A Butchery Masterclass with Executive Chef, Bruce Wilson

There's nothing like a hands on butchery masterclass with a group of chefs to bring added inspiration to autumn menu planning. And that's exactly what Bruce Wilson, our Executive Chef and Alex Hall, Group Head Chef had in mind when they brought together their band of chefs from each of our sites last week.

 

Bruce shared his in-depth knowledge about different cuts of meat, talked about all the different cuts of pork and also how to fillet different types of fish. It was also a great opportunity for all our chefs to integrate, share their ideas and discuss how we can make the most of the wealth of local suppliers available to us.

The chefs finished their day with a trip to Brixton Market to check out new street food offers which are becoming increasingly popular and to enjoy a tasty lunch together.

 

 

Brooklands Musuem - The 1940's Relived

At Brooklands Museum we enjoyed the third year of the 1940’s relived event last weekend. Welcoming over 2,500 visitors all eager for some nostalgia from the decade that never fails to captivate. The promise of sunny weather earlier in the week encouraged even more people to dress in their finery which lent an air of eerie authenticity to the whole site.

A VE Day street party greeted visitors as they entered the site and the village area featured some of the best vintage sellers around providing everything from clothes to original memorabilia. The dance tent on the Campbell Lawn was the centre of activity with lessons in Lindy Hop, music and live performances all day. Other re-enactor groups filled the Motoring Village and Paddock for a truly fun packed day.

 

Our themed 1940’s menus and creatively dressed vans were a huge hit and our Staff loved getting dressed up in period costumes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Creative New Food Concepts

We’ve spent the past few months creating a whole host of exciting new food concepts to enhance eating and drinking for visitors to the exhibitions and outdoor events at which we cater. Inspired by the popularity of street food (we ate our way across every London street food market in the name of research!) we devised a small number of dishes for each concept using the very best ingredients from small producers across the south of England. We let our imaginations run wild with the naming, the dressing and presentation of our vans. Our staff love their new uniforms and their new working environments and the feedback we’ve had from our customers has been fantastic – they love the flavours, the freshness and the theatre.

Sticky Fingers with a menu of braised Hereford short rib and brisket, braised onions and blue cheese served in a toasted brioche bun. Or buttermilk-marinated chicken, deep fried in smoked paprika flour and servedwith a freshly made waffle and maple syrup.

Delicious Vietnamese Banh Mi, Udon Noodle Soup with marinated tofu or Vietnamese Cod, spiced with chilli, lemongrass and corainder, steamed in a banana leaf and served with tam tom salad and vegetable crackers.



Perfect pairings of wine and food. Pork, smoked ham and parsely rillettes, hot roastedand smoked salmon rillettes with dill and chestnut mushroom, garlic and parsley duxelle. All served with cornichons, baby onions, pickles and ficelle.



645miles to be cycled by Team Creative!

We are very proud to announce that a few brave Creative individuals will be entering the Mitie London Revolution on 17th and 18th May to support the Mitie Foundation. 

Adrian, Ian, Zoe, Charlotte and Lily will be taking on the challenge of cycling a 2 day 180 mile loop of the capital, past iconic London landmarks, scenic backroads and legendary Olympic sites with an overnight base camp on Saturday evening at Ascot Racecourse.  Training  for the collective 645 miles is now underway!

The team hope to raise £1000 for the Mitie Foundation, an independent charity focused on creating opportunities for people from all backgrounds to join the world of work, raising aspirations and unlocking people’s true potential. 

We would be extremely grateful for your support and any donations small or large will be much appreciated.  With your help, we can do our bit for this inspirational cause. To donate, please visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/team/Creativevents.  

Best of luck to the team - we will be cheering you on all the way!!

Update on Greenwich Park and The Pavilion

Thank you to everyone for showing an interest in the Pavilion at Greenwich Park. We are delighted to say that work has now started on refurbishing the building and all being well we should be open for the first weekend of the Easter Holidays.

So on to the name…our research showed that when the Pavilion was first opened it was called the ‘Royal Observatory Refreshment Pavilion’. The Pavilion has had several different names until the current signage for ‘Pavilion Tea House’ was installed approximately 8 years ago. The change to ‘The Pavilion Café’ will enable all visitors to the park to have a clearer understanding of the wider range of food and drink available throughout the day, and for families to enjoy on our summer evening late openings.

We want the Pavilion to be enjoyed by the many different people who visit Greenwich Park – and for our name to convey that this is a place for everyone, with a menu and atmosphere to appeal to all. We are very mindful of the heritage of this lovely building and would welcome any information on its history and identity.  

Please do get in touch with any information, anecdotes or memories of the Pavilion.

Thank you, Creative Taste.
creative.taste@creative.co.uk

Supplier Profile - Chapel Down, Tenterden, Kent

Alex, our Group Head Chef and Bruce our Procurement Manager have been off on their travels again.  This time to meet a number of suppliers in Kent.  

First stop in the Garden of England was the Chapel Down vineyard and winery at Tenterden.  
The south of England shares almost identical geology and soils to the Champagne region, with a chalk seam typified by the North and South Downs of Kent and Sussex and excellent well drained soils in Essex and The Weald. 

Chapel Down is rapidly establishing itself as a world class premium wine brand and is gaining national and international recognition.

The white, red and sparkling English Chapel Down wines can be enjoyed in the café at Dulwich Picture Gallery - the perfect choice in England's oldest purpose built art gallery!

Team Photo Shoot

It's all go for our outdoor events team at the moment - signing up events, recruiting ready for the busy summer weekends, booking, planning, hiring, training, organising... planning... organising...!  At the same time we are creating a brand new website to showcase this part of the company that look after all the special events outdoors.  Watch this space for the new site but in the meantime here's a sneaky peak of some of our team at last weeks photo shoot!