amadeus_glorious_final

DEVELOPING TALENT MEET OUR CHEFS
Gressingham duck breast
with baby broad beans
that we may not be aware of, so the relationship
between us and the growers is really important
and the success of that good communication
is reflected in the food we produce.”
To find out what goes into producing
award-winning food on such a huge scale we also
caught up with Aaron Johnson, Head Chef at
the Vox conference centre (pictured right).
He has worked his way up through the ranks at
Amadeus and was mentored by Simon at the
ICC. “My passion for food was originally honed
by my parents. They owned restaurants so I was
exposed to preparing food for paying customers
from an early age. My parents worked hard and
had a real passion for their work and I think that
rubbed off on me – seeing their enthusiasm and
hard work shaped my career choices.
“Before I came to Amadeus I worked for
Gordon Ramsay and Jason Atherton at the
Michelin-starred Maze restaurant in Mayfair.
The work was relentless but really rewarding.
It really taught me all about presentation – food
has to look beautiful, you have to want to eat it.
That’s what I love about what I do now – it’s a
real challenge to produce restaurant-quality
food with fabulous presentation on this scale.
We regularly produce banquets for 800 guests,
but every plate of food is served straight from
the kitchen to their table. We don’t reheat dishes
and then serve – this is restaurant dining.”
The demands of the job are phenomenal with
preparation starting up to two weeks in advance
for an event. “We have a menu selection for
clients to choose from, but about 85 per cent
of our clients opt for a bespoke menu, so
that’s when you can really let your creative side
run wild,” says Aaron. “It’s great to work with the
client to ensure we can deliver exactly what they
want. Once we’ve decided on the menu we will
start planning up to two weeks in advance,
ordering the ingredients to put the dishes
together. Obviously we also look at how the
dishes will be presented on the day as when you
have 800 plates leaving the kitchen through up
to 24 delivery points you have to know that
every single one looks perfect.
“We have a core team that work at the
VOX and then we bring in agency staff for our
big events so we have to be able to communicate
well to ensure everyone is clear about what’s
expected of them. When I was working in other
kitchens I had head chefs shouting at the staff,
but I just don’t think that works. When the
pressure is on with a job of
course we all feel it, but
I would rather people
felt focussed and
motivated rather than
terrified of being shouted
at. I don’t think that brings
out the best in people.”
Every Chef also has a
passion for their ingredients
– you can’t make memorable
dishes without great ingredients,
so what are Aaron’s
favourites? “I love
seafood and one
of my
favourite
“You can cook food to
perfection but if you
don’t make it look
beautiful then you
won’t get the best from
it. A glass of the right
wine also helps!”
Aaron Johnson, Head Chef VOX
0121 748 3377
info@contemporaryeventstructures.co.uk
www.contemporaryeventstructures.co.uk
12 GLORIOUS