Matt Gillan, The Pass, South Lodge, West Sussex

In association with

It’s not by chance that Nespresso is the coffee partner of choice in over 700 Michelin-starred restaurants throughout the world including The Pass in West Sussex, headed up by chef Matt Gillan. For many years, Nespresso has been supporting great chefs like Matt in delivering excellence day after day. Matt Gillan describes his one-Michelin-starred restaurant, The Pass, as a ‘unique food experience’. Housed in the phenomenal South Lodge Hotel in Horsham, West Sussex, the restaurant-in-a-kitchen concept gives Matt a chance to give guests something different from other country house hotels in the area. Describing his food as ‘progressive British’, head chef Matt has been pushing boundaries and experimenting with dishes at The Pass since it launched in 2008, earning 3 AA Rosettes within just 4 months of opening as well as a Michelin star and a fourth AA Rosette in the time since.

Matt’s passion for inventiveness and quality ingredients marries well with the Nespresso philosophy. With 8 different blends of ‘Grands Crus’ coffee available from the Nespresso professional range, each one has its own distinct aroma and flavour profile, characterised by intensity and origin. The versatile range makes Nespresso coffee perfect as a cooking ingredient; the 900 different aromas in its coffee blends – roasted, nutty, floral, to name a few – work to complement and bring out the flavours in the dish. As the interest in coffee and its complex flavours grows, both in the UK and around the world, chefs are exploring the possibilities with using coffee as an ingredient. Expanding its reach beyond coffee cake and tiramisu, renowned chefs such as Phil Howard, Yannick Alleno, Edouard Loubet and Alexis Gauthier have been discovering coffee as an ingredient in savoury as well as sweet dishes. In Matt’s duck dish created for The Staff Canteen, he uses the Espresso Leggero – a blend that has smooth cocoa and cereal notes – to harmonise perfectly with the malt extract and honey to make his coffee syrup. For the oyster and coffee glaze, he uses the more intense Espresso Forte which, with its roasted and fruity notes, enhances the duck flavours and gives it a kick with depth. As purveyors of luxury and indulgence, Matt and the rest of the team at South Lodge have been serving Nespresso throughout the hotel for several years, as has Pennyhill Park Hotel & Spa and Manor House, which are also part of the Exclusive Hotels Group. Using only the top 1-2% of the world’s gourmet coffee beans, chefs can be confident that Nespresso delivers an exceptional taste experience with the finest quality ingredients. Each coffee portion is hermetically sealed in an aluminium capsule to ensure maximum freshness and guaranteeing consistency with every coffee served. Every coffee machine by Nespresso is specifically designed to extract the coffee at high pressure, serving the perfect ristretto, espresso or lungo every time, with the signature Nespresso crema to lock in the exceptional taste in the cup.

The official coffee for the Grand Final of the Bocuse d'Or for the last three editions, Nespresso was also a partner in the 2013 Grand Final of the World Patisserie Cup.

In these challenging times…

The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall and restrict access – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.

Over the last 12 years, The Staff Canteen has built what has become the go-to platform for chefs and hospitality professionals. As members and visitors, your daily support has made The Staff Canteen what it is today. Our features and videos from the world’s biggest name chefs are something we are proud of. We have over 500,000 followers across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and other social channels, each connecting with chefs across the world. Our editorial and social media team are creating and delivering engaging content every day, to support you and the whole sector - we want to do more for you.

A single coffee is more than £2, a beer is £4.50 and a large glass of wine can be £6 or more.

Support The Staff Canteen from as little as £1 today. Thank you.