PACE News
Partnership Format for Chefs Conference 2011
Partnership Format for Chefs Conference 2011
This year the annual Skills for Chefs conference organised by The University of Sheffield will be held at The Sheffield College making use of their new state of the art facilities. David Mckown, Director of Skills for Chefs commented “After the same format for 14 years we have decided to make a key change and make use of the fantastic facilities at Sheffield College for the annual conference that will take place on 11-12 July 2011”.
Sheffield College have recently undergone a £65 million pound refurbishment and they now have some of the best facilities in the UK.
In addition to the traditional key note speeches and theatre presentations delegates will also have the unique opportunity to attend Master Class workshops using the kitchens at the college.
Mckown added “the opportunity to attend workshops in smaller groups will create a new opportunity for delegates to learn new skills and the format will also improve the interaction between delegates and renowned chefs”.
Business sessions for the conference will feature a significant number of award winning chefs from all sectors of the hospitality industry.
The conference will be opened by Richard Corrigan whose appearances on BBC2’s Full on Food, Saturday Kitchen and Great British Menu have made him one of the most popular chefs on television. Corrigan’s restaurant in Mayfair is also receiving critical acclaim. In October 2009, Corrigan’s Mayfair was awarded ‘AA London Restaurant of the Year’. Inspired by his humble, rural upbringing, Corrigan brings honest, no-nonsense food to one of the city’s most enviable postcodes. Generous portions accompany an exciting wine list and atmosphere to match, combining 21st century luxury and style with down-to-earth, home-inspired cooking.
The first chef to use the demonstration kitchen will be the Mark Sargeant formerly head chef at Gordon Ramsay's Michelin starredrestaurant at Claridge'sin London.
Sargeant led one of the competition kitchens in the first series of Hell's Kitchenon ITV1and ITV2. He was also responsible for managing the kitchen in the first series of The F Wordprogramme on Channel 4. After 13 years working under Ramsay, Sargeant resigned in November 2009 and became creative director of the Swan Collectionin December 2009.[3]He will remain closely associated with Gordon Ramsay Holdings through his continued work on Ramsay's publishing and television work.
Another key chef to appear at the conference is Tom Kitchin whose CV extends from early training at the Gleneagles Hotel to experience harvested from some of the world's most renowned chefs and restaurants, including Pierre Koffmann and the 3-star La Tante Claire restaurant in London and 3-star Michelin restaurant Guy Savoy in Paris. He also spent two years at Alain Ducasse's Louis XV restaurant in Monte Carlo. Tom will certainly be a chef to capture the imagination of delegates at the conference.
Other chefs involved in the conference include Bryn Williams who is the head chef and sole proprietor of Odette's Restaurant, Primrose Hill, London1]He shot to fame in 2006 by beating established and well-known chefs to cook the fish course for the Queen's 80th birthday celebrations on the television programme Great British Menu.[2]He is now widely regarded as one of Wales' best chefs and one of Britain's new crop of "celebrity" chefs.
Mick Burke who is a Senior Lecturer at Sheffield College is part of the project team for the conference and he will be delivering a pastry skills master class. Mick is well known as an expert in his field and his students have graced many of the leading establishments across the world.
Rupert Rowley is also running one of the workshops at the conference and as one of Mick Burke’s prodigies at Sheffield College he secured a placement to Raymond Blanc’s ‘Manoir au Quat’ Saison in Oxford. He was such a success, Raymond asked him to stay on, which he did until 1997.
His next strategic career move took him to work for the infamous John Burton Race at the 2 Michelin starred L’Ortolan restaurant in Reading.
In 2001 he decided to brave the kitchens of Gordon Ramsay at his flagship 3 Michelin starred Chelsea restaurant which he did for a year before coming to Baslow Hall in 2002. In 2003 he was appointed Head Chef.
Another chef presenting at the conference is Steve Smith who has worked in and led some of the top kitchens in the country and at 24, was the youngest chef to gain a Michelin star. He has held a Michelin star in the UK for ten years, as well as its equivalent ‘Hat’ in Australia. Making this achievement even greater, Steve has earned the coveted star across four different restaurants.
The second day of the conference also features Lisa Allen, Head Chef of Northcote Manor. Lisa had the honour of cooking for The Prince of Wales in the final of last year’s BBC series, Great British Menu and she is the only female chef to ever to reach this stage of the competition. Lisa Allen spent nearly two years working at Holbeck Ghyll in the Lake District and the two-Michelin-starred Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire before she took a demi-chef-de-partie position at Northcote, where a series of annual promotions resulted in her attaining the role of head chef in April 2005, under the direction of chef-patron Nigel Haworth. At just 23 Lisa was one of the first women to rise to the ranks of head chef in the Michelin-starred Northcote.
The key speaker on the 12 July will in fact be Nigel Haworth,Chef Patron of Northcote Manor.
In 1984 he was offered the position of head chef at Northcote Manor, becoming joint managing director five years later. The restaurant was not well known at the time, but Nigel's hard work led to him being named Egon Ronay Chef of the Year in 1995. The following year, Nigel was awarded a Michelin star, which he has succeeded in retaining every year since.
In 2004 Nigel received the Prince Philip Medal, the City and Guilds' highest accolade, in recognition of his lifelong commitment to catering, and in 2006 he was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Northern Hospitality Awards.
The conference also features an exciting social programme including a Restaurant Safari around the City of Sheffield and a spectacular gala dinner served in Firth Hall at the University of Sheffield.
The conference also creates a unique opportunity for suppliers to interact with delegates and a trade exhibition will run alongside the business programme.
Residential delegates will be accommodated in the new Ranmoor Village at The University of Sheffield and two nights accommodation plus all the evening social programme is just £375 the non residential two day conference package is £200.
Delegates and Exhibitors can now make reservations for the conference by contacting 0114 222 8907/8909 or email
skillsforchefs@sheffield.co.uk
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
or visit www.skillsforchefs.co.uk
