Wembley Stadium recently played host to the Craft Guild of Chefs annual awards dinner – the first time the event has been held at the venue. The Craft Guild of Chefs is the leading chef’s association in the UK and the awards recognise the leading talent working in kitchens across the industry.
More than 690 guests attended the event in the Bobby Moore Room, which was dressed in line with the theme ‘Going for Gold’. The Bobby Moore Room is the ‘jewel in the crown’ at Wembley Stadium. It is the only room within the Wembley complex to enjoy views of the legendary football pitch and boasts two levels – a lower level room and a mezzanine room, with a banqueting capacity of up to 1,900 people.
The event was held on the eve of the launch of a new dinner package, which is aimed at encouraging more exclusive dinner events at the venue, and the awards ceremony gave the catering team the opportunity to showcase its expertise to a prestigious audience. Mark Reynolds, head chef for Delaware North Companies at Wembley Stadium, designed the menu and was supported in its delivery by executive chef, Frank Coughlan and 28 chefs. The menu showcased a number of cooking techniques and was served in a contemporary style, and included English pea mousse, mint and Somerset goats curd, applewood smoked Cornish mackerel, pan seared fillet of West Cork beef and to finish cherry pannacotta with summer berries, beurre noisette crumble, rose water meringues and almond foam.
Andrew Green, chairman of the Craft Guild of Chefs, commented: “The Craft Guild of Chefs Awards were a great success with absolutely superb food and the best service. The theme for this year’s awards was ‘Going for Gold’ and you cannot get a more iconic sporting venue than Wembley Stadium. The team at Delaware North really listened to what we wanted and the small touches such as the gold table clothes made a really big difference. Well done Delaware North, you really delivered.”
Jackie Boughton, of DNC Wembley, comments: “The event was well received by the guests and we’re delighted with the positive feedback from the organisers. The fact that this was the first year these awards were held outside of central London is testament to the Wembley team’s ability to successfully host large and prestigious events and its link to sport which can easily be tied into any event.”
