Star-studded chef line-up entertain on TSC Live stage at UCFF 2025
Some of the UK’s finest chefs took to The Staff Canteen Live stage to entertain the audience at the Universal Cookery & Food Festival 2025.
The event dubbed ‘Glastonbury for chefs’ this year took place at Tewinbury Farm in Hertfordshire.
Taking to the TSC Live stage were a host of Michelin-starred chefs in Tom Aikens (chef patron, Muse), Daniel Clifford and Liam Anderson (chef patron and head chef at Midsummer House), Josh Angus (chef director, HIDE), Sarah Hayward (head chef, Hand & Flowers) and Brad Cacela (head chef, The Coach).
UCFF launched in 2012 and is a festival which moves around the country, targeting local farmers, suppliers, foragers and growers, as well as offering networking opportunities for chefs and industry professionals.
Guest attendees at the event this year included the likes of Great British Menu 2025 Champion of Champions Amber Francis and chef owner of Longboys Graham Hornigold.
Tom Aikens cooked squid and lamb dishes, which feature on his menu at Michelin-starred Muse in Belgravia.
Reflecting on his experience on stage, Tom said: “It was a lot of great fun, a good amount of banter and lovely to be at an occasion like this, celebrating on the farm here with the great produce that they have.
“It’s a great showcase I think for what everyone is trying to do now, in terms of sustainability and knowing where your produce comes from.”
Daniel and Liam, of two-Michelin-starred Midsummer House, then took to the stage, creating two dishes between them, featuring cuttlefish and crab.
“It’s the first thing I’ve done like that on stage, so it was good,” said Liam.
“It’s always easier talking about dishes that you’ve done.
“I’m always up for showcasing Midsummer House’s food and some dishes I’ve been doing. It’s good for me and good for the business.”
Josh, of HIDE in Mayfair, then incorporated some products from sponsors Lee Kum Kee into his lobster and scallop katafi dish during his 45-minute demo slot.
Josh brought pastry chef Arran Redman-Schaffer with him, to create a dessert showcasing Australian black truffle, with a chocolate and hazelnut tart, alongside cookies and cream.
Speaking after his demo, Josh said: “It was a great event, with lots of testers put out to the audience.
“It’s an event more for the industry than the public. I think it’s a great thing to be part of.
“Demos are a bit stressful at times, but always fun to be involved in. It’s a great way to showcase some of your skills and for people in the industry to see how the food is made for what we do in the restaurant.”
The chef stage was hosted by The Staff Canteen founder Mark Morris.
The final slot of the day was shared by two chefs within the Tom Kerridge stable, in Brad Cacela and Sarah Hayward, who have recently taken on new head chef roles.
For both, doing a live demo was a first for them, but they overcame their nerves to respectively create mussels mariniere with warm stout and brown bread and Cotswold chicken leg ‘chasseur’ with bacon ragu stuffed Roscoff onion, featuring Bonemasters stock.
“I was very nervous at the beginning,” admitted Brad.
“It was nice to do it with Sarah. I enjoyed it. It was the quickest 45 minutes of my life!
“It is very different. It’s not my thing, I’m a very nervous and very shy person, but I will definitely try and do more.”
Sarah added: “I was really nervous beforehand, but Mark has got an incredible talent of making people feel very at ease, which is always really nice, when you’re in a circumstance like that.
“It was also nice to share the stage with Brad, because we go way back and feel very comfortable with each other.
“I would definitely do it again.”
TSC shared the main stage with the trends and debates team, who discussed topics such as B Corp and AI, while there were also garden and foraging tours available for the guests around the farm, and a wild foods demo stage.
There were also various suppliers who set up stalls around the building, showcasing their products and services.
The night before the event, a dinner and auction was held to help raise funds for Only A Pavement Away.
Tom Aikens is part of the hospitality charity, and is taking part in a fundraiser by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro next month, cooking along the way.
The UCFF fundraiser for the charity raised around £2,000, which included a raffle and auction.
This year’s main event sponsors were Jestic, MKN, Bonemasters and Lee Kum Kee.
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