Building for the future

 

If we are to have a good future in food we have to bring up a new generation of cooks. Not only for the restaurant business but good home cooks too who can serve delicious and nutritious food for healthy families.

At a time when cookery is decreasingly taught in schools, or largely consists of assembling pre-bought ingredients, it is good to see the Food Festivals taking on the challenge.

Abergavenny has a Secondary Schools Challenge - won this year by King Henry VIII School, but I will concentrate on Newport Food Festival and The Celtic Cook Off as brilliant examples.

Since its inception Newport Food Festival has run Teen Chef, in association with the City's Youth Service. Youth Clubs and organisations compete in heats over a period of around three months, with young people designing, sourcing and cooking their menus.

A semi final is held in the Market Hall in Newport a couple of weeks before the actual Food Festival with the winning teams going head to head on the day of the festival.

Whether a finalist or not each competitor will have gained knowledge and skills that will serve them well in future life.

The competition is hugely supported by Hywel Jones, Michelin Starred at Lucknam Park and a Newport boy himself. Hywel mentors and judges both the semi final and final, sharing his immense knowledge of food and kindling enthusiasm amongst the competitors.

But it goes further, the winning team go to Lucknam Park for a morning in the kitchen with Hywel and his team before having lunch in the restaurant. This year Hywel is cooking the Food Festival Supper and will have one of the winners of the first Teen Chef in his brigade on the evening. As in previous years students from Coleg Gwent will also join the brigade gaining valuable experience of prepping and cooking in a restaurant environment.

Education and training are also high on the agenda in the Celtic Cook Off. Held during, but parallel to West Cork Food Week, the Cook Off is organised at the West Cork Hotel by a small group of local producers and enthusiasts. Chefs from the six Celtic Nations and Regions cook off against each other for the title.

There is, however, a big emphasis on skills and knowledge for younger cooks.

A secondary Schools Cookery Competition takes place in the Mercy Heights School and one of the competing chefs is the judge - this year it was Welsh Chef Gareth Johns from the Wynnstay in Machynlleth. Gareth reported that the standard of cooking was high and the winners thoroughly deserved their title.

On the evening of the Cook Off last year's winning chef cooks a dinner, Gary O'Hanlon Of Viewmount House won last year, and the previous years Schools champions join the winner to prep an element of the dinner.

About to enjoy my breakfast I was delighted to see Gary with the winners poring over the recipe and order of work for their contribution, an Apricot, Date and Organic Blueberry Compote to accompany the Cheese Plate. They went into the kitchen and made the dish and a little more to spare.

 

On the evening of the Cook Off the two girls started the night by giving a quick demo to the 200 or so in the audience, and passed around tasters! What a great experience for 16 year olds and what a learning experience.

During the day of the competition trainees from Catering Colleges come to the hotel and have Master Classes from the competing chefs and make canapés for the audience as well as acting as Sous Chefs during prep and on the night. Again a learning opportunity for them.

 

 

 

Similarly to Hywel Jones inviting the winners of Teen Chef to his restaurant the winner of the Celtic Cook Off invites the Schools Competition winner.

Two great initiatives to get more young people involved with food and two which have made a real difference to young lives.

 

Hywel Jones to cook Festival Supper

The super on the evening of the Newport Food Festival is becoming a tradition and a must. This year it will be on 4^th October and back in the Market Hall.

That is just one of the changes as the Supper develops.

So far the three courses have each been made by different local businesses but this year Michelin Starred Hywel Jones of Lucknam Park will produce the entire menu.

 

Hywel is a great friend of the festival and a Newport boy as well.

The supper will consist of a three course meal, created and prepared Hywel  with most of the produce sourced from Newport Market.

 

Not only has Hywel done demonstrations and Masterclasses but he also judges the Teen Chef competition and encourages youngsters to get into catering.

 

The winning team in the competition get to spend a morning in the kitchen at Lucknam Park as part of their prize. Rumour has it that last year’s winners will be involved in the kitchens at the Food Festival prepping part of the supper, a great experience for them.

Most of the prep will be done by Hywel’s own team and whipped over the Severn Bridge in refrigerated transport. Thanks to the Support of Relais and Chateaux, who own Lucknam Park, Hywel will also bring in some of his brigade from the Michelin Starred restaurant.

The exciting menu is reproduced here

 

 

Tickets go on sale on Thursday 22nd August through the Box Office

Top Chef line up for Newport Food Festival

Now in its third year Newport Food Festival goes from strength to strength and the line up of chefs for Demos and Masterclasses shows this well.

Unlike Abergavenny which reflects its position on the UK stage and attracts the global chefferati, Newport is firmly based in Wales, and showcases many of our best chefs.

Brilliant Indian chef Anand George will return with his modern take on Indian food and, with the Purple Popadom being voted Wales best, yet again he will have a lot to offer. Last year he showcased his special Deep Blue menu and it is likely that this year's Summer Menu "Ocean" will provide the highlight.

Rapidly rising star Matt Dawkins returns to demonstrate the kind of food that is making the Star Inn Llansoy a destination pub. Matt and I first met some years ago when we competed in the short lived Taste The Nation competition on TV. Still a student then Matt produced our only winning dish as we lost 2-1 in the first round.

Completing his course Matt was soon snapped up by the Star, and heads a team using local and seasonal ingredients to produce the kind of food that has seen him crowned Chef of the Year.

Keeping with the local theme and strong Chefs it is a festival debut for Dale Williams and Larkin Cen, Cardiff's Masterchef finalists. Lawyer Larkin and Recruitment specialist Dale fought off the opposition to reach the final where they were just pipped at the post by Natalie Coleman. Along the way the two Cardiff boys forged a strong friendship and they will soon open a restaurant in Cardiff. Hokkei will specialise in South East Asian food, the kind of dish that served them so well on Masterchef.

Dale and Linton would be a great attraction on the outdoor cooking stage where Bob from the Waterloo Hotel wowed the crowds last year.

As usual there will be demos in the Market Hall both upstairs on the main stage and down on some of the stalls, Masterclasses in the Riverside, and some street demos as well. New for this year are interactive demos.

Using a unit within the Market Hall a number of hands on demos have been arranged where you can try your hand at new skills. Over the last couple of years Lisa Fearn (Pumkin Patch Cookery and Gardening School and chef on S4C's Prwnawn Da) has run very successful children's workshops and this year the adults get their chance.

Teaming up with local chefs and producers a programme of demos have been arranged where you can have a go, whether it is making Pasta, Kneading your own bread dough or making little snack samosas and the like. These events will be ticketed to make the numbers manageable, but tickets will be free from the Box Office.

Though not announced yet I would be surprised not to see Festival Stalwarts Hywel Jones, Stephen Terry, and James Summerin not involved somewhere, and perhaps Newport boy Matt Tebbutt.

More chefs will be added to the line up and I expect at least one major name to be confirmed next week.