The Staff Canteen Live 2026: Chef networking lunch at Forest Side

Today (Monday, September 14), we hosted our latest TSC Live chef networking lunch, at Forest Side in Grasmere.

The Staff Canteen launched chef networking lunches in 2016, later incorporating front of house events from 2020. The concept is simple: bring chefs and key industry suppliers together in an environment where meaningful conversations can happen away from the pressures of service.

Forest Side, on Keswick Road in Grasmere, holds a Michelin star, a Michelin green star for sustainability and five AA rosettes.

Paul Leonard joined Forest Side as head chef in November 2019. He started out as a kitchen porter in Hull before training at Hull College, and going on to work for the likes of Gordon Ramsay and Andrew Fairlie, before leaving the Devonshire Arms in Yorkshire to four AA rosettes.

Paul also competed in the North West heat of Great British Menu 2026.

Today's lunch was prepared by Paul and his team, with guests welcomed for a drinks reception before sponsor introductions, a tour of the venue and the kitchen garden, and a menu built around the estate and the wider Cumbrian larder.

The guests

Today 19 chefs joined us for the lunch, with combined buying power in the room of £9.4million. They were:

James Hill, chef owner, The Oak at Curthwaite
Jack Bond, head chef and owner, The Cottage in the Wood
Mark Satterthwaite, head chef, Base Restaurant
Bob Geldeard, chef proprietor, The Rum Fox
Iain Graham, chef owner, The Nettle
Hrishikesh Desai, chef patron, Farlam Hall Hotel
Chris Lee, executive chef, Armathwaite Hall Hotel and Spa
Simon Ulph, head chef, Rothay Manor Hotel
Chris Archer, head chef, Pentonbridge Inn
James Cowin, head chef, Four & Twenty, Penrith
Carl Semple, head chef, Castle Green Hotel
Fraser Cameron, head chef, 1610 by Fraser Cameron
Brad Brentnall, head chef, Old Stamp House
Georgina Keighley-King, owner, The Yan at Broadrayne
Mark McCabe, head chef, Henrock
Phil Corrie, head chef, 1863
Connor Wilson, owner, Kirkstyle Inn and Sportsman's Rest
Martyn Young, head chef, Storrs Hall
Will Hampson, senior sous chef, The Gilpin

Jack Bond, head chef and owner at Michelin-starred The Cottage in the Wood, said: "I found today super useful. I met lots of interesting people, lots of people from the area who are also doing the same hospitality jobs. It was nice to talk and chat about how everyone's doing.

"The networking side of it is brilliant. It's great to talk to all of the different suppliers and get to know what they're doing and know them a little bit better, having that bit more of a personal connection with them all, after spending an absolutely gorgeous lunch here at the Forest Side.

"Coming to events hosted by The Staff Canteen to really meet the suppliers gives you that personal touch and really you get an instant relationship, which makes it easier to purchase from them and use their goods and really find out what they're about."

Jack's favourite dish of the day was the venison. He said: "It was just an amazing way to showcase a beautiful produce that we have in Cumbria, and especially super seasonal with the venison down at Cartmel."

Simon Ulph, head chef at Rothay Manor in Ambleside, added: "Today's been amazing. It's been a good catch up with a lot of good friends. 

"The food's been outstanding. To pull this off for 26 people at the same time has been mind-blowing. Paul's been a legend."

On the sponsors, Simon added: "It's been really good, really engaging. I'm looking to get a Winterhalter machine, so it's all tied in nicely, really."

His favourite dish was "either the monkfish, which was outstanding, or the venison".

Georgina Keighley-King, owner of The Yan at Broadrayne in Grasmere, said: "Everything's been amazing. It's lovely to meet other people from the industry locally and a little further afield."

Georgina picked the chicken agnolotti and the canapés as her dishes of the day, and said she would be following up with the suppliers she met.

The sponsors

These events would not happen without the support of our sponsors. Today's chef networking lunch was supported by: Williams Refrigeration, Winterhalter, Nyetimber, Chef Works, St Ewe Free Range Eggs and The Kingfish Company.

Nyetimber provided the arrival wine for the canapés, with guests welcomed with Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs 2017. St Ewe Free Range Eggs supplied the eggs used in the canapés and in the agnolotti course, while The Kingfish Company provided the fish for the cured kingfish course.

The lunch also gave guests the opportunity to connect directly with suppliers across wine, refrigeration, warewashing, uniform and produce.

Brett Pistorius, business development manager at St Ewe Free Range Eggs, said: "Today's been really beneficial.

"It's been really good to meet the end users, chefs that get to use our products, to understand first hand all the problems and issues that they have in their kitchens, but also help point out where they can potentially save money, can help them in terms of recipe development, and obviously the hidden benefits that eggs carry with regards to saving a business money.

"I got to speak to every chef in the room and it's been absolutely fantastic. Some of the chefs I know, some of the chefs I've never met before, and a lot of chefs I've seen through Instagram. So having access one to one with them has been absolutely fantastic.

"Paul and his team put on an awesome lunch for us."

The menu

Canapés

BBQ lamb belly Whipped ewe's curd and verdi Mrs Kirkham's cheddar gougère preserved black truffle
(eggs provided by St Ewe Free Range Eggs)

Nyetimber Blanc de Blancs 2017

Kingfish

Lightly cured kingfish, seaweed custard and Oscietra caviar
(fish provided by The Kingfish Company)

'Les Pieds Sur Terre', Domaine François Ménard, Muscadet Sèvre et Maine, France 2023

Squid

Squid cooked in cured pork fat, a cassoulet of west coast shellfish

Rkatsiteli, Teleda, Kakheti, Georgia 2023

Chicken

Agnolotti of Askerton Farm chicken, baked celeriac and BBQ lion's mane
(eggs provided by St Ewe Free Range Eggs)

'Fresquito', Pérez Barquero, Montilla-Moriles, Spain 2023

Monkfish

Roasted Cornish monkfish, wild horseradish and young garden shoots

Farnanské Pinoty, Viajur Winery, Nitra, Slovakia 2023

Deer

Deer from the Cartmel Valley, preserved beetroots, curds and elder

'Nervo Ranch Heritage', Bedrock Wine Co, California, USA 2019

Strawberry

Last strawberries of the year, lemon verbena and sour cream

Petit Manseng, Churton Estate, Marlborough, New Zealand 2019