The Master Cutler welcomed 260 members of the Company of Cutlers to the annual Cutlers’ Feast at Cutlers’ Hall on Thursday 11 May 2006, while The Mistress hosted a dinner for 88 ladies in Hadfield Hall.

 

Regarded as one of the finest livery halls in the North of England, Cutlers' Hall is an elegant grade ll listed building, dating from 1832 in the centre of Sheffield. The first Cutlers' Hall was built on this site in 1638.  The present Hall, the third, was built in 1832 & as an important centre for social life in Hallamshire. It houses a unique collection of silver, with at least one Sheffield marked piece from every year since the establishment of the Sheffield Assay Office in 1773. There are also fine collections of paintings, furniture, documents, and, of course, cutlery. The knives and silver are kept in cabinets and are put on display once a year at The Cutlers’ Feast.

 

The first Cutlers' Feast was held in 1625, at the end of the Company's first official year in existence. It was called 'The Dinner at the Taking of the Account' and it cost the princely sum of 6/-. It was held in a local tavern and the Company enjoyed themselves so much that they did the same the following year, and so the custom was established. Nowadays, it is regarded as the premier event in the Master Cutler's year, giving him the opportunity to entertain the Masters of other Livery Companies, members of the government, foreign dignitaries, captains of industries, members of the Armed Forces, artists, actors, sportsmen as well as friends and colleagues. The Mistress Cutler has always had her own Dinner to which she used to invite nine eligible bachelors 'to carve for the Ladies' and 'to entertain them'. In the local press, these bachelors were often described as….'those singular gentlemen of fortune'.

 

This year, before the guests arrived, the Mistress Cutler and Warden Ladies, preceded by the Staff-Bearer, made their way to Hadfield Hall. The Palm Court String Quartet played as the guests arrived and the members were received by the Master and Wardens in the Main Hall and the ladies were received by the Mistress and Warden Ladies in Hadfield Hall.

 

The members were called to dinner by trumpeters in the Minstrels Gallery and a fanfare announced the entrance of the Master’s Procession to the Main Hall where the toastmaster welcomed the Master Cutler and the guests of honour, Sir David Lees, Chairman of Tate & Lyle and DB Moody Esq, Lord Lieutenant of South Yorkshire.

 

Grace was said by Rev Blackburn in both the Main Hall and Hadfield Hall before dinner commenced.  Guests enjoyed Cajun Baked Salmon on a bed of Seaweed with Balsamic Dressing followed by Fillet of Beef served with a Red Wine Jus, Dauphinoise Potatoes and Seasonal Vegetables. Passion Fruit Tart with Crème Fraiche was followed with Freshly Brewed Coffee and Mints. 

 

After dinner the Master proposed a series of toasts to ‘The Queen’ and ‘The Royal Family’ before the ladies entered the Main Gallery for coffee.  Once the ladies were in place, the trumpeters played fanfare and the Master gave a toast to ‘The Mistress Cutler and her Guests’.  The Senior Warden was called upon to speak and concluded with a toast to ‘Hallamshire and the Future’. Sir David Lees was called upon to speak and concluded with a toast to ‘The Manufacturing Industries of Hallamshire’. The Master Cutler was called upon to speak and concluded with a toast to ‘The Guests’ before The Lord Lieutenant replied on behalf of the guests.

 

 After the toasts, the departure of the ladies, The Master Cutler and his principal guests was announced and all the guests moved to the reception rooms for the rest of the evening.

 

The Master Cutler, Timothy Reed, says, “As Master Cutler, the main event during my year in office is The Cutlers’ Feast. This year I was delighted how well the evening went, particularly judging from the comments made in the numerous letters of thanks I have received from those from London and within the City.

 

“The standard of service for 270 guests in the Hall, 90 for my wife’s dinner in The Hadfield Hall as well as the meal itself has been well appreciated by all our guests.

 

“So far as the Cutlers’ Company is concerned, we seek to use the Feast as a showcase for Sheffield industry. The Senior Warden, my chief guest – Sir David Lees, who spent his working life with GKN, and I endeavour to highlight Sheffield Industry. All in all it was a most successful evening which I hope all my guests will remember for some while.”

 

David Stevenson of Sodexho Prestige, the company managing the venue in the heart of Sheffield, says,
“I have managed this event now for 26 years and the beauty of it is that is hasn’t really changed during this time.  It is one of the main events in the north of England and it is a good tradition. Some aspects of the service have to move with the times, however, and this year we had a plated delivery for the dinner. In the past we have only done this for the starter but we wanted the meat and the potatoes decorated on the plate and then the vegetables were served separately.

 

“The biggest challenge was to make sure the stage was in place as we had 55 guests on the top table on a raised platform. We started planning two months before the event but there was a fair amount that couldn’t be done before the day. The stage arrived at 8am and it had to be ready in time for the rehearsals. The formality of the event meant that everything had to be very precise and work like clockwork. We had around 80 staff that arrived two hours early for rehearsals as they had to know exactly when to pour the wine and where the plates had to go. It was worth all the hard work and we have had tremendous feedback.”

 

Cutlers Hall is open for events throughout the year, from meetings to balls, from conferences to trainings and Christmas parties.