Region’s top kitchen talent to be tasted for Exhibition
FINE DINING IS TO BE A PART OF THE REGION’S SUMMER OF CELEBRATION, AS BARBARA HODGSON HAS BEEN FINDING OUT
NEWCASTLE chef Terry Laybourne sees the Great Exhibition of the North as the perfect platform to show off the North East’s talents in the kitchen.
The restaurateur behind the 21 Hospitality Group has been inspired by the event of the year to organise the Great Northern Supper Clubs – a series of foodie evenings offering fine dining in a relaxed setting.
And customers also will have an opportunity to meet chefs classed as some of the best in Britain, including Newcastle’s own Kenny Atkinson from the Michelin-starred House of Tides.
Besides hosting the showcase for Great Northern Chefs, Laybourne is arranging Great Northern Producers events too, offering customers a taste of what’s on offer from some of the best food and drink suppliers around.
The city centre dining experiences will take place in Laybourne’s Saltwater Fish Company and Porterhouse Butcher and Grill restaurants inside Fenwick Food Hall.
At Saltwater between now and September, Laybourne’s fellow chefs will, in turn, take a starring role in showing off their culinary skills in “small plate taster menus” with paired drinks.
Laybourne said: “The Great Exhibition of the North is an ideal backdrop to celebrate the many great chefs from the North working regionally, nationally and internationally.”
The award-winning guest chefs – who all share a northern heritage – have been picked to reflect the diversity of cooking in the North and, besides Kenny Atkinson (on August 13), the visitors will include Indian chef and author Maunika Gowardhan on July 9; Nigel Haworth from Northcote, Lancashire, on July 23; Frances Atkins, of Yorke Arms in North Yorkshire – who was the first female British chef to win a Michelin star – on August 6; and Shaun Rankin from Ormer Mayfair in London on September 3. They and others will be sharing anecdotes about their food and careers too. Laybourne said: “It’s a unique opportunity for people in the region to sample great cooking while also being able to meet and talk to the chefs and food producers in an informal, intimate setting.” He added: “Alongside this we’re also showcasing some of the fabulous food producers that are available within the region where our own chefs are devel-
It’s a unique opportunity to meet and talk to the chefs in an informal, intimate setting Terry Laybourne
oping creative menus to promote the flavours and qualities of this produce.”
These will take place Porterhouse during July, where diners will be able to enjoy menus featuring the likes of the famously succulent Northumbrian Wagyu Beef from near Otterburn and pork from Ravensworth Grange Farm in Gateshead.
For these producer events, Laybourne and his team have created special menus showcasing his own food and drink suppliers and during these evenings the producers will talk about their work.
“We’re passionate about our products and the producers we work with,” said Laybourne.
“We know where the animals are from – which estates, which farms – we know how they were fed and brought up and we know how the meat was prepared and aged.
“It’s all about having a genuine respect for a quality process and good animal husbandry.
“Great cooking relies on not just great food and ingredients but producers who are passionate about their animals and quality of their meat.”
On July 9, the producers event will showcase Steve Ramshaw – one of the first British farmers to rear the Japanese Wagyu breed – with his Northumbrian Wagyu Beef from cattle reared on a natural diet of grasses, heathers, mosses and herbs.
He will be followed on July 23 by Dhavall Ghandi and a whisky-led dinner with the head whisky-maker at The Lakes Distillery; on July 30 by Peter Hannan with world-famous Himalayan salt-aged beef; and on September 3 by Ann Gray with Ravensworth Grange Farm’s Middle White Pork from rarebreed pigs which are free to wander.
For prices and remaining tickets see www.fenwick.co.uk.