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FutureChef Stars Shine at Springboard Charity Bash on Bateaux London
FutureChef’s Bateaux Bash, with special guest Matt Dawson MBE, was held on Bateaux London on 8th June from 6.30 – 11pm.
Approximately 120 guests were welcomed on board Bateaux London’s Symphony by David Mulcahy, craft and food development director, Sodexo UK & Ireland and Anne Pierce MBE, chief executive, Springboard.
The aim of FutureChef’s Bateaux Bash was to raise the profile of and to raise funds for Springboard’s FutureChef Programme. Former England rugby star and Sodexo ambassador Matt Dawson MBE was the special guest for the evening and led the auction and raffle for the event. Guests were invited to sit back and relax to acclaimed jazz artist Atila throughout the evening as they enjoyed the sun setting over London’s breathtaking skyline.
Guests were treated to a delicious four course meal where each course was prepared and cooked by a FutureChef alumni and guest chefs. The meal started with curried diced venison filled in puff pastry, baked and served on a bed of tomato based sauce and was followed by lasagne of Dorset crab with beurre Nantais. The main course featured navarin and roasted best end of lamb and was served with sweet potato puree and sautéed spring vegetables. The meal was finished with a dessert of honey roasted peach, raspberry financier, lemongrass ice cream and crusted almonds.
Anne Pierce, chief executive, Springboard said: “Tuesday night was a wonderful event which truly demonstrated how far our past FutureChef participants - Lucy Wigmore, Michael Morton, Samantha Rowles and Victoria Smout - have come since taking part in the FutureChef Programme and demonstrates its value as a genuine talent pipeline to help meet the industry’s skills needs.
“These young chefs have a bright future ahead of them, they excelled in their challenge to cook for over 120 people with the added pressure of ensuring each dish was consistent for every guest and out on time. However, we should not forget to mention the high profile chefs who supported the FutureChef alumni throughout the evening and days leading up to the event. Ben Dutson, Cyrus Todiwala, Chris Galvin and Graham Hornigold gave up their valuable time to conduct mentor sessions sharing their knowledge and expertise with their FutureChef Alumni to ensure they felt confident in the kitchen on the night.”
The auction and raffle draw, led by Matt Dawson, along with ticket sales raised over £10,500 for the FutureChef Programme. The auction included a 5-star meal for up to six people at home, prepared and cooked by Ben Dutson, Bateaux London’s head chef and a signed rugby shirt by Matt.
Guests were presented with the FutureChef brochure signed by Matt Dawson, David Mulcahy, Chris Galvin, Cyrus Todiwala, Ben Dutson and Graham Hornigold.
Now in its 11th year, FutureChef is a four stage nationwide culinary programme helping young people aged 12-16 to learn to cook. It inspires them to explore food and cooking as a life skill, helps to develop their culinary talent and informs them about entry routes into the hospitality industry. The programme encourages the next generation of young chefs and of course crowns one talented student as the FutureChef winner!
Phil Hooper, corporate affairs director, Sodexo UK said: “As long-standing sponsors of Springboard’s FutureChef competition, we are delighted to be able to support this event by providing the use of one of the most prestigious venues in our portfolio. At Sodexo, we place great emphasis on developing the talent in our industry and are pleased to be able to provide the venue, support from David Mulcahy, our craft and food development director, and Matt Dawson, MBE and Sodexo ambassador. The competition not only encourages young people to enter the industry, but also helps contestants develop valuable life skills. We also see the FutureChef competition as a great way of bridging education and the industry, often at a crucial stage in a young person’s life where they could be considering hospitality as a career choice.”
FutureChef
FutureChef is Springboard’s nationwide culinary programme helping young people aged 12-16 to learn to cook, develop a vital life skill and nurture their interest in becoming chefs. Led by Brian Turner CBE and involving a nationwide team of experienced mentor chefs, it consists of a four stage national competition along with wider programme skills development and work experience activity. FutureChef was developed in 1999 when research into young people’s perceptions of the hospitality industry revealed that while young people admired high profile and celebrity chefs, they didn’t generally see themselves pursuing a career as a chef. Springboard took action and with the support of key players in the industry, established FutureChef with a handful of schools in North West London.
Matt Dawson
Matt Dawson, MBE was part of England’s successful winning team in the 2003 Rugby World Cup, which capped an impressive rugby career at both club and international level. He is also well known as a sports commentator for BBC Radio Five Live and team captain since 2004 on BBC’s flagship sports quiz ‘A Question of Sport.’ In 2006, he won BBC Celebrity Masterchef and has recently published his own cookbook, following his Royal Television Society nominated food show ‘Mitch & Matt’, which was shown on UK Food. With a keen interest in culinary development and food, Matt works across all of Sodexo’s business segments, supporting Sodexo’s activities across the UK and Ireland.
Bateaux London
Bateaux London is the capital’s leading restaurant cruise provider. Offering scheduled lunch, dinner and Sunday lunch cruises each with private dining facilities and the opportunity to exclusively hire either of our vessels for a private charter, Bateaux London are a unique example of the hospitality and venue solutions that Sodexo Prestige offers. Bateaux London has a range of superb lunch and dinner packages and prices start from just £27.50 per person for lunch and £75.00 per person for dinner.
Bateaux London, Embankment Pier, T. 020 7695 1800,
E. reservations@bateauxlondon.com
www.bateauxlondon.com