft Guild’s National Chef of the Year competition is in full swing, so watch out for all the press releases relating to it. We’ve had some very good entries again this year and look forward to going back to the Restaurant Show in October for another fiercely contested final.
I look forward to seeing and meeting many of you over the coming months, so keep cooking!
Andrew Green
National Chairman
Craft Guild of Chefs