Spotlight on the 25th Skills for Chefs Conference

The 25th Skills for Chefs Conference held in Sheffield this year was crowned a great success by delegates who had travelled from across the UK and Europe to attend the sold-out event.

David McKown MBE and Director of Skills for Chefs commented, "the conference once again made great use of the facilities at the University of Sheffield and Sheffield College and to have 200 delegates with us for the business programme demonstrated the ongoing support for this industry event".

The conference opened with a fascinating evening with Jason Atherton, the celebrated chef who recently achieved 2 Michelin Stars for "Row on 45" in Dubai. The on stage interview hosted by Joe Hurd, captivated the audience and it became clear that in addition to being an outstanding chef with a stellar career to date he is an astute and driven business entrepreneur.

The business programme continued the following day with Masterclasses that spotlighted the best of British produce and key insights into skills and techniques being used in some of the top kitchens in the United Kingdom.

First up in the demonstration theatre was Lorna McNee, protégé of the late two Michelin-starred chef Andrew Fairlie and Great British Menu’s “Champion of Champions” 2019. Lorna took up her first head chef role at Cail Bruich in August 2020 and she is the only current female chef in Scotland holding a Michelin star. Lorna showcased "Seafood from Scotland" and created two dishes that featured Crabs, Scallops and Langoustines.

This session was followed by a focus on pastry skills and sugar work with a four hands demonstration by Florian Poirot and Andrew Gravett.

Florian is originally from Nancy, a city in North Eastern France and then moved to Paris to work with Franck Daubos, before moving to Yorkshire.

Forian represented the UK and won the Best Sugar Showpiece prize at the World Pastry Cup in Lyon. Andrew Gravett, executive pastry chef at The Langham Hotel in London, with a background in Michelin-starred restaurants, showcased his skills during the conference. Florian produced a sugar centrepiece during two demonstrations at the conference and Andrew placed his Pineapple and Coconut creation onto the piece having first offered a tasting to all the delegates.

Some chefs delivered their masterclasses several times to groups of chefs and in the British Beef sessions, Tom Booton from the Dorchester Hotel worked with butcher Martin Eccles. Tom heralds the next kitchen generation, with a brilliant new angle on modern British dining and his dish of ribeye, short rib stuffed potato, tarragon mayonnaise, banana shallots and roasted maitakes was outstanding.

Also demonstrating six times during the day was Paul Leonard from the Michelin starred Forest Side in the Lake District. Paul has a great depth of experience working at the highest levels, cooking under the likes of Marcus Wareing and Andrew Farlie. Paul's dishes included Beetroots cooked all Day in their own juices with smoked cods roe and BBQ english peas dressed in chamomile with a salad of alliums.

Next up rattling the pans and using a Konro Grill was Tim Allen. Over the course of his career, Tim has become very familiar with Michelin Stars. His most recent, his fourth, was awarded to him only this year, just seventeen months after his restaurant sō-lō first first opened its doors.

Tim's dish also featured "Seafood from Scotland" and his creation of scallops and lobster with iberico lardo finished with a smoked eel dashi was well received by delegates.

The final business of the day was an audience with Simon Rogan, again this was hosted by Joe Hurd and it included great insights into the world of a chef who creates and oversees restaurants across the world.

The conference concluded with a spectacular Gala dinner held at the University of Sheffield and the evening included the prize giving for UK Young Restaurant Team of the Year. This year Sheffield College were crowned the overall winners of the competition.

The dates for the conference next year will be 25 and 26 June 2025.

For further details visit : www.skillsforchefs.org.uk