We welcomed to the stage chefs Paul Ainsworth from Paul Ainsworth at Number 6, Sat Bains and John Freeman from Restaurant Sat Bains, Dan Doherty from Duck and Waffle and Gareth Ward from Ynyshir Restaurant with Rooms.
The crowd at The Staff Canteen Live 2018
First up was Paul Ainsworth, chef owner at Paul Ainsworth at Number 6, who returned to The Staff Canteen Live to cook two dishes; soy glazed duck, clear peking tea and pyo salad which was paired with Vavasour Pinot Noir by Nick Zalinski from Matthew Clark.
Next on stage was Sat Bains and his head chef John Freeman - the pair cooked glazed Anjou pigeon with carrot and pastilla followed by Lenton Lane, a chocolate cream, coffee, honeycomb, honey tuille, shortbread, chocolate mouse, wood sorrel granita and aerated chocolate with tobacco dessert.
On The Staff Canteen Live Sat said: "He (Mark Morris, The Staff Canteen Founder) has been pestering me for ten years to do it! On a serious note it's obviously great to be a part of the event to showcase what we do but we want the next generation of chefs to be inspired.
"We want them to be aspiring chefs and to push themselves in the industry. If it means we have to make the effort to take time out to demo we will but equally young chefs should make the effort to come along and see what we, as in all chefs, do."
John added: "The Staff Canteen Live is great. It's modern, it's interesting - why wouldn't you want to come and watch?"
Next up was executive chef Dan Doherty from Duck and Waffle, who cooked Scotch bhaji with coriander and lime dressing which was paired with Pongracz Methode Cap Classique Rose by Nick at Matthew Clark.
soy glazed duck, clear
peking tea and pyo salad
"It's nice to do demos for people who are clearly in the industry," explained Dan. "There were lots of young people which was good to see and The Staff Canteen is great because it's a hub for all chefs, of all levels, to connect."
One of our sponsors of this year's The Staff Canteen Live is Nestle Professional and their UK Savoury Food Manager, Charlotte Ponti said: "It's been great to see all the people coming to the stage, to watch and interact with the chefs. Sending out samples of our product to the audience before the demos really helps drive people to our stand - for Nestle CHEF, The Staff Canteen Live is a perfect match."
Closing the show was Michelin-starred Gareth Ward from Ynyshir Restaurant with Rooms, he cooked salt Welsh Wagyu rib as it's an ingredient he is very passionate about. He said: "I loved doing the demo and I wanted to be involved because I want people to find out about Ynyshir - we're a young business and we need to get the word out there that we are doing something different."
He added: "The Staff Canteen is amazing, it's probably the biggest thing in the industry at the moment in terms of promoting chefs, restaurants, food and giving people that exposure."
The Staff Canteen Live will be back today. If you can't be at Hotelympia follow us on Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and watch all the demos live on Facebook and our YouTube channel.
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