Elite Chef Recruitment

Stage – South Lodge Hotel 5 Star 3 AA Rosette www.southlodgehotel.co.uk Matt Gillan, Head Chef at ‘The Pass’ holds its second Young Guns Week to showcase Britain’s young talent After the success of last year’s ‘Young Guns’ event held at ‘The Pass’ restaurant in The South Lodge Hotel, Horsham, Head Chef Matt Gillan invited a select choice of England’s top young chefs from outside of London to attend. The chefs chosen were done so for their exceptional talent and outstanding backgrounds. These chefs are considered to be those who are shaping the future of British cooking. Each chef was asked to create a tasting menu for one night only and over the course of the week from Tuesday 28th September to Saturday 2nd October each showcased their carefully crafted dishes. The opening night saw Richard Allen, head chef of Tassili at the Grand Hotel in Jersey, showcase his imaginative dishes. Then it was the turn of Sussex local, Ben Goldsmith, from The Talbot Inn, Cuckfield, with his inspirational food with a contemporary twist using as much locally sourced produce as possible. On the 3rd night Russell Bateman, Head Chef at ‘Colettes Restaurant’ at The Grove, Chandlers Cross took control of the pass. The 4th night saw Restaurant Alimentum’s Chef Patron, Mark Poynton who provided his guests with his stunning and relaxed fine dining food. The week culminated with a menu created by Jon Howe of Lumière in Cheltenham who had also been awarded Restaurant of the Year at The Cotswold Life Food & Drink Awards. I was lucky enough to spend the day with Russell Bateman helping prepare his menu for his debut at The Young Guns week. Having worked with Russell in the past I knew standards were going to be high, but he truly raised the bar for the guests at The Pass. Russell put together an innovative stylish menu which included some of his signature dishes from his 3 AA Rosette restaurant, Colettes. Not only were the guests treated to Russell’s Stunning food, they also got to see the dishes put together in front of their eyes. The Pass has taken the chef’s table concept and transformed it into a 22 cover restaurant situated in the heart of the kitchen. I’d like to give a huge thank you to Matt Gillian for letting me into his stunning kitchen for the day. As always Matt did a sterling job organising the Young Guns Week.

It’s a superb event which really does showcase the future of British cooking. I look forward to keeping up to date with more Young Gun’s events hosted by Matt at www.southlodgehotel.co.uk I also owe a special thanks to Russell – Stunning menu mate and it was great working with you again!! Take a look at Russell’s menu and some of the photos from the day. If you’re interested in working alongside top quality chefs such as Russell Bateman and Matt Gillan send your CV to andy.sinclair@p-r-c.co.uk or call Andy Sinclair on 01202 203150