Fire, Foie, Meat and Spice at The Mill at Gordleton

Top chefs from Dorset & Hampshire gathered The Mill at Gordleton for a spot of butchery with Walter Rose & Son, and cookery demos by host chef Ian Gibbs and a superb BBQ with Sue Stoneman on the Kamado Joe.  As a Chefs’ Forum Committee Member, Gibbs has always been instrumental in binding together top chefs from across the Dorset & Hampshire area and ensuring opportunity is offered to the next generation in welcoming young chefs and front of house professionals into his kitchen.

As the students have now finishButcher and the chefed college for the summer, no students helped-out at the event, showcasing their skills on this occasion, however they do normally attend all chefs’ forum events throughout the year.  A great networking session with chefs and top suppliers to industry started the day with Ritter Courivaud, Country Fayre, Walter Rose, Foie Royale, Koppert Cress, Santa Maria, Prowrap, Chef Works, Falcon Foodservice all showcasing their market-leading products and equipment to the chefs and industry professionals who attended.

Foie Royale AranciniIan then took to the demo stage and joined forces with Alex Byrne from Walter Rose to give a brilliant ‘Butcher & Chef’ demonstration.  Alex cut a perfect fillet of Stokes Marsh Farm beef which was then used in Ian’s demo of fillet of beef, girolle, black truffle and parsley risotto with a Foie Royale cream.

As well as using Foie Royale in his demo, Ian also created some delicious arancini with sour cherry jam to finish the dish.  Ian was very impressed with the ethical alternative to Foie Gras and Director Mike Logut gave a talk to the room on how chefs up and down the country are incorporating it into their menus.

Walter Rose beef on the Kamado JoeAlex continued his butchery demo, showcasing various beef steak cuts on The Chefs’ Forum butchers block including rump, sirloin, tomahawk and spider steak.  Alex also demonstrated ways in which off-cuts can be used for other dishes.  The Butcher’s Shop of the Year winner 2016 is a major ally of top chefs across the country supplying optimum quality meat and expert advice to chefs as standard.

Lemon Drizzle Cake on the Kamado JoeAlex’s choice cuts were then cooked in a glorious BBQ on the Kamado Joe by Southwest Chef of the Year Home cook Category double champion, Sue Stoneman.  The chefs’ forum team then served the delicious morsels to chefs with salad and warm baguettes from Ritter Courivaud.

Sue also cooked a delicious trays of lemon drizzle cake and chocolate brownie on the Kamado Joe, showing you really can use it to cook anything you like!

Sam Santa Maria DemoWhilst outside in the beautiful garden of The Mill, chefs were invited onto the Santa Maria Spice Truck by Sam Guarino where they saw the quality of ingredients offered by the herb and spice aficionados, compared to other brands on the market.

Ian and his team at The Mill were perfect hosts and the chefs who attended were treated to some excellent cooking.  We look forward to forging links with The Upham Pub Company to organise students from neighbouring catering colleges to work with such a brilliant employer.

The next Dorset and Hampshire event will take place on the 28th October at The Cross Keys, Sherbourne with Mo Gherras. Chefs wishing to attend should contact rebecca@redcherry.uk.com

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