RESIDENT CELEBRITY CHEFS 2011/2012
MONDAY NOVEMBER 7 TO FRIDAY NOVEMBER 11
Benjamin Darnaud
France
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Benjamin Darnaud is a private chef, food consultant and author. He trained with chefs Eric Mariottat and Thierry Marx, but it was his two years as Chef de Partie at Michel Bras’ restaurant that Darnaud considers formative in his development as a chef. The level of commitment to cuisine exhibited by Bras spurred him on to Paris and new challenges. He has earned several awards, among them “Best Apprentice in France” and the World Skills Competition, and recently he was a contestant on the cooking program Top Chef France
MONDAY JANUARY 16 TO FRIDAY JANUARY 20, 2012
Paolo Lopriore
Il Canto, Siena, Italy
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To talk about the restaurant “Il Canto” from Chef Paolo Lopriore it may not be done without reawaken memories of past sensory experiences, of deep emotions blended by perfumes, tastes and colors. “Il Canto” (the Chant), it is a real hymn to life where expectations and unknown may create a certain apprehension, but once the journey begins a world of itself opens to your heart, to your feelings as everything becomes pleasure and joy to finally turn out into a great sense of respect for a Chef that rightly in many consider today the most courageous of Italy; a mix of art and purity. Gualtiero Marchesi’s best student, Paolo Lopriore has accumulated experience in Italy a well as abroad, such as in Florence with Pinchiorri, in France with Ledoyen or at the Maison Troisgros with Michel Portos and in Oslo, at the Bagatelle with Eyvind Hellstrom. Today “ il Canto”, offers you a cuisine that is nationally and internationally recognized and rewarded, where what really counts is the passion and the imagination with which Lopriore leads us to the “essence” of tastes and flavors.
Taken from http://www.certosadimaggiano.com/index_eng.htm
MONDAY JANUARY 23 TO FRIDAY JANUARY 27, 2012
Emily Watkins
The Kingham Plough, Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, England
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Emily Watkins (Executive Chef) and Gareth Fulford (Head Chef) are delighted that The Kingham Plough has been awarded a prestigious Bib Gourmand from the Michelin guide for three years running. They have also been awarded numerous other accolades including 2 AA Rosettes and Dining Pub of the Year (Cotswold life 2008 and 2010).
Chef/proprietor Emily changes the short menu daily to accommodate the abundant seasonal and local produce. Daily deliveries from local fruit farms, small holdings and game estates, as well as foraged fungi and sea vegetables, all arrive to be transformed into fresh modern British dishes. Don’t be surprised if the menu at the end of the evening has somewhat evolved from the opening menu as dishes are replaced with even more seasonal produce!
Taken from http://www.thekinghamplough.co.uk/index.php