Chef conference

Thoughts of big Jack…

Jack Charlton, the former Republic of Ireland team manager, a member of the 1966 England World Cup squad and a renowned defender at Leeds United, inspired and entertained the conference with a witty account of his career.

He told delegates they should always make the best of the resources they have at their disposal.

"You've got to get it through to them as quickly as possible how you want things done," said Charlton.

"Once a game is live, footballers react to situations. What you need to do is get them to react to situations automatically, without thinking, and that's all in the preparation and training. It must be the same as running a kitchen."

Atherton looks to build a big innings

Build up your business first, then chase accolades was the message from L'Anis chef-partner Jason Atherton, who demonstrated a selection of dishes from the 70-seat restaurant's menu in the Holford room at London's Dorchester. "Of course I would like to get a Michelin star, but the restaurant is not there to chase one," he said. "Once the restaurant is full I can start moulding it how I want it and then go for accolades."

The dishes prepared by the 29-year-old chef - which included a starter of quail and white asparagus - reflected the classical French influence on his cooking (he has worked with Pierre Koffmann, Nico Ladenis and Marco Pierre White) combined with ideas picked up from his travels, most notably three months spent at Ferran Adria's El Bulli restaurant in Spain.

"El Bulli is the most progressive restaurant in the world and is constantly pushing the boundaries."

Caribbean cuisine

Delegates got a glimpse of sunnier climes during a demonstration of Caribbean cooking from Orlando Satchell, executive chef of the Ladera Resort in St Lucia.

The preparation of pan-fried red snapper - marinated in ginger, garlic and jerk seasoning - served on a sweet potato mash with a fruit salsa was the centrepiece of Satchell's workshop. There were also tastings and displays of indigenous produce, including dasheen, christophene, plantain, breadfruit and cocoa sticks.

Satchell described Caribbean cuisine as the first fusion food. "The Caribbean is a place where influences from so many places - Britain, Italy, France, India, and China among many more - have come together."

While Satchell spends the winter in St Lucia, he also runs Nouvelle Caribbean, a London-based company that aims to raise the profile of Caribbean cuisine internationally.

Spice girl

Indian restaurants in the UK have been through a revolution in the past 20 years in terms of the quality and style of food being served, Meena Patak, director of product development at Patak (Spices), told delegates at a workshop on ethnic cooking.

Back in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s most people in the UK thought of Indian food as "cheap and cheerful, something that should be eaten with lots of lager and something that would give you Delhi belly the next day," she said.

"But now Indian restaurants are serving more complex dishes and are representing lots more regional flavours."

However, Patak added that the development of Indian food in the UK still had a long way to go.

"At least 70% of Indian dishes are vegetarian and most restaurants here still haven't scratched the surface in terms of what they are offering."

Food and wine pairing

Percy & Fox & Co's Ewan Murra laid on a food and wine pairing sessions for chefs with a fishy theme in the Terrace room at the Dorchester. Murray challenged chef Norman Farquharson, of the Tenth Restaurant, at London's Royal Garden hotel, to come up with dishes to match the all-white line-up: 1999 Rosemount Estate Diamond Semillon (Australia); 2000 Durbanville Hills Chardonnay (South Africa); 1999 Beaulieu Vineyards Coastal Chardonnay (California); 2000 Babich Marlborough Riesling (New Zealand); 1996 Hugel et Fils Gewurztraminer Jubilee (Alsace); 1998 Jaboulet-Isnard Crozes Hermitage Blanc (Rhône). Farquharson hit the right note with the Durbanville Hills Chardonnay and his Thai monkfish with a papaya and chilli dressing, and the Crozes Hermitage Blanc with tuna roasted in Chinese five spice with a lemon grass and coriander dressing. But he found a match made in heaven with the Gewurztraminer and his terrine of confit duck and foie gras with a date and apple chutney. Less successful was the Kiwi Riesling and a pungent, truffley, wild mushroom boudin on Savoy cabbage and Madeira jus.