Large volume catering for people from all over the world has formed
the basis of my career for the last 30 years. Before joining the Lord’s kitchen team in April, I was based at The
Royal Opera House and most recently at global law firm Linklaters LLP, so I
arrived at the Home of Cricket for the start of the season with a few “golden
rules” already up my sleeveâ€Â¦
With up to 58 days of
competitive cricket being staged at Lord’s this season, in addition to a full
commercial and corporate meetings and events calendar throughout the summer,
thousands of people will pass through the ground. Preparing the kitchen for large scale fine
dining and providing consistently high quality food with international appeal,
requires close management.
Here are the seven policies
that I aim to instil in all my staff:
1. Never compromise on quality. On Test match days at Lord’s, we serve on
average 12,000 covers across the five days, and it’s imperative that the food
matches the internationally acclaimed standard of the venue. As the world’s most famous cricket ground, we
have also become recognised for the quality of our food, and this is something
that I want to build on.
2. “If
you’re going to do something, do it properly.” This boils down to using good quality
ingredients, correct techniques, and paying attention to detail to ensure the
authenticity of the dish. I also aim to
ensure that we offer truly creative vegetarian options and where possible,
ethically sourced fair trade products.
3.
Early
starts and long hours behind the scenes are part of the job. Having an exceptionally well-trained and
talented kitchen team plays a really important part in the process here at
Lord’s.
4. Be
creative but not to the detriment of the identity of the dish: one of the
secrets to satisfying a varied palate is to place popular dishes on the
menu.
5. “Fail
to prepare, prepare to fail.”
Pre-planning and consideration of any potential logistical problems is
vital – it is be too late for anything to go wrong on the day when 3000 people
are waiting to be served.
6. Never
be aid to ask for help! Part of being
a good chef is that you continuously learn and develop your skills. In particular, when I’m preparing a speciality
dish, I take advice from chefs with expertise in cooking the regional cuisine to
ensure the dish is true to its nation.
7. The
menu needs to match the feel of the cricket-day atmosphere It’s all about striking the balance between
fine-dining cuisine and a hearty lunch menu to fuel a big day out at Lord’s.
Any comments? Email conferencenews@mashmedia.net
