12th April 2013
Winter 2010: Welcome
As we come to the end of 2010 and another hard year for all sectors of business, whether it is contract catering, gastro pubs, hotels, restaurants or country houses, it gives us time to reflect on the past 12 months. With a change in Government in the early part of the year we all need time, to give them time, to settle down before deciding if it is a good sign or not.
At the Craft Guild we’ve had many great moments, starting at the beginning of 2010 with a very successful Hotelympia where many of our members won medals and, as always, it is wonderful for our chefs to be recognised in this way. At the same time we again supported the 10K run in aid of Springboard, which raised a great deal of money for worthwhile projects – we produced the breakfast and many of the runners!
Moving forward we supported the Wessex Salon Culinaire, ran the Mini Major series throughout the year, and once again many business partners, colleges and our members have supported us. In the summer we ran our first Brick Fund dinner where we raised well over £7,000 for extensive work to be completed on our head office. We also sailed down the Thames on our annual riverboat cruise and held the annual cricket day – both fun relaxed days for families and friends.
Our awards in June celebrated some marvellous chefs at the top of their game in some 13 categories showing just what is great about our profession. The night ended with the legendary Pierre Koffmann deservedly being presented with the Special Award.
In September our Graduate Awards programme concluded with 11 young chefs being put through their paces in these tough exams and the highest achievers rewarded with fabulous prizes.
The Restaurant Show in October showcased our eagerly awaited new National Chef of the Year (NCOTY) contest – this time in a slightly different format to take in many innovative and exciting ideas and to expand the diverse nature of the competition, which has been running since 1972.
In November the seventh NZ UK Link Foundation competition produced another worthy young winner, who showed just what could be done with some of the best New Zealand produce around. We also held our Business Partner lunch, which gave us a chance to thank our partners and tell them what we have been doing with their support over the previous 12 months.
Our Culinary Academy has arrived back in the UK from the Culinary World Cup where they pushed themselves to the limit to bring back a hoard of medals, while team manager Fergus Martin was acclaimed as the highest ranked Brit in the Culinary Cup Individual Cooks final. We will watch and wait to see how 2011 pans out for them.
On a sadder note we have lost some of our members along the way. Craft Guild vice president Gordon Funnell, a past national chairman of the Cookery & Food Association and a very active member of the East Anglia division passed away in August. Also banqueting head chef Rajesh Sharma at the Crowne Plaza in St James’, an important member of the team and mentor to the chefs, passed away at the end of October. We will remember them all in different ways.
On to 2011 and the Guild has plenty lined up including involvement in the Hospitality and IFE shows. At the latter our Skillery will host demos from chefs such as NCOTY winner Hrishikesh Desai and Gastro Pub Challenge winner Jean Phillipe “JP” Bidart. All our activities can be viewed on our website and indeed in this magazine, but a special mention must go to Simon Hulstone who in January will represent the UK at the Bocuse d’Or. We wish him well in his endeavours.
It just remains for me to wish you all, along with your families and businesses a very happy, peaceful Christmas, and a very healthy and prosperous New Year.
Andrew Green
National Chairman
Craft Guild of Chefs
Moving forward we supported the Wessex Salon Culinaire, ran the Mini Major series throughout the year, and once again many business partners, colleges and our members have supported us. In the summer we ran our first Brick Fund dinner where we raised well over £7,000 for extensive work to be completed on our head office. We also sailed down the Thames on our annual riverboat cruise and held the annual cricket day – both fun relaxed days for families and friends.
Our awards in June celebrated some marvellous chefs at the top of their game in some 13 categories showing just what is great about our profession. The night ended with the legendary Pierre Koffmann deservedly being presented with the Special Award.
In September our Graduate Awards programme concluded with 11 young chefs being put through their paces in these tough exams and the highest achievers rewarded with fabulous prizes.
The Restaurant Show in October showcased our eagerly awaited new National Chef of the Year (NCOTY) contest – this time in a slightly different format to take in many innovative and exciting ideas and to expand the diverse nature of the competition, which has been running since 1972.
In November the seventh NZ UK Link Foundation competition produced another worthy young winner, who showed just what could be done with some of the best New Zealand produce around. We also held our Business Partner lunch, which gave us a chance to thank our partners and tell them what we have been doing with their support over the previous 12 months.
Our Culinary Academy has arrived back in the UK from the Culinary World Cup where they pushed themselves to the limit to bring back a hoard of medals, while team manager Fergus Martin was acclaimed as the highest ranked Brit in the Culinary Cup Individual Cooks final. We will watch and wait to see how 2011 pans out for them.
On a sadder note we have lost some of our members along the way. Craft Guild vice president Gordon Funnell, a past national chairman of the Cookery & Food Association and a very active member of the East Anglia division passed away in August. Also banqueting head chef Rajesh Sharma at the Crowne Plaza in St James’, an important member of the team and mentor to the chefs, passed away at the end of October. We will remember them all in different ways.
On to 2011 and the Guild has plenty lined up including involvement in the Hospitality and IFE shows. At the latter our Skillery will host demos from chefs such as NCOTY winner Hrishikesh Desai and Gastro Pub Challenge winner Jean Phillipe “JP” Bidart. All our activities can be viewed on our website and indeed in this magazine, but a special mention must go to Simon Hulstone who in January will represent the UK at the Bocuse d’Or. We wish him well in his endeavours.
It just remains for me to wish you all, along with your families and businesses a very happy, peaceful Christmas, and a very healthy and prosperous New Year.
Andrew Green
National Chairman
Craft Guild of Chefs