The first run through having taken place at The Elephant Restaurant on Sunday 26th September catering for fifty covers.
A second run through will take place at the Restaurant Show on Tuesday 12th October with the Elephant Pop Up restaurant, where the hot team will cater for 100 covers.
The third and final run through will take place at the Celtic Manor hotel in Newport on Thursday 11th November catering for 140 covers banquet style.
The Menu
- Fillet of Atlantic Halibut with a royale of langoustine ,
celeriac turnovers and sauce nantua
- Thyme roasted Exmoor venison with a braised bon bon
of venison , wood smoked parsnips, confit
cabbage and buttered fondant potato
- Lemon curd with spiced cinnamon financier
- lime meringue , blackberry ice cream and pistachio cream.
The kitchen set up was highly organised, everyone working to a six hour mis en place time, with time remaining calls given out every half an hour. Simon had set the team in pairs so two chefs for each course. The team would combine tables when serving so that a four would be added to a two, to make six and then served, firstly starters and then slowly on to mains, Simon and the team, would plate a row of starters then switch to a row of main course, so always only serving one course on the hotplate, as they know in Luxembourg their space will be limited, so the more realistic they can make the run throughs the better it serves the teams preparation.
The food, as you would expect, from competition supremeo Mr Hulstone was very good, full of flavor, great textures, and very importantly at the right temperature, from a customer's point of view, the service worked very well. I couldn't sense that anyone either waited for their food or felt that they were on a conveyor belt, but their food arrived hot, looking and tasting great.
The Idea
The Buffet Criteria
