Catering Excellence
Senan Simmons, Operations Manager, Michaela Bubakova, Food and Beverage Manager, and Sarfraz (Freddy) Hussain, Executive Head Chef, with the award.
The Keble catering team won an Excellence Award after hosting the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs Gala Dinner. The evening, which came after a busy summer period of events, private dinners and conferences, was part of the 62nd Great Britain Grand Chapitre.
The Chaîne des Rôtisseurs is a premier not-for-profit organisation and international gastronomic society that brings together professionals who ‘appreciate and share a mutual interest in cuisine, wine and fine dining’. They currently have 25,000 members in over 80 countries.
The organisation aims to ’promote the training, high standards and profile of the next generation of chefs and sommeliers through annual competitions that are held on both a national and international level each year’ and supports charitable activities close to the hospitality industry.
Keble’s grand Dining Hall was selected to hold the 62nd Gala Dinner, one of the main annual events of the Great Britain Grand Chapitre, during Michaelmas Term of 2022. A spokesperson wrote: “Gala Dinners are all special but this year’s was more so in that it was held in Keble College. […] The [College] team led by Senan Simmons are very obviously experts at putting on large private multi-course dinners. They couldn’t have been more helpful. The results showed in the stunning execution of each course by the ever-enthusiastic Head Chef Sarfraz ‘Freddy’ Hussain.”
“A couple of the highlights were an English farm compressed ham hock terrine with homemade piccalilli and a mustard emulsion gel paired with Louis Jadot ‘Château des Jacques’ Moulin-à-Vent 2019. The main course of pepper- and herb-infused slow-cooked venison loin, braised shoulder croquette, beetroot gratin, heritage carrot and a port wine red pepper jus was matched with Viña Real Rioja Gran Reserva 2015 in magnums.”
Our Executive Head Chef, Sarfraz Hussain, who led the kitchen team through the evening, reflected:
“We hosted the Chaîne des Rôtisseurs 62nd Grand Chapitre Gala Dinner. There were Chefs attending from all over the world!
“We created an ambitious five-course menu, but the team put in a lot of effort and we were very happy with the results. At the end of the event, they presented us with a Chaîne des Rôtisseurs’ Excellence Award. It was very satisfying because it was a great opportunity for us to have our food tasted by different Chefs and we were so excited to have won the award.”
“I love my team’s passion, commitment and work ethic. We are a new team with a lot of enthusiasm and they have lots of experience from hotels and restaurants. They each bring something different to the table, providing excellent service and meticulous precision to their dishes. Their passion shows from the first plate to the last plate.”
We are incredibly proud of the successes of our catering team, and look forward to seeing more recognition and success for their wonderful work in future.
