International Chef Exchange
01 Dec 11
The International Chef Exchange,
as part of the Brighton & Hove Food & Drink Festival starts in the Spring 2012
In autumn 2011 food writer Andrew Kay visited the beautiful Dutch city of Maastricht to experience their food festival. Whilst there he stayed at the Beaumont Hotel where he dined in style on food cooked by chef Audrey Eussen and her team and drank fabulous local wines. It was an experience that he described as;
“…one of the best meals I have had in many, many years. I was dining alone and I really wanted to be able to share the food with someone. It was right there that I had an idea. What if I could persuade the hotel in Maastricht to swap chefs with one based in Brighton. Then I could not only tell you about Audrey but tell you that you would be able sample her fine cooking right here in Brighton.”
It was right there that the idea for an International Chef Exchange, as part of the Brighton & Hove Food & Drink Festival, was born, and now just a few months on we are delighted to announce that the first exchanges will take place in Spring 2012.
Harrie Beaumont, proprietor of this stunning family run business was prompt in his reply to our request:
“We would love to be part of a partnership as we believe that food tourism can be and should be a much bigger factor in Maastricht as it already is. Having the opportunity to learn from each other and exchange ideas should be a great way for both of us to establish this. Exchanging chefs is fantastic! Audrey and we all are very much enthused by this idea. A suitable time period for us would be at the end of April or beginning of May as we are moving towards our 100 years celebration on April first. Please let me know how the meeting went, we would love to be part of this in any way. Best wishes, Harrie Beaumont”Delighted by this response, festival committee members Andrew Kay and Nick Mosley sprang into action and contacted Carla ter Maat of Drakes Hotel here in Brighton where chef Andrew MacKenzie is cooking equally exciting locally sourced, seasonal food.
Their response was equally enthusiastic:
“We are very keen for the exchange. I think is it a fabulous opportunity and look forward to working with you to bring this to fruition.”
With two chefs already in place we were delighted that two more quickly followed. Rob Carr, Chef at the Hotel du Vin Bistro in Brighton, will exchange with the chef at La Bastide in the South of France based by the vineyards and winery of Chateau Cabezac.Hotel du Vin commented:
“Once we heard of the chef exchange idea we jumped at the chance to get involved. We love the idea of sharing culinary knowledge and cooking styles with other great chefs. I can’t wait to see what the two head chefs come up with for the gala dinner next April.” Philip Lewis
General Manager Hotel du Vin & Bistro Brighton
With four chefs already sharing their food and knowledge and four delicious food and wine dinners in the planning, we are confident that International Chef Exchange will be a huge success and one that will grow in scale, we are already in discussion with a sushi chef in Japan swapping with a local Japanese restaurant.
To find out more call Andrew Kay on 07884 260387
or Nick Mosley on 01273 77 00 44 or email [email protected] or [email protected]
International Chef Exchangewill take between 30 March and 9 April 2012 as part of the Brighton & Hove Food & Drink Festival Spring Harvest event with two ticketed dinners cooked by the visiting chefs from Holland and France at The Restaurant at Drakes and Hotel du Vin Bistro, further details to follow.