Gastronomic event
Executive chef Peter Kromberg and his brigade at the Hotel Inter-Continental, London, will have their work cut out on Monday 13 February. Their task is to feed 250 fellow chefs at lunch and more at the conference dinner.
The lunch menu takes on an Irish flavour this year, including speciality dishes such as Irish stew, Dublin Bay fish pie plus Irish farmhouse cheese and soda bread.
Irishman Tommy Byrne, executive chef at the Inter-Continetal in Geneva, is flying in to help out for the day. He will be bringing with him an Italian colleague who wants to gain experience of a British kitchen. The conference dinner looks set to be a truly gastronomic experience. It begins with a selection of unusual aperitifs served at a reception sponsored by Gonzalez Byass and Croft Sherries. A five-course menu created by Kromberg follows.
What's on offer at the conference
The day's activities kick off with a series of discussions, including "Working in Europe". Everything a chef needs to know about how meat is produced and the latest on animal welfare is covered in "Meat to Live", and women chefs take to the stage to have their say on "Sexism in the Kitchen".
The morning is wrapped up by Shaun Hill of the recently opened Merchant House, Ludlow, and Richard Corrigan of London's Fulham Road restaurant. They give their experiences of the ups and downs of setting up a new restaurant.
In the afternoon's activity village, Jean-Christophe Novelli of the Four Seasons restaurant and Gordon Ramsay of Aubergine show off their skills with a cooking demonstration for delegates.
This will be followed by a series of demonstrations and tastings from:
Award-winning drinks writer Michael Jackson, who will conduct a beer and food pairing for delegates.
Master baker Steve Hallam, of Melton Mowbray's Old Pie Shop. He will demonstrate how to make hand-raised pies.
Duncan Hamilton, ice-carver, will show off his skills with a chisel.
You will also have a chance to see a sushi chef in action, and pick up some boning-out tips from the Meat & Livestock Commission's Dick van Leeuwen.
The conference will end with the ever-popular kitchen tours. New venues this year include the Café Royal, Les Saveurs, the Hotel Inter-Continental and Langan's Brasserie.
Thanks to generous support from British Meat we have been able to freeze prices for the conference yet again this year. If you would like more information about the day, please call 0181-652 8349. Credit card bookings also taken on this number.
