Case Studies
Sauces of Distinction at St Edmund’s
With former England rugby player Stuart Barnes and comedian Al Murray amongst its alumni, St Edmund Hall is a distinguished college of Oxford university in the heart of the city.
Gravy Greatness at Dog and Doublet
Since joining The Moat House Hotel in Acton Trussell, Staffordshire, as head chef in 1998, Matt Davies has become a master at juggling plates. Of all different shapes and sizes at that.
The Badger Sets New Standard
Every day can be a battle for survival for today’s rural pubs and the importance of saving time, while cutting down on energy costs and meeting stringent Health and Safety rules, means a chef’s desire to serve up first class quality food can be compromised, causing more problems for a business in the long term.
Seeing Off Salt in Schools
When the nutrition and food-based guidelines came into force three years ago, many school caterers literally had to go back to the drawing board.
All Hayle to the Versatile Stock
In an economic climate where stretching budgets is equally as important as delivering first class food, chefs have much to consider when it comes to buying in products.
All the King’s Sauces!
Everyone from romantic poet John Keats to Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu studied at King’s College London, founded by King George IV and the Duke of Wellington in 1829.
Holistic Approach to School Food
St Leonards-Mayfield School had nothing to worry about when Jamie Oliver turned up to have a gander at its menus two years ago. The independent Catholic girls’ school in East Sussex is renowned for its ‘foodie’ approach to school lunches and the new standards only reinforced what it already advocated in terms of nutritional welfare.
Better Degree of Sauces at UCL
When considering a typical student diet, ‘healthy’ is not the first word that springs to mind. But, with the launch of the government’s Responsibility Deal, university caterers are being urged to play their part and take a closer look at the food they dish up, one of the biggest concerns being salt content.
Making Signature Dishes a Walk in the Park
In an ideal world, chefs would make their own sauce bases from scratch, but spiralling energy costs, time pressures and a lack of skilled staff mean this is no longer a given. With hundreds of covers to prepare at any time, banqueting is a particularly arduous task and chefs often need to call on pre-prepared products they can trust. Essential Cuisine has just extended its Signature jus range to help relieve the pressure on head chefs such as Imthiaz Kader at London’s new Park Plaza Westminster Bridge hotel…
Essential Neighbour For Harper Adams
Some of the most pressing global concerns involve the future provision of food and the management of rural land and environments.
Convenience Without Compromise At Wyboston Lakes
During the last year, as the recession continued to bite, privately-owned Wyboston Lakes experienced a continuing shift in business trends. Conference and training bookings were harder to find, but the number of hotel guests taking dinner, bed and breakfast increased by 25 percent compared with the previous year.
Classic Fayre Top Of The Class
Food stations, offering everything from pizza to paninis, are helping to appeal to fussy eaters in schools, offering a wide range of ingredients and customisation.
Christmas A Beauty At The Black Horse
There’s something particularly magical about eating at a proper English pub at Christmas. Chefs’ ability to produce sparkling festive fayre and make a profit from it, however, is being threatened by inflationary and cost pressures.
Jus, Me And George
According to new Mintel research, pub chefs need to get back to basics. In striving to be everything to everyone – affordable, healthy, convenient, ‘new’ – individual operators risk devaluing their brand, while the industry as a whole risks diluting its original, distinguishing characteristics.
The Battle Against Time – is Essential Cuisine on your team?
In medieval times, meat was cut with daggers and you ate with your fingers from trenchers or hollowed out husks of bread. Peckforton Castle, a former country house built in the style of a medieval castle, doesn’t insist on this, but does aim to give guests a taste of life 800 years ago.
Versatile Essential Cuisine Stock, Looking Good For Ted Baker
Although the traditional lunch is declining in popularity, there are still some places where workers appreciate the value of a cooked meal at a reasonable price.
Marriott Chooses Master Stock
During the recession, hotels have suffered from cutbacks in business travel and corporate conferences as well as spend per head by those guests who do visit.
Choice Stock Illuminates
With the economic climate ebbing and flowing as the nation adjusts to the recession, it’s tempting to cut corners to ensure margins remain as high as possible. Costs of operating and employing staff continue to go up and staying afloat is no longer a sure thing, so why not?
Clarion call for Christmas
Christmas is round the corner and across the UK, pubs are hoping to lift the doom and gloom of the last year by injecting a dose of festive flavour into customers’ lives.
Game for Christmas?
Leather’s Smithy was made for Christmas. Built in the 18th Century alongside Macclesfield Forest Reservoir, this stone built former smithy is as warm and inviting as an Andy Williams album cover, with real fires and a stone flagged bar area. If it snows at the country pub, even better.
Philpotts’ Hot Pot Heaven
It’s every Tom, Dick and Harry’s claim that what they serve up is different. Philpotts, which has 21 sandwich bars nationwide, has, however, earned the right to say this, with its homemade sandwiches winning awards such as the Sandwich Chain of the Year awarded by the Industry recognized body The British Sandwich Association.
Biting Into Edinburgh
Like a lion stalking a gazelle, Paul Wedgwood took his time before he pounced. Twelve years, in fact, before he finally threw open the doors to his own Scottish European fusion restaurant in the heart of that city of festivals, Edinburgh. And it was worth the wait. Picking up rave review after rave review, Wedgwood the Restaurant is now gearing up to celebrate its second birthday on August 1st and Essential Cuisine is proud to be part of this success.
Sussex Healthcare Stocks Up
A care home provider dedicated to good food has invested in Essential Cuisine’s stocks and jus to make life in the kitchen easier and living even more delicious for those in their care.
On Track To Perfection
In October 2002, Network Rail took over the running of Britain’s rail infrastructure with a clear objective; to improve the safety, reliability and efficiency of the UK railway. In seven years, the organisation has met target after target and aims to transport even more passengers, move more freight, improve safety and reduce delays, all at a reduced cost. None of this would be possible, however, without first class leaders, who in turn need to be refuelled in their own right. Essential Cuisine is more than happy to help.
Cotton Picking Good Stock
Quality is paramount at ‘Visit Chester & Cheshire’s Large Hotel of the Year 2008’, The Cottons Hotel and Spa.
What’s Good For The Goose…
It seems to be one hard knock after the other for the pub industry and they don’t come worse than a recession. However, plenty of watering holes are simply refusing to lie down and are going all out to use their creative nous to pull in the punters and save money without comprising on quality.
