Media Release For Immediate Release From: Damian Gawel PR73.

12 Visionary Dining

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Top UK chefs prepare a competition dinner like no other at Northampton College Nine of the UKs most talented and celebrated chefs engaged in a gastronomic National competition at Northampton College that was both unique and innovative within the hospitality industry. Throughout 2012 nine top chefs have been staging inspirational mentoring and training days around the UK, X Factor style, to each find a culinary unknown chef worthy of mentoring to reach world class standards of culinary skill, passion and style. The search stretched from London to Glasgow and included almost 150 chefs throughout the UK who paired up with a celebrity mentor. Cooking and serving for an audience of 90 selected guests, this was a fantastic opportunity for students studying Hospitality and Catering at Northampton College as they got the opportunity to work alongside some of the top chefs in the country. Students were heavily involved in many aspects of this prestigious event including preparing all of the canaps, bread and petit fours that were served, not to mention the daunting task of serving all ninety guests on the night. Seventeen year old Northampton College student, Ryan Green studying a Professional Chef Diploma, was part of the team responsible for front of house: It was a little stressful as this was my first high profile event, but we worked as a team and it went pretty smoothly. I gained a great deal of confidence which will help me in the future when working on table service at fine dining banquets. It was a great networking experience added Jake Collins, studying a Level 3 Diploma in Professional Cookery who got a chance to work with chef and author, Aiden Byrne. Working with fine dining modern cuisine is something I want to do in the future and so I was very lucky to experience this with one of the best chefs in the industry. It was a great addition to our classical skillset, working with new techniques and food that we dont get a chance to use every day. The winning dish on the evening was prepared by Adam Brown, Head Chef at Brockencote
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Hall and Braden Charlesworth, Head Chef at Flemings in Mayfair, London who produced an Iced Tangerine Snowball with Buttermilk and Carrot. Speaking of his creation and overall experience of the event, Adam said, We were inspired by Winter and Christmas and created the iced tangerine mousse snowball. Its really refreshing to see the facilities on offer here at Northampton College; with the right environment and teachers you can go a long way in this industry as long as you have the enthusiasm. Students across level 2 and 3 Hospitality and Catering courses also spent over four hours producing the fantastic centre pieces, made entirely of chocolate and coloured cocoa butters that adorned the tables on the night. Throughout the day, students received demonstrations by well-known experts within the industry including Jason Shaw form Boutique Foods in Bolton who spoke about exquisite foods and deli items and the importance of using fresh produce. The winning dish on the evening was prepared by Adam Brown, Head Chef at Brockencote Hall and Braden Charlesworth, Head Chef at Flemings in Mayfair, London who produced an iced Tangerine Snowball with Buttermilk and Carrot. Gordon Cartwright, the Managing Director of Visionary Dining, commented: The winning dish was stunning on several levels to deliver a unanimous vote from the judges table. Flavours and textures were refined and delicate whilst the overall technical execution was flawless despite being at the very cutting edge of what's out there at the moment. When speaking of his creation and overall experience of the event, Adam said, We were inspired by Winter and Christmas and created the iced tangerine mousse snowball. Its really refreshing to see the facilities on offer here at Northampton College, with the right environment and teachers you can go a long way in this industry as long as you have the enthusiasm. The winning chefs spent an incredible 10 hours crafting the dessert that was served at the end of the five hour dinner. Andrew Postlethwaite, aged 22, who currently works at AA rosette restaurant Castle Green in Kendal also prepared a desert theme on the evening said Im really amazed at the facilities available here, when I went to college it was tiny but here they have all the latest chef equipment which is top of the range. The theme of the menu was Mother Nature and the elements. Other dishes included 'Darkness', a dish by Paul Foster of Tuddenham Mill that included ingredients that grew or
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lived in the dark. 'Fire', a dish created by Aiden Byrne which included beef cooked in flames, whilst other dishes included venison Carpaccio served on a dried dough plate by Ben Spalding of John Salt in London. Mike Coppock, Director of Hospitality at Northampton College said What an absolute pleasure it was for the College to be involved in such a high profile event. The students did themselves proud with positive comments flying around from the great and the good within the hospitality industry singing their praises. The nine chefs, as well as Mark Sargeant were great, and were happy to share up to date knowledge which will help to develop skills for the future. A number have of them have also offered work experience which I am sure will be eagerly snapped up. The logistics and disruption to the college was huge on the day, but was well worth it. And a final word about the food.simply stunning! Among the attendees and judging panel on the night were, Mark Sergeant and Peter Birnie, former Chief Restaurant Inspector at the AA. -EndsFurther information The UK National Mentors Aiden Byrne ~ 3 AA Rosettes ~ The Church Green, Lymm, Cheshire Kenny Atkinson ~ 3 AA Rosettes ~ Rockliffe Hall, Darlington, County Durham Matt Gillan ~ 1 Michelin Star ~ The Pass, South Lodge, Lower Beeding Adam Simmonds ~ 1 Michelin Star ~ Danesfield House, Marlow Martin Wishart ~ 1 Michelin Star ~ Restaurant Martin Wishart, Edinburgh Mark Poynton ~ 3 AA Rosettes ~ Alimentum Restaurant, Cambridge Ben Spalding ~ 3 AA Rosettes ~ Roganic. London Paul Foster ~ 3 AA Rosettes Tuddenham Mill, Suffolk Adam Brown ~ 2 AA Rosette (rising) Brockencote Hall, Worcestershire 4: The UK National Competitors Andrew Postlethwaite, Best Western Castle Green Hotel, Kendal Braden Charlesworth Head Chef , Flemmings, London Martin Thliveros Head Chef Blythswood Sq, Glasgow Ross McGibbon Sous Chef Gilpin Lodge, Windermere Danny Mathews Jnr Sous Chef Blythswood Sq, Glasgow Andrew Postlethwaite Chef de Partie Castle Green Hotel, Kendal Liam Davies Chef de Partie Hogarths, Solihull Graham Gardner Chef de Partie Blythswood Square, Glasgow Heats 9 winner yet to be announced. 5: The Judges
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Chief Judge Mark Sergeant Michelin Starred celebrity chef, protg of Gordon Ramsay Peter Birnie. Former Chief Restaurant Inspector at the AA. Vicky Endersen Previous Michelin-star Pastry Chef. Now works as cutting edge development chef and flavour specialist at MSK. Paul Brown MD of Continental Chef Supplies, Alex Shannon Sales Director of Sous Vide Tools, Gordon Cartwright MD visionarydining.com Should you require any further information please contact: Damian Gawel, Marketing and Communications Executive Tel: (01604) 734302 Email: damian.gawel@northamptoncollege.ac.uk