December 2013

Wishing you a wonderful Christmas and best wishes for a happy,healthy and successful New Year!

A Perfect Christmas Present
Boisdale Canary Wharf

Ewan & John’s Wine Club Dinner Featuring Wines From Bordeaux

THURSDAY, JANUARY 30, 2014 AT 6:30PM

A five-course dinner featuring wines from Bordeaux; with two wines per course £95 per person.  Bookings with Valerie Morrison:  events@boisdale-cw.co.uk / 020 7715 5818.

Ewan is a leading wine expert appearing regularly on BBC TV, Radio and Channel 4 and writing in the national press (www.ewanlacey.com) & John Davey has run some of the world's best restaurants. Each course of the five-course menu will be matched with two wines

Award winning Dunkeld smoked salmon

Hebridean crab tian, Secretts farm leaves & lemon

Mini roast Macsween haggis

Mashed potatoes & bashed neeps

Roast Aberdeenshire fillet of beef

32 day dry aged, béarnaise sauce & hand-cut chips

Selection of British cheeses

conference pear & heather honey

Valhrona hot chocolate fondant

mi-cuit, Bourbon vanilla ice-cream

http://www.boisdale.co.uk/canary-wharf/events/view/671/

SALT Hospitality Recruitment

If you are looking for a new challenge in the New Year please get in touch. We are working with some of London’s finest establishments and are always interested to hear from talented industry professionals.

We aim to be the 'essential ingredient' in your recruitment strategy; click on the link below to see some of our latest positions.

http://www.caterer.com/CompanyBrowse/Salt-Hospitality-LTD_Vacancies_c697281.html

Le Marché des Chefs

Created in 2007 to allow restaurants to work with produce from artisanal producers throughout Europe who were either unwilling or unable to supply the larger wholesalers and  markets.

Bruno Mouysset and Maurice Fitz Gerald are the founders of Le Marché des Chefs. Bruno served his apprenticeship as a chef with, among others, Michel Bras, Michel Guérard and Pierre and Jean Troisgros.

Maurice was brought up in the Gers, a region of France revered for its gastronomic culture. Given the opportunity to marry a career as an professional rugby player & love of gastronomy whilst playing for the French club of Biarritz

Unparalleled knowledge of our produce has enabled us to work alongside our clients and build the close relationships that we feel are fundamental to our business.

http://lemarchedeschefs.co.uk/
Contact: Maurice. maurice@lemarchedeschefs.co.uk

A Room for all Seasons

This family business has grown through various stages and can now offer a bespoke and beautiful orangery at an affordable price. They provide classic styling and a great additional space for your home at the greatest value and cost effectiveness.

 Commercial orangeries are suitable for restaurants and staff dining areas, creating a relaxing,light & airy feel to impress your staff and clients
http://theoriginalorangerycompany.co.uk/
For enquiries please contact David Harris
david.harris@theoriginalorangerycompany.co.uk

THE KEEPER'S HOUSE 
(ideal for pre theatre and Valentines Day)

The setting is stunning — the historic Keeper's House within the Royal Academy building, the first time in its history that the public have been offered access to this beautiful building.

My good friend and Head Chef Ivan Simeoli, an Italian who has some impressive moves on his CV (including Massimo Bottura's Osteria Francescana, voted the world's 3rd best restaurant in 2013) will be creating an ever changing modern British menu, focusing on seasonality and foraged ingredients; Ivan is definitely an innovator, so you'll find plenty of interesting elements throughout his menu mirroring the innovation that has been at the heart of The Royal Academy from its very inception. 

British ingredients are the  stars in the restaurant; Holicombe venison tartare with rowan berries, parsnip & kale crunch; Flamed leeks with ewe’s milk & Forge Farm squash; Mushroom broth with chestnuts, turnips & Judas Ear; Scottish Borders partridge with hazelnut, black cabbage and crisp pear; Wild Cornish sea bass with razor clams, cannellini & rainbow chard.

And of course my dear friend Dominque is the Master of the House

Open for friends only until 4pm!

http://www.keepershouse.org.uk/

Cleaner Products

Seasonal greetings from Pete & Nathan and all the Cleaner Products team.

Over 30 years experience Cleaner Products have developed an unrivalled service that is the first choice for many leading hotels, Michelin star restaurants, pub & club groups, healthcare operators, food production companies, catering and facilities...

http://www.cleanerproducts.co.uk/

November 2013.....

Hospitality Recruitment

I am happy to inform you that I am now an associate of Salt Hospitality Recruitment.

Opened 6 months ago by my old friends Marcin Maryniak & Mark McCann.

Throughout his career Marci has worked in 5 star hotels, Michelin starred restaurants, including the Greenhouse, where we met, contract catering and private events in London and abroad.

In 2009 Marcin changed career path and entered the world of recruitment.

Marcin's background within the industry has proved invaluable in being able to identify clients’ needs and match candidates appropriately.  He then went on to co-found SALT Hospitality in 2013. 

With Marcin & Mark

Mark McCann has worked in the catering and hospitality industry for over 30 years. His extensive work experience ranges from hotels, Michelin starred restaurants and contract catering for some of the finest and largest most reputable companies. After many years of working with recruitment companies in his role as a chef, he found there were parts of the recruitment process that needed further development and co-founded SALT Hospitality in 2013.

We aim to be the 'essential ingredient' in your recruitment strategy.

The Gold Service Scholarship

The skills needed to become a true front of house professional can often be found in an understanding of the details like understanding food, wine, food and wine pairing, style, the table and so on. In many cases suppliers and manufacturers are the best people to learn from as they are the masters of their own products. From the starting point of education we are looking for partners to help us to teach those lessons by being part of the scholarship. We would like to work with you to find interesting and enlightening opportunities for our winners to experience and learn from which are just as meaningful as working with the mentors.

Rebecca, last years winner

You could be a vineyard, a distillery, an airline or cruise ship company or something completely different but still connected to hospitality. Whatever it is, you have a product that exemplifies perfection and care. If this is you, we’d love to hear from you!
Please contact Barbara Barnes
TE: 01276 417885 E:  BB@HALM.CO.UK

http://www.thegoldservicescholarship.co.uk/

N.A.C – Drinks Party

A wonderful evening at N.A.C on that nasty stormy Monday.

Three young Frenchmen school friends in their mid-twenties, David Bellaiche, Gabriel Cohen-Elia and Jeremy Coste, the head chef. 

Twenty-seven-year-old Coste is an alumnus of the Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon opend N.A.C just over a month ago: the split-level space has a basement cocktail lounge, 50-seat dining room and mezzanine for groups of up to 16. N.A.C (North Audley Cantine)

Light tapas-size dishes are largely French but take inspiration from other cultures too, including the Americas – Cohen-Elia was born in Brazil and spent time in the US. Coste says: “We wanted the food to reflect our different backgrounds while grounding it in our common childhood

We tasted some wonderful English produce; wonderful canapés and finger food from Jeremy and his team; and wonderful service & cocktails from Marie and her front of house team.

http://www.naclondon.co.uk/

Digby Fine English

England, ‘this precious stone set in the silver sea’ has made the English who we are. Every aspect of our lives – our history, our temperament, our eccentricity, our irrepressible humour, our fearless creativity have all been shaped by our island nature, the unpredictability of our temperate climate, our richly varied geology.

And from that ancient terrain comes ‘DIGBY FINE ENGLISH SPARKLING WINE’ – a superlative, elegant, spirited expression of Englishness – with all its follies and foibles, modesty and refinement, its courage and its curiosity…

Trevor Clough – Co-Founder & CEO Trevor left his job in consulting and is now intent on bringing happiness to Digby customers, one glass at a time, Trevor’s dream of creating a truly global brand of English fizz is coming true.

Digby Fine English focus is on Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Chardonnay, varieties proven to produce the most finesse. Time, care and patience goes into our rendition of the Traditional Method, which gently reveals the potential in each lot of pressed juice. We then pour ourselves into blending, where we create the liquid pleasures that are unmistakably Digby

http://www.digby-fine-english.com/

Anspach & Hobday

Jack & Pauls’s business is to make good beer better. They are currently building their first brewery and about to flood the world with beautiful beer!Anspach & Hobday, are a pair of beer-loving home brewers with an ambition to create a cathedral to beer and brewing! 
Their plan is to build the mother of all Craft Beer breweries and venues right in the centre of London. 

"We want to put London back in its rightful place at the centre of the brewing world, and above all share our beer with you!"
Sounds good!
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1376155414/anspach-and-hobdays-pilot-brewery

Cleaner Products
Cleaner Products Limited are a manufacture and supplier of quality cleaning & hygiene products, call us today for further information on 01689-861984

Cleaner Products is a family run chemical manufacturing and distribution business, operating throughout the UK the directors have a vast experience of the cleaning & hygiene industry dating back over 3 decades. This experience coupled with modern techniques and the latest environmentally friendly formulations gives our clients reductions in operational costs and peace of mind.
They achieved the environmental standard ISO 14001 on the first day of accreditation and were the first chemical company to do this in the UK. 

Other services, including COSHH training, are equally engaging and will provide you with a genuine sense of quality and value for money. 

It would be well worth taking a few moments to meet with Nathan Reilly (MD Cleaner Products) you have nothing to lose …. but lots to gain. 

https://www.facebook.com/CleanerProducts

Boisdale

Belgravia

Lively London restaurants serving traditional Scottish cuisine, whisky, cigars, steak, caviar & oysters. All served with the best live music in London.

Canary Wharf bosts one of the most extensive & magnificent  beef traditionally and naturally reares on mineral rich Aberdeenshire pastures. 

Boisdale'e Scottish beef is arguably the very best beef in the world and is, depending on the cut, aged for up to 40 days on the bone.

All Boisdale steaks are accompanied by devilishly indulgent sauces including classic béarnaise, green peppercorn sauce and for lovers whisky bars in the world, discover our 12 meter long glowing wall of over 1000 golden malt whiskies.

The wall of Whisky in Canary Wharf

Boisdale's serve the finest of dry aged Scottish of all things luxurious, a slice of seared foie gras and fresh black truffles.

Boisdale Canary Wharf will be the venue for John & Ewan's first wine club of 2014 on Friday January 31st; we can guarantee a great night of amazing food & wine, live music & fun

http://www.boisdale.co.uk/

The Lanesborough Hotel

The Lanesborough, London, where I spent 5 wonderful 

years has announced a proposed closure at the end of this year for its first major renovation programme since opening 22 years ago.

The landmark 93-room hotel, which is managed by St Regis, the luxury brand from Starwood Hotel & Resorts, will close its doors at the end of December for what managing director Geoffrey Gelardi expects to be a nine-month project.

The Russell Arms 

Butlers Cross,Bucks HP17 0TS. Tel: 01296 624411

You have to drive out to Butlers Cross and see my old colleaugue and good friend James; we had such a delicious lunch.

Faced with losing their local when it closed earlier this year, a group of Ellesborough and Butler’s Cross residents formed ‘Friends of The Russell’ and bought the pub with the aim of maintaining a vital hub for their community. Following a stylish refurb the pub is open again and rather lovely...

Scallops parsley purée

Call it passion... spirit... gumption... love... they’ve got it by the bucketful in Butler’s Cross. Determined to save their local, The Russell Arms, Friends of The Russell raised around half a million pounds to buy and refurbish the ancient pub and have brought in an experienced management team to provide a social hub with top quality food and drink, and a sideline in basic supplies, such as bread, milk and eggs and little treats!

Wild mushroom cep purée brioche crisp goats curd

The team from Wendover’s No2 Pound Street Wine & Food emporium are overseeing the running of the venture and have engaged Head Chef Matthew Hiscoe and Front of House Manager Andrew Schofield to lead from the frontThe Russell Arms, thought to date back to 1763, although parts of the building 

A coaching house turned servant's quarters for those who served at Chequers, England's Prime-Ministerial country retreat, we are delighted to welcome all who step inside our stunning country pub and share in the vision of bringing home values of old..

belly pork apple and vanilla sauce air pork Madeira jus

Not far away, the team behind Wendover's famous cheese and wine shop 'No2 Pound St heard about the plight of this delightful country pub deciding there and then to restore Russell Arms to her former glory.
http://www.russellarms.co.uk/

John's 2013 Drinks Party

Monday 28th October from 6.00pm – 8pm

Please join me & lots of other wonderful people….

For a relaxed, fun evening at NAC (North Audley Cantine) where David, Gabriel and Jeremy, the three partners  look forward to welcoming you.

"Marie who will be our host for the evening say "We are very excited about our cocktail program, we are infusing our spirits in-house, and I think the menu really reflects our different inspirations, from Rio de Janeiro to New York to Paris'"

It will be a brilliant opportunity for some fun networking.

The bar & restaurant will of course be there for you to enjoy until late.

Have a look at this great review in the Telegraph
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/luxury/restaurants-and-bars/7764/restaurant-review-north-audley-cantine.html

NAC 41 North Audley Street London W1K 6ZP
Tel: 0207 493 3443

Please RSVP as soon as possible as places are limited

john@johnpdavey.co.uk

A busy few weeks!

The Gold Service Scholarship

Launched in 2012, the Gold Service Scholarship is a new annual competition aimed at front of house young talents within hospitality.

Created by a select group of leading hospitality professionals, the Scholarship offers the opportunity for a young front of house professional to refine their skills and knowledge through a years’ worth of mentoring, learning, travel and placement opportunities from a group of the most senior service professionals in the UK and internationally.

With the 2013 winner, Rebecca Dibben, firmly established in her year-long programme, the scholarship has already made a splash in the industry and received great support from across the spectrum of front of house service.

The 2014 competition will begin in the summer months so look out for more information on this website.

The competition is open to anyone who works in front of house service. Don't worry if you do not have the experience you think you should have or know everything you should know.

Encourage your FOH to enter our competition to win the opportunity of a lifetime

Enter now - closing date is midday 8 October.

http://www.thegoldservicescholarship.co.uk/

Bray - County Wicklow

Had a great time in Bray, County Wicklow, I was invited by my good friend Rory Morahan to take part in the Bray  Summerfest on Saturday and Sunday July 27-28, the Food and Garden Pavilion was perched proudly on the stunning seafront, featuring talks, tastings, tips and canapés under a canopy offering food-lovers the opportunity to sample and savour the flavours all while soaking up the oasis atmosphere.

Over 40 exhibitors from all over Ireland showcased their food produce alongside local restaurants providing a peek of their menus.Rory co-ordinated the on-stage events. Among his guests will be star celebrity Jean Christophe Novelli, who began his career at the age of 14 in his home town of Arras in Northern France. 

TV Chef and Food Writer, Catherine Fulvio from the Ballyknocken Cookery School did a wonderful demonstartion of great Italian dishes

Rory is an amazing person, also goes under the name of the Druid Chef

At the very heart of the concept of Celtic Cuisine lies the 10 Celtic Cooking Concepts which were created by Rory to define the nature of the dishes that he creates through his inspirations.Take a few minutes to lookat the link below, you will rarely meet anyone who has a passion like Rory for promoting Ireland & its wonderful produce

http://rorymorahan.ie/celtic-cooking-styles 

 Drakes - The Clock House, High Street, Ripley, Surrey, GU23 6AQ  Tel: 01483 224777

Steve Drake, chef proprietor of Drake's. Steve is passionate about cooking and at his happiest in the kitchen of his restaurant, where he produces innovative, contemporary British food. The Michelin-starred restaurant has recently undergone a dramatic refit of the main interior which resulted in walls with exposed wood beams, the floor leveled and the room transformed into a distinctive, stylish and comfortable environment for couples and larger groups to enjoy the atmosphere and of course the food. 
http://www.drakesrestaurant.co.uk/discover-the-restaurant/ripley

"Creativity and simplicity of flavour" are two things which Steve likes to be associated with.

On Saturday evenings his innovative nine course 'flavour discovery' tasting menu is served – a fantastic opportunity to try a variety of dishes.

http://www.drakesrestaurant.co.uk/discover-the-restaurant/ripley

Steve is also a great fan of running; well running a little differently than we might think, taking part in the TOUGHEST FOOTRACE ON EARTH,Known simply as the MdS, the race is a grueling multi-stage adventure through a formidable landscape in one of the world’s most inhospitable climates - the Sahara desert

A cooking 52 degrees during the longest 48 mile stage, 10 kms of massive sand dunes took us 2 hours in the hottest part of the day to complete!

http://www.marathondessables.co.uk/

Grain Store - Granary Square 1-3 Stable Street King's Cross London N1C 4AB Tel: 020 7324 4466

A delicious, amazing & fun dinner with my good friend Jason the GM of the TheZetter, The Zetter Townhouse and the tarted-up Granary Square in King's Cross is now home to the Grain Store, a newbistro from Raymond Blanc's favourite protege Bruno Loubet, who has made a name for himself with his unpretentious French provincial cooking.

Baked beetroots, pickled onions, goat labneh, 

This is the second London restaurant from Loubet who already runs his own name restaurant at the stylish Zetter Hotel in Clerkenwell but the new venture is a more informal affair than Bistrot Bruno Loubet.
Having been awarded the 1985 Good Food Guide's Young Chef of theYear, he joined Raymond Blanc in Oxford as Head Chef at the two Michelin-starred Manoir aux Quat'Saisons.

http://www.grainstore.com/

Good luck to my good friend Irina Atanasova,Irina has joined Georges Barbier of London Wines.

After a wonderful career running the floors of Jamie Oliver, Club Gascon,Arbutus & Enoteca Turi, Irina has joined the team at Georges Barbier

Georges Barbier are one of the finest wine importers in the UK and started their company in 1983 with the After a wonderful career on the floor with Jamie Oliver, Club Gascon,Arbutus & Enoteca Turi.

Georges Barbier are one of the finest wine importers in the UK and started their company in 1983 with the concept of sourcing wines from small, independent wineries who respect tradition and the environment.

This, inevitably, leads to quality wines with a distinctive regional flavour and individuality.  They decided to concentrate on wines from France and Spain as these countries offer a wealth of diversity, not only from the classic areas such as Bordeaux and Rioja but from lesser known areas where real gems can be found!

So start thinking about your wines for Christmasconcept of sourcing wines from small, independent wineries who respect tradition and the environment.

This, inevitably, leads to quality wines with a distinctive regional flavour and individuality.  They decided to concentrate on wines from France and Spain as these countries offer a wealth of diversity, not only from the classic areas such as Bordeaux and Rioja but from lesser known areas where real gems can be found!

So start thinking about your wines for Christmas

http://www.georgesbarbier.co.uk/

June and July 2013 will go down as two great months for me.

Nikita Malibu

A wonderful 2 months in LA; opening a beautiful restaurant on Millionaire beach, Malibu; Nikita Malibu.

What a restaurant, beautiful could not have situated closer to the Pacific Ocean

With a seating capacity of 300 it will soon become the place to eat in Los Angeles, if of course you can get a table.

Situated just across a Ferrari-festooned parking lot from Nobu -- Malibu’s dining debutante last summer -- Nikita shares its neighbor’s penchant for teak wood, minimalist stonework, giant glass panes and a generally understated Zen vibe. Dinner reservations were booked out all week, although the restaurant was only lightly occupied; management seemed to be purposefully easing into dinner service. Lunch will follow in a few months.

The menu, by chef Massimiliano Blasone (previously of the Michelin-starred Apsley's in London), is Italian-inclined Mediterranean through a Californian lens. Expect a lot of handmade pastas and precision-plated appetizers, such as the signature crispy sea bass “cannolo” appetizer accompanied by diced celery and cantaloupe

Mrs Paisley's Lashings

Mrs Paisley's Lashings was created by Jo Wood and first popped open its doors in 2009. It is a genuinely innovative venture, offering a pop up restaurant experience that is driven by the importance of moving towards living and eating in a more sustainable way. With fossil fuels dwindling and the global population increasing, the project aims to illuminate the importance of sourcing food locally or growing it yourself.

It's time we took environmentally conscious responsibility for the waste we produce and the food we eat. The project is a progressive and glamorous approach to teaching healthy eating, conscious living, sustainability and quite simply, fabulous food.

Jo Wood is a pioneer and committed supporter of all things natural and organic. She is the founder of the award winning fragrance range Jo Wood Organics, and flies her eco flag whenever she gets the chance.Arthur Potts Dawson is passionate about the planet, good food, eating well and making the most of what's fresh, local and seasonal. Arthur has been cooking for 25 years; at the start he was trained by the Roux Brothers, Rowley Leigh and Pierre Kaufmann. He went on to be head chef for Jamie Oliver at Fifteen, the Soho House Group at Cecconi's, Ruth Rogers Rose Gray at the River Cafe and Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall at River Cottage HQ

http://www.mrspaisleyslashings.com/

The Harwood Arms

Fantastic lunch last week with my wife to celebrate our Wedding Anniversary

This rural haven in the middle of Fulham is a collaboration between Brett Graham of the famed Ledbury restaurant, Mike Robinson of the acclaimed Pot Kiln pub in rural Berkshire and Edwin Vaux from the famous Vaux brewery. 

The famous Arms venison Scotch egg

Heritage tomato salad fresh goats curd

The idea is to provide Londoners with a really relaxed venue for eating the finest British produce, cooked amazingly well, accompanied by excellent beer and wine at a great price.Remember that even though we

serve fabulous food, we are still a Pub and there is a lively, friendly atmosphere and at times (particularly on Tuesday quiz night) the noise level can rise!

Treacle cured Salmon

It was so good that I forgot to take more photos of our main course

Raspberry granite......

Elderflower tart, milk ice cream

http://www.harwoodarms.com/index.htm

 Buckingham Palace Coronation Festival 2013

A great way to celebrate our Wedding Anniversary with a day out in the gardens of Buckingham Palace; we met up with Andrew Selvadurai good friend and GM of Mosimann's Exclusive Members club in Belgravia

Pimms darling... I say..

The Coronation Bento box

My good friend and GM of Mosimann's Andrew Selvadurai

The Borough Market Bento box