It was the experience of a lifetime. Teacher Gemma entered a Twitter competition to spend time in the kitchen at Manchester House little expecting to win.
To her surprise, she did and spent 12 hours on shift with some of the best chefs in the country.
In the first of two posts on Manchester House, this is her experience behind the scenes, exclusively, from the lady herself.
Over to you Gemma…..
Let this be a warning to you all now, when you press retweet to win a competition read the details very carefully. It could actually happen!
I know I get a little excited when that little blue 1 appears on the direct message envelope but this direct message was in a whole different ball game. An exchange of numbers and a brief conversation left me speed dialling my friend (maybe pleading for her to take my place). But a good talking to from my Nan knocked some sense into me, and made me realised this was not an opportunity to pass on.
Announced shortly after on social media by the team at Manchester House; I was the lucky winner of a day in the kitchen at Manchester House for their charity event in aid of Hospitality Action.
Having no real understanding of what was about to happen and with having no real knowledge or experience of Manchester House I had no idea what to expect. Oh, apart from the small matter that I was about to be in a kitchen cooking with four Michelin Starred Chefs; Aiden Byrne, Daniel Clifford, Tom Aikens and Michael Wignall.
No pressure then.
I arrived at Tower 12, escorted in the lift and greeted by Emma and her army of hosts and hostess, the sense of a big night looming was very much present. A quick tour around the very impressive lounge bar situated on the twelfth floor, and a few introductions later I blended in quicker than I could have imagined, especially once I was changed into my chef whites (and not to disappoint my father, a sensible choice of footwear was not made.)
Partnered with Shane (Aiden’s head chef) for the day I was instantly put to work. A crate of fennel and a particular sharp knife, 400 1cm, by 1cm by half cm squares were needed. If you know me, my finger was more likely to end up in those dimensions than the fennel. A *few* demonstrations later I was more than in the swing of it and onto my next job, apple ravioli from pickles apples and apple puree for Tom Aiken’s salmon dish, just in time for the other chefs and their teams to arrive.
I know we all assume celebrity chefs know each other but from what I saw these guys genuinely do, (so well they even occasionally poach each others’ chefs) which ultimately created a great buzz and banter in the kitchen. The prep continued – the latest kitchen gadgets and gizmos buzzed, spun and boiled away and I couldn’t quite believe the efforts the team go to creating the minute details for each element of every dish. Being a *bit* of a perfectionist myself I loved it.
Before I knew it 6 hours in the kitchen had flown by and the guests were starting to arrive. Aprons were turned ready for service and this is when I felt Manchester House really comes into its own. The open kitchen creates a real sense of the customers being part of the cooking and the food and on the other hand a chance for the chefs to really show off their skills in front of their audience.
I thought I’d enjoyed the day up to then but I was soon to realised the best was yet to come. Guests were filling their seats, glasses of champagne were emptied (I was dreaming of my glass that was to come later) and the introduction speeches began.
The chefs had created two courses each (forming a collaborative eight course menu) in aid of Hospitality Action. This charity offers assistance to all who work or have worked within hospitality in the UK and who find themselves in crisis. Tickets for the evening were £200 with £100 going to the charity itself.
Service changed the atmosphere within the kitchen completely.
All eyes were on the kitchen and all stomachs were waiting in anticipation. As the guests listened to the wines matched for the evening’s menu, the intricate placing of each element on the plate began. Aiden Byrne kicked off the evening with his red wine infused razor clams, which I was lucky enough to savour earlier in the day, with my fennel squares taking their precisely selected seats on the serving slate.
For Daniel Clifford’s roast quail dish his vision was for the breasts to look like scales of a fish; carefully layering incredibly thin slices of grapes with celeriac weaved in between. The dish looked beautiful. (My scale effect technique was dually noted by Chef Daniel Gill from Midsummer House.) As the courses continued, the extravagant presentation roles were given and each plate (which I believe are worth up to the value of four hundred pounds for just the crockery) dished up looked equally incredible and served with some table theatre.
As the last of the desserts were plated up and I worked my way through the pastry sections fridges and cupboards of treats (I never knew dust could taste so good!) I was handed a large (and well deserved) vodka and the auction hosted by chef Andrew Nutter began. The auction raised over £15,000 with one very lucky guest purchasing a day in the kitchen with Aiden Byrne.
This really brought home to me just how fortunate I was to experience it all from just one retweet.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from my day at Manchester House, but I know I got more than I could have ever imagined from it.
I quite literally worked a day in the kitchen and if I were to ever to be offered the opportunity again I’d grab it with both hands.
No question.
What a fantastic opportunity, well done Gemma 😉