12th April 2013
Winter 2009 - Culinary Academy
As the Craft Guild of Chefs’ Culinary Academy goes from strength to strength we highlight its team members and mentors, plus recent achievements.
Mark Hill knows the importance of great mentoring. From the age of 13, he had the ultimate teacher – his father.
It’s nearly 30 years since celebrated competition chef Brian Hill showed his son the ropes that have led him to represent his country many times, and win gold medals in global competitions from Hotelympia to the World Culinary Olympics. This year he won the coveted Cost Sector Catering Chef Award for his passion and commitment to the culinary cause.
Holding dear the belief you should pass on what you know, he now uses this experience to train aspiring chefs, and has become a great and well regarded mentor. Part of this falls into his job, overseeing 140 as executive chef at the House of Commons, serving 12,000 meals a day in 12 restaurants to MPs, staff, civil servants, visiting dignitaries, the media and at private functions, and handling a food budget of £2.5m and £100,000 for equipment.
On top of this, he is proud to be a mentor for the Craft Guild’s Culinary Academy, from advising on how to create visually stunning exhibits with flavours that work, to identifying which characters work best together in hot and cold cookery practice runs at Westminster Kingsway College.
Then there’s keeping tired competitors focused to deliver after three nights of very little sleep. It’s a role Hill, a valued member of the Craft Guild since the 1980s, relishes.
“I go in on the ground, making protégés aware of where we mentors have come from,” he says. “Otherwise, it’s preaching. Everyone clicks differently and you need to deliver in layman’s terms so everyone understands, showing results and advantages of doing things a certain way.”
Hill, whose recent successes include mentoring individuals for the last Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany, is now concentrating on Hotelympia and the World Cup in 2010. He will then mentor members and help with the immense logistics involved in sending teams to leading industry contests and battles abroad.
“Mentoring as part of your job is different to competitions,” he says. “While they go hand in hand, competing is about absolute perfection, creating the best of modern food to beat others through innovation.
“A lot of chefs find their creativity through competitions and then bring it back to the workplace, making it a real nurturing tool.
“There is no point going back to the classroom and pushing bits of paper around to learn the art. It’s a manual, hands on challenge that has to be learnt in the kitchen.”
One of his mentoring methods is encouraging students to aspire to someone in particular. “When I was a young chef, I really admired Michael Kitts, now a lecturer at the Dubai Culinary School, and my dream was to beat him in competitions. I did. A few times in fact, which were really great moments for me.”
But what does he get out of mentoring? “My job involves handling large figures and thousands of customers each day, which can be taxing, so mentoring is often my best week’s work. I get a real satisfaction out of someone else’s progress and want to be known as a good teacher.
“My philosophy is that everyone has a spark which acts as a catalyst and, where possible, to bring this out, putting people in positions which stretch them and joining them in a goal to succeed. You might have someone who’s quite negative, for example, who can become really fired up if mentored right, a complete change of character. It’s about understanding and being patient.” Last call for Hotelympians
The word on every competitive chef’s lips right now is Hotelympia, where the UK’s great chefs and future stars get to perform their magic in some of the most exciting culinary battles ever.
The leading hospitality exhibition and its mix of riveting live theatre cook offs and spellbinding static displays has been a top draw for the Guild’s Culinary Academy since it was launched at the event two years ago.
It’s now less than three months until the five day show kicks off on February 28 at London’s ExCeL, and academy team leader Andy Twells is calling for members to bite the bullet and put themselves forward for what could be the biggest break of their career.
“The list of competitors for Hotelympia is coming together and looking extremely promising, but we have some places left and know we have members that could do the business, giving themselves a well deserved boost and further raising the image of the academy.
“In particular, we’re looking for members to compete in the thrilling Le Salon Culinaire Live Theatre and Salon Display, and if we can better last year’s magnificent haul of six gold medals, even better. This is the most fantastic chance to showcase your flair and skill, so get your names down. You never know who might spot you.”
Le Salon Culinaire International de Londres is a world class culinary competiton for chefs with an unrivalled reputation across the world. It hosts more than 85 competition classes and is divided into three sections: La Parade des Chefs, Salon Display and Live Theatre. With the theme of sustainability running through this year’s Hotelympia, chefs participating in the 2010 event are being encouraged to reflect this ethos in their entries.
While the accent will be very much focused on culinary craft, competitors will be monitored on their environmental credentials in the planning, preparation and service of menus and dishes, and how effectively they control and save wastage and energy.
• To enter a competition, email Andy Twells at [email protected]
The Culinary Academy is urging its members to go for gold and sign up to compete in Hotelympia’s exciting Live Theatre Master Chefs Grand Prix, sponsored by Manitowoc.
The challenge is for teams of three to plan, prepare, cook and present a mind blowing four course meal for two persons in 90 minutes from a basket of mystery ingredients.
Already signed up is Adam Smith from The Ritz Hotel, an academy member and UK gold medallist at this year’s WorldSkills in Calgary, who will be competing in this prestigious event for the first time.
Members will have the support of accomplished Craft Guild members and academy mentors Matt Edmonds, Andy Wilcock and Kieran Moore, who will endeavour to ensure nervous protégés stay calm on the day and impress judges with their ability.
The academy will not be entering a cold buffet as a team effort in the Salon Display next year, but is inviting members to come forward with individual cold entries as an invaluable warm up for next year’s biggest competition on the global stage.
“This gives members the opportunity to plan their own entries, source their own set up and get to grips with the venue without the pressure of balancing their dish with the whole table,” says Twells. “There is no time consuming centrepiece and it makes a level playing field for all academy members, a test run if you like for next year’s World Cup.”
Culinary Academy members have already signed up for individual cold work categories in both junior and senior classes, from restaurant platter to floral sugarcraft.
A true reality show will be coming to Hotelympia in the shape of La Parade des Chefs’ Open Team Grand Prix. The Culinary Academy will be competing in a pressure cooker of a contest where dishes are sold and served to visitors in fully operational restaurants. A team of six academy chefs are lined up to compete and they will be challenged with creating a three course plated meal for 100 covers, including a chef’s table for six covers plus judges.
Having to consider health and wellness in its menu, the team has plumped for pan seared sea bass with fennel and vanilla, cockle and Orkney crab toast, amuse bouche of ceviche of scallop, marinated cucumber and tomato essence, followed by slow roasted fillet of beef with ravioli of oxtail, parsnip purée, winter greens, cep and Madeira jus.
For pre-dessert, the team has gone for Cropwell Bishop panna cotta with caramelised walnut and fig salad, followed by warm prune and honey cake, chilled aniseed custard, pear sorbet, prune and Armagnac syrup for dessert.
Overall, competitors will be judged on mise en place, adherence to schedule, preparation, culinary skills, cooking methods, organisation and speed of service. In presentation, judges are looking for courses that are visually appealing, show originality, creativity and innovation, and are clean with correct portion, size and flow.
Taste wise, judges want flavours and textures, both individually and balanced across the three courses.
The provisional team line up is captain Fergus Martin, responsible for pass and front of house management, Larry Jayasekara (main), Sean McNulty (amuse bouche and pre-dessert), Steve Wilson (starter), Adam Smith (main), with the pastry chef to be confirmed.
Chef Ben Arnold is on standby, while Matt Edmonds is geared up to support chefs and act as a replacement. A support academy panel is also being finalised.
The Open Team Grand Prix Award is sponsored by Nestlé Professional, with kitchens supplied by Electrolux Professional and MKN and tabletop design by Steelite International and Dudson.
You’re a chef climbing rapidly up the ladder of success, so why compete? For many reasons, says the Craft Guild of Chefs. Firstly, it enables chefs to showcase their ideas, be recognised by peers and build up CVs, plus there is the opportunity to develop new skills and experience diverse food styles and presentations.
Then there’s the personal sense of pride, an important factor in a competitive, ever changing industry. “Catering is demanding, with many hours worked,” says Andy Twells. “Trouble is, rewards are all too often measured in a full restaurant and cash in the till. What about recognition for the chef?”
Competing opens up industry events, establishes relationships with suppliers through sponsorship and chefs you would never dream of meeting, while competing against some of the world’s finest talent.
“Businesses find themselves with more motivated, inspired staff with a competitive edge, a lower labour turnover as chefs feel invested in, paving the way for PR opportunities, while all round skills improve – an important factor in an industry where there is still a real skills shortage,” says Twells.
Putting together an award winning static cold display for competitions is easier said than done. If you’re about to enter the arena however, don’t panic.
Culinary Academy mentor and Westminster Kingsway College lecturer Vince Cottam can show you how, step by step.
“The process is easier broken down into its individual parts,” says Cottam, whose job is to guide promising talent to success. “You just have to remember to take your time and ensure each element is a work of art. The sum of its parts will then be something extra special and could clinch that coveted medal.
“Taking a static restaurant plat du jour for two for example, you can expect to create one dish and two portions of a main course, displayed in a way that the portions are instantly recognisable. They may be served at the diners’ table, so a suitable sauce served on the dish and in a separate sauce boat is likely to be required, with an extra portion plated to show how a waiter would serve it. Both portions and plate will probably need a vegetable and starch garnish to a fine dining style.
“Even for a static display, it is good practice to season as normal and, when making the farce, be careful not to use fruit or vegetables that bleed such as beetroot. When slicing food, make sure pieces are kept together as each portion will be slightly different and will need to be displayed with its correct pair. Serve equal numbers of garnishes per person, preparing extra in case of errors.”
Glazing puts an attractive sheen on food and prevents it from drying out, says Cottam. “Use aspic jelly for meat and large garnishes like potatoes,” he says, adding that for smaller garnishes, use confectioners’ glaze. “By working with small quantities, food stays cold and glazing can proceed more quickly. Keep checking the aspic’s temperature and, if necessary, return it to the bain marie or ice to cool. If too hot when doing the second dip, it can melt the layer already there.
“If short of time small items can be put on cocktail sticks studded into a clingfilm wrapped polystyrene block and dipped in one go.”
When ready to assemble, he advises warming a small, right angled palette knife to remove each piece from the rack, using it to burn off any excess aspic from the food. “Alternatively, let it touch the side of a hot pan to burn off excess aspic and, using a small paint brush, apply a little more aspic jelly to secure items to the plate. Use a small syringe to apply jus to a dish, and remove any excess aspic on the plate with a warm wet cloth. All that’s left to do is stand back and admire your handiwork.”
It’s nearly 30 years since celebrated competition chef Brian Hill showed his son the ropes that have led him to represent his country many times, and win gold medals in global competitions from Hotelympia to the World Culinary Olympics. This year he won the coveted Cost Sector Catering Chef Award for his passion and commitment to the culinary cause.
Holding dear the belief you should pass on what you know, he now uses this experience to train aspiring chefs, and has become a great and well regarded mentor. Part of this falls into his job, overseeing 140 as executive chef at the House of Commons, serving 12,000 meals a day in 12 restaurants to MPs, staff, civil servants, visiting dignitaries, the media and at private functions, and handling a food budget of £2.5m and £100,000 for equipment.
On top of this, he is proud to be a mentor for the Craft Guild’s Culinary Academy, from advising on how to create visually stunning exhibits with flavours that work, to identifying which characters work best together in hot and cold cookery practice runs at Westminster Kingsway College.
Then there’s keeping tired competitors focused to deliver after three nights of very little sleep. It’s a role Hill, a valued member of the Craft Guild since the 1980s, relishes.
“I go in on the ground, making protégés aware of where we mentors have come from,” he says. “Otherwise, it’s preaching. Everyone clicks differently and you need to deliver in layman’s terms so everyone understands, showing results and advantages of doing things a certain way.”
Hill, whose recent successes include mentoring individuals for the last Culinary Olympics in Erfurt, Germany, is now concentrating on Hotelympia and the World Cup in 2010. He will then mentor members and help with the immense logistics involved in sending teams to leading industry contests and battles abroad.
“Mentoring as part of your job is different to competitions,” he says. “While they go hand in hand, competing is about absolute perfection, creating the best of modern food to beat others through innovation.
“A lot of chefs find their creativity through competitions and then bring it back to the workplace, making it a real nurturing tool.
“There is no point going back to the classroom and pushing bits of paper around to learn the art. It’s a manual, hands on challenge that has to be learnt in the kitchen.”
One of his mentoring methods is encouraging students to aspire to someone in particular. “When I was a young chef, I really admired Michael Kitts, now a lecturer at the Dubai Culinary School, and my dream was to beat him in competitions. I did. A few times in fact, which were really great moments for me.”
But what does he get out of mentoring? “My job involves handling large figures and thousands of customers each day, which can be taxing, so mentoring is often my best week’s work. I get a real satisfaction out of someone else’s progress and want to be known as a good teacher.
“My philosophy is that everyone has a spark which acts as a catalyst and, where possible, to bring this out, putting people in positions which stretch them and joining them in a goal to succeed. You might have someone who’s quite negative, for example, who can become really fired up if mentored right, a complete change of character. It’s about understanding and being patient.” Last call for Hotelympians
The word on every competitive chef’s lips right now is Hotelympia, where the UK’s great chefs and future stars get to perform their magic in some of the most exciting culinary battles ever.
The leading hospitality exhibition and its mix of riveting live theatre cook offs and spellbinding static displays has been a top draw for the Guild’s Culinary Academy since it was launched at the event two years ago.
It’s now less than three months until the five day show kicks off on February 28 at London’s ExCeL, and academy team leader Andy Twells is calling for members to bite the bullet and put themselves forward for what could be the biggest break of their career.
“The list of competitors for Hotelympia is coming together and looking extremely promising, but we have some places left and know we have members that could do the business, giving themselves a well deserved boost and further raising the image of the academy.
“In particular, we’re looking for members to compete in the thrilling Le Salon Culinaire Live Theatre and Salon Display, and if we can better last year’s magnificent haul of six gold medals, even better. This is the most fantastic chance to showcase your flair and skill, so get your names down. You never know who might spot you.”
Le Salon Culinaire International de Londres is a world class culinary competiton for chefs with an unrivalled reputation across the world. It hosts more than 85 competition classes and is divided into three sections: La Parade des Chefs, Salon Display and Live Theatre. With the theme of sustainability running through this year’s Hotelympia, chefs participating in the 2010 event are being encouraged to reflect this ethos in their entries.
While the accent will be very much focused on culinary craft, competitors will be monitored on their environmental credentials in the planning, preparation and service of menus and dishes, and how effectively they control and save wastage and energy.
• To enter a competition, email Andy Twells at [email protected]
The Culinary Academy is urging its members to go for gold and sign up to compete in Hotelympia’s exciting Live Theatre Master Chefs Grand Prix, sponsored by Manitowoc.
The challenge is for teams of three to plan, prepare, cook and present a mind blowing four course meal for two persons in 90 minutes from a basket of mystery ingredients.
Already signed up is Adam Smith from The Ritz Hotel, an academy member and UK gold medallist at this year’s WorldSkills in Calgary, who will be competing in this prestigious event for the first time.
Members will have the support of accomplished Craft Guild members and academy mentors Matt Edmonds, Andy Wilcock and Kieran Moore, who will endeavour to ensure nervous protégés stay calm on the day and impress judges with their ability.
The academy will not be entering a cold buffet as a team effort in the Salon Display next year, but is inviting members to come forward with individual cold entries as an invaluable warm up for next year’s biggest competition on the global stage.
“This gives members the opportunity to plan their own entries, source their own set up and get to grips with the venue without the pressure of balancing their dish with the whole table,” says Twells. “There is no time consuming centrepiece and it makes a level playing field for all academy members, a test run if you like for next year’s World Cup.”
Culinary Academy members have already signed up for individual cold work categories in both junior and senior classes, from restaurant platter to floral sugarcraft.
A true reality show will be coming to Hotelympia in the shape of La Parade des Chefs’ Open Team Grand Prix. The Culinary Academy will be competing in a pressure cooker of a contest where dishes are sold and served to visitors in fully operational restaurants. A team of six academy chefs are lined up to compete and they will be challenged with creating a three course plated meal for 100 covers, including a chef’s table for six covers plus judges.
Having to consider health and wellness in its menu, the team has plumped for pan seared sea bass with fennel and vanilla, cockle and Orkney crab toast, amuse bouche of ceviche of scallop, marinated cucumber and tomato essence, followed by slow roasted fillet of beef with ravioli of oxtail, parsnip purée, winter greens, cep and Madeira jus.
For pre-dessert, the team has gone for Cropwell Bishop panna cotta with caramelised walnut and fig salad, followed by warm prune and honey cake, chilled aniseed custard, pear sorbet, prune and Armagnac syrup for dessert.
Overall, competitors will be judged on mise en place, adherence to schedule, preparation, culinary skills, cooking methods, organisation and speed of service. In presentation, judges are looking for courses that are visually appealing, show originality, creativity and innovation, and are clean with correct portion, size and flow.
Taste wise, judges want flavours and textures, both individually and balanced across the three courses.
The provisional team line up is captain Fergus Martin, responsible for pass and front of house management, Larry Jayasekara (main), Sean McNulty (amuse bouche and pre-dessert), Steve Wilson (starter), Adam Smith (main), with the pastry chef to be confirmed.
Chef Ben Arnold is on standby, while Matt Edmonds is geared up to support chefs and act as a replacement. A support academy panel is also being finalised.
The Open Team Grand Prix Award is sponsored by Nestlé Professional, with kitchens supplied by Electrolux Professional and MKN and tabletop design by Steelite International and Dudson.
You’re a chef climbing rapidly up the ladder of success, so why compete? For many reasons, says the Craft Guild of Chefs. Firstly, it enables chefs to showcase their ideas, be recognised by peers and build up CVs, plus there is the opportunity to develop new skills and experience diverse food styles and presentations.
Then there’s the personal sense of pride, an important factor in a competitive, ever changing industry. “Catering is demanding, with many hours worked,” says Andy Twells. “Trouble is, rewards are all too often measured in a full restaurant and cash in the till. What about recognition for the chef?”
Competing opens up industry events, establishes relationships with suppliers through sponsorship and chefs you would never dream of meeting, while competing against some of the world’s finest talent.
“Businesses find themselves with more motivated, inspired staff with a competitive edge, a lower labour turnover as chefs feel invested in, paving the way for PR opportunities, while all round skills improve – an important factor in an industry where there is still a real skills shortage,” says Twells.
Putting together an award winning static cold display for competitions is easier said than done. If you’re about to enter the arena however, don’t panic.
Culinary Academy mentor and Westminster Kingsway College lecturer Vince Cottam can show you how, step by step.
“The process is easier broken down into its individual parts,” says Cottam, whose job is to guide promising talent to success. “You just have to remember to take your time and ensure each element is a work of art. The sum of its parts will then be something extra special and could clinch that coveted medal.
“Taking a static restaurant plat du jour for two for example, you can expect to create one dish and two portions of a main course, displayed in a way that the portions are instantly recognisable. They may be served at the diners’ table, so a suitable sauce served on the dish and in a separate sauce boat is likely to be required, with an extra portion plated to show how a waiter would serve it. Both portions and plate will probably need a vegetable and starch garnish to a fine dining style.
“Even for a static display, it is good practice to season as normal and, when making the farce, be careful not to use fruit or vegetables that bleed such as beetroot. When slicing food, make sure pieces are kept together as each portion will be slightly different and will need to be displayed with its correct pair. Serve equal numbers of garnishes per person, preparing extra in case of errors.”
Glazing puts an attractive sheen on food and prevents it from drying out, says Cottam. “Use aspic jelly for meat and large garnishes like potatoes,” he says, adding that for smaller garnishes, use confectioners’ glaze. “By working with small quantities, food stays cold and glazing can proceed more quickly. Keep checking the aspic’s temperature and, if necessary, return it to the bain marie or ice to cool. If too hot when doing the second dip, it can melt the layer already there.
“If short of time small items can be put on cocktail sticks studded into a clingfilm wrapped polystyrene block and dipped in one go.”
When ready to assemble, he advises warming a small, right angled palette knife to remove each piece from the rack, using it to burn off any excess aspic from the food. “Alternatively, let it touch the side of a hot pan to burn off excess aspic and, using a small paint brush, apply a little more aspic jelly to secure items to the plate. Use a small syringe to apply jus to a dish, and remove any excess aspic on the plate with a warm wet cloth. All that’s left to do is stand back and admire your handiwork.”