A Fresh Produce Party on The Chefs’ Forum Demo Stage at the London Produce Show 2018!

For the fifth year running, The Chefs’ Forum Demo Stage hosted a series of fabulous cookery demonstrations celebrating fresh produce from some of the best chefs in the country at The London Produce Show last Thursday (7) June.

At the best London Produce Show yet, accomplished chef demo compere, International Restaurant Consultant and Chefs’ Forum Committee Member, Peter Gorton introduced each chef and compared while they cooked their dish. Show visitors and members of the foodie media were treated to a round the world trip of culinary excellence from top London chefs as well as a guest Dutch chef.

DipnaCelebrity chef Dipna Anand of Brilliant Restaurant opened the show with some fantastic Punjabi cuisine sponsored by Robinson Fresh.  The audience loved her authentic dishes and will no doubt be heading over to her new thali opening in London’s Chelsea, Dip In Brilliant, where Dipna say she offers ‘proper Punjabi cooking which comes from the heart’.

As a proud brand ambassador for Bragard chef wear, Dipna was proud to wear her customised chef jacket sponsored by the high-end French culinary couture brand!

Bragard supplied jackets for all demo chefs on the stage, embroidered with the chefs’ names and show’s hashtag ‘#LPS18’ and they all looked very smart indeed!

The demonstrations lead the International exhibition in #CelebratingFRESH by showcasing how many products on the show floor are being used by some of the leading chefs in the UK within a food service environment.

Five Chefs’ Forum Members from across London and a guest chef from Holland took to the stage to showcase their dishes incorporating fresh produce from the show.

ChristianDutch chef and fermentation expert, Christian Weij followed Dipna with a vibrant and tasty cookery demo that showed the audience how to utilise fermented vegetable offcuts like cauliflower leaves, commonly perceived as kitchen waste to create fabulous dishes.

Carlos Martinez left and Peter GortonCarlos Martinez Group Executive Chef of Chucs and KX created poetry on a plate in showcasing his sublime avocado scotch egg – A signature dish at Chucs Restaurants showcasing Columbian produce!

Next-up, Michelin-starred Robert Ortiz of Lima Restaurant enlisted the help of his apprentice to showcase the finest Peruvian produce.

Tom Cenci, Executive Chef at Duck and Waffle created an amazing Eaton Mess featuring strawberries provided by Mudwalls, Warwickshire.

Tom CenciDr Rupy Aujla closed the show in showcasing a couscous and bean dish from his book, The Doctor’s Kitchen for members of the foodie media in a seated masterclass accompanied by wine.

Dr Rupy signed copies of his book for the members of the press and even donated one to The Chefs’ Forum as a student prize to be awarded to a deserving young winner at a future event.

Grosvenor House, a JW Marriott Hotel was the stunning venue in London’s Mayfair that saw over 1600 fresh produce aficionados and chefs flood into the busy show to enjoy a ‘vegfest’ of pandemic proportions.

The attendee list covered every continent of the world and exhibitors showcased produce from every category. A fantastic range of UK and international produce buyers from the retail, foodservice and wholesale sectors were given unrivalled access to the deliberately limited number of exhibitors, both during the exhibition and at a series of equally well-attended networking occasions. Educational seminars and workshops, chef demonstrations, an extensive student programme and tours to industry locations in and around London provided further opportunities to meet, share and learn from some of the world’s fresh produce thought and practice leaders.Dr Rupy

The chef demonstrations were organised by The Chefs’ Forum and took place on our fabulous purpose-built demo stage showcasing Locher Induction, a Convotherm Combi Oven and an Adande refrigerated double drawer unit. The show was an ideal opportunity to involve Chefs’ Forum members and give them a chance to demonstrate their respective cooking styles and menus whilst ‘Celebrating Fresh’, the main ethos of The London Produce Show.

The Chefs’ Forum demo stage is available for hire for any events and Chefs’ Forum members interested in performing paid cookery demonstrations should register their interest with us as we are approached by shows for demo chefs on a regular basis.

If you are interested in hiring the demo stage complete with audio visual equipment and crew for your fabulous foodie event, please contact Catherine Farinha for further information 07585 700030 or email catherine@redcherry.uk.com