On 26th June 2017 “Martini Chef” will be running a masterclass with a difference in his “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” master class with “Mr Todiwala’s Academy” in his state of the art Poggenpohl and Gaggenau kitchen at Cafe Spice Namaste as part of the Cyrus Todiwala OBE series of creative culinary sessions. Simon Hulstone from the Elephant in Torquay has already shared his skills as one of Adventure Gourmet series mentors. Other chefs taking part in the sessions include John Williams MBE, Brian Turner CBE and Francesco Mazzei who all aim to inspire and share skills to fellow professionals using new techniques and perfecting some old ones. Feeney spends his work life jetting across…
Anything to declare?
Anything to declare sir? It’s not every day you meet up with a stranger at an airport and he asks you to carry two bags containing 5kg of white powder in your suitcase – luckily it was only tempura batter mix! One of the ingredients JF intended to use for his “British fast food” treat for the villagers at Lura….. A trek in Nepal climbing 4,000 metres is definitely not for the faint hearted, but when the gauntlet was thrown down to Martini Chef – John Feeney in a bid to raise much needed funds for the Springboard Charity he found it hard to resist! A group of 30 willing…
A Taste of the Wild
The first few weeks of the New Year have flown by, there doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day and time is running out for JF to get in his training for the charity trek to Nepal with Springboard which is only a couple of weeks away. We all know how much Martini chef likes to escape out of his development kitchen to learn new skills and techniques but his latest adventure was really nothing short of a “Taste of the Wild”. Natalie from I.O.Shen knives had literally been cooking up a real treat with Nick Weston from “Hunter Gather Cook”. Nick teaches the craft of foraging, living…
Nepal trek – shaken not stirred!
“I will be shaken but not stirred!” “So this is a new life experience for me – literally taking me in sight of Everest. As I rise to the challenge of supporting a school hit by an earthquake where we will spend three days rebuilding and repairing damage after the devastation left behind. I will also be trekking to raise funds for people closer to home in an industry I love with a passion. This is my way of giving back to those less fortunate than myself who face challenges and barriers in the hospitality and food industry with Springboard, an amazing charity supported by some of the greatest and well respected chefs in the UK.…
UCFF16 Laverstoke Park Farm
It’s a first to hold UCFF on a farm where buffalo roam! For 2016 the buffalo very kindly allowed us to use their barn to host our event. JF was one of the first on site to watch them being milked before over 500 chefs from all over the UK arrived for an action packed day of food at it’s best. Ex-formula one racing driver Jody Scheckter started Laverstoke – a biodynamic, organic farm with the aim of producing healthy, nutritious food without compromise to the environment or his family’s health. Jody made the opening address to the delegates, not just hungry for food but knowledge from their peers and…
A Trip to the Emerald Isle
John’s globe trotting in August took him a little closer to home than usual, after a 45 -minute flight he was about to discover some wonderful characters and fantastic food they produce in Northern Ireland. He took the road out of Belfast and headed through Comber, famous for it’s superb tasting “Comber Earlies” – new potatoes that are as famous and tasty as their regal relations – the Jersey Royal. JF arrived at Balloo House a popular dining pub owned by local food hero chef Danny Millar who champions local produce in his ever-changing seasonal menus. On this particular service Millar was joined in the kitchen by one of the…
Bollywood Vienetta!
October was a busy month for JF but he’s never too busy to give a little back. On 4th October he joined Simon Young & Sarah Hartnett at Cyrus Todiwala’s Café Spice Namaste restaurant to cook in memory of a much loved chef and friend Peter Hazzard who sadly died earlier in 2016. The dinner inspired by Peter’s love for food and drink raised funds for a great charity supporting those in need in our industry. For the past three decades, one man – chef Peter Hazzard, former Food & Beverage Director of Sodexo – worked harder than most on behalf of Hospitality Action, helping to raise hundreds of thousands…
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