CityLife

Chefs ready for auction

Robert Owen Brown

FORGET security blankets. For several Manchester chefs, there may be more of a need for security knife sets - as they venture into the unpredictable territory of a home kitchen following tonight's auction (October 6).

Culinary leaders from some of the city’s best restaurants are taking part in the CityLife.co.uk Manchester Food And Drink Festival event at the Great John Street Hotel, in aid of the MFDF Grass Roots Foundation.

“I’ll probably end up taking half my kitchen with me,” says Kevin Whiteford, of Malmaison Brasserie. “Though so long as I don’t raise the least amount of money, I’ll be happy!”

Whiteford is joined on the stellar lot roster by Robert Owen Brown of The Angel, David Gale of Podium, John Quilter of Marmalade, Neil Lorenzo of The Circle Club, Ian Maftin of Michael Caines Abode Restaurant, Robert Craggs of The Cadeby Inn in Yorkshire (formerly of Harvey Nichols) – and even relative newcomer Michael Riemenscheider, of Juniper.

Challenge

Auction-goers will bid for the chance for a meal to be prepared in their own home by one of the chefs. But cooking in a domestic environment is quite a daunting prospect after the comparative luxury of a professional kitchen.

“I’d always be a bit wary of doing a soufflé, or something, in an oven I didn’t know,” says Robert Owen Brown. “And I’m always, always really hoping it’s not an electric cooker that I’ve got to work on."

For the highest bidder, the event won’t just be about holding a dinner party to make the neighbours weep bitter tears of envy, but also about the food itself. So what culinary fare do the chefs think will work best?

Whiteford feels it’s all about keeping it simple. “Hopefully it’ll be about home cooking and not something elaborate,” he says. “For example, I don’t think you can beat roast chicken at home on a Sunday.”

John Quilter of Marmalade concurs. “It’s a great opportunity to celebrate food which plugs into family emotions and memories,” he says.

“The food we fall in love with is often the food from our culinary innocence. For me, that’s scampi, chicken in a basket, even black forest gateau. It’s about taking that kind of food and doing it really well.

Treat

“It’s also a wonderful opportunity to interact with people who might not necessarily have that much experience with food.”

Owen Brown intends to give his hosts a treat to remember.

“At home, if it’s for friends and family, I like to cook something everyone can dive in and share,” he says. “But for the auction, what I’d be aiming to do is give them the best, smartest meal I possibly could.”

And if the superbly flavoursome provenance of the dishes so far served at The Angel is anything to go by, it'll be a very special experience indeed.

Held at the Great John Street Hotel, the auction itself will also be a luxury affair, with champagne and oysters on the roof terrace.

Are the chefs looking forward to being auction lots?

“Definitely – it’s good fun,” says Owen Brown. “But then it could all turn out very, very embarrassing if I only go for £1.50!”

CityLife thinks that's rather unlikely. But we may go along with our savings, just in case...

For more information on the Manchester Food And Drink Festival Grass Roots Foundation, visit the external link on the right of this page.