The Staff Canteen Live 2022: Networking Lunch at The Art School Restaurant

The Staff Canteen

Editor

The Art school in liverpool was our venue for our march networking lunch hosted by paul askew and his team.

Fill in this survey if you would like to join us at our next working lunch on Tuesday, April 12th at SY23 Restaurant, Aberystwyth.

Liverpool based chefs caught up with suppliers in an informal setting, enjoying a seven-course meal prepared by Paul and his team.

Chefs

Attending were Eddie Kilty, Kilty & Co; Anthony Wright, L20; Nathan Booth, Panoramic 34; Paul Faulkner, Toms Chophouse; Jonathan Weller, Lerpwl; Dave Critchley, Lu Ban Liverpool; Bradley Lean, The Titanic Hotel; Ian Lamb, Papillon; Jack Wanless, Bone and Block; Paul Mcloughlin, Berrington's; Jaques Verite, Bistrot Verite and Kieran Gill, Barnicle.

What the guests said

Aaron Craig, from Chef Works and Bragard, has previously attended our lunches as a chef before making the change and joining Chef Works.

He said: "It was different experiencing the lunch from the other side. It's all about relationships, you want suppliers you can pick up the phone to, a friend, not necessarily to talk about the product they are selling but about general things like what is going on in the industry - so relationships, for me, are key and that's what these lunches give you the opportunity to build."

Nathan Booth, who recently took on the head chef position at Panoramic 34, said: "It was very good to meet local faces from around the area and make new connections with suppliers. It's good to expand your supplier network and not just be stuck with the same ones.

"It's great being able to taste some of the products as part of the lunch because you have a better idea of whether they would work on your own menus."

Dave Critchley from Lu Ban added: "It's nice to get out of the kitchen and see everyone - this is our weekend!

"In terms of meeting new suppliers, this is the best way to do it for a chef. We're trying the products or seeing the products in a restaurant environment; we don't get time to sit down and look through emails so this is ideal."

Jack Wanless from Bone and Block said: "It's very hard to remove yourself from your normal routine, and just sit down with a supplier. They might ring you or pop in out of the blue and ask if you've got five minutes and a lot of the time you won't.

"The lunch forces you, in the nicest way possible, to talk to them and find out more about provenance and identity - we can talk about prices later, this is a nice way to venture into that. It's a nice bridge, you get some access and face to face makes a real difference."

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