Thomas Robson, Author at 21 Hospitality

21 Chef meets Highest Standard

We take great delight in congratulating Megan Armstrong, a pastry chef from our flagship restaurant 21, for receiving the Award of Excellence in pastry from the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts.

Originally from the Lake District, Megan, 26, has been with 21 Hospitality for five years. Megan has been described as quiet, unassuming and humble. She was put forward due her great eye for detail, grit and determination.

After attending initial rounds, Megan was invited to the final at the University of West London. At the final it was revealed that she was one of only 3 chefs to achieve the standard in pastry.

She joins the ranks of chefs like Paul Williams, who achieved the standard shortly before getting a position at The Fat Duck with Heston Blumenthal.

For her final exam she tasked with creating a Strawberry Charlotte Royal accompanied by a Sauce Anglaise. This consists of a Swiss roll with handmade jam and strawberry mousse cut and moulded into a dome.

As well as this, she was asked to produce a Paris Brest on top of a Nougatine Stand. Paris Brest is a ring shaped chop pastry filled with praline mousseline and decorated as a crown. This was to be placed on a Nougatine Stand, decorated to commemorate the Coronation and complement the dessert.

Following the results, Megan was invited to Claridge’s Hotel in London at which it was revealed that she was the highest scorer in her category and she was presented as Young Pastry Chef of the Year. This won her a trip to Moët and Chandon and Veuve Clicquot to learn more about wine-making and take part in a Champagne and food pairing meal.

As well as this, Megan will get the opportunity of work experience at both Pollen Street Social thanks to Jason Atherton and The Fat Duck thanks to Heston Blumenthal.

She also receives all the benefits of meeting the standard, including membership of the Annual Awards of Excellence Alumni.

Well done Megan, you have made everyone at 21 Hospitality immensely proud. A special thank you also to mentors Helen Doyle and Stefan Milligan.

21 At Home Returns For Christmas

We’re getting the band back together, or so to speak. We first introduced 21 at Home as a collection service during lock down, initially as a way to quite simply, stay connected. Connected with one another and also connected to you, our loyal customers.

Almost inevitably it grew and grew, becoming much loved by ourselves and those who got the opportunity to use it. The return to our ‘day jobs’ as restaurants re-opened brought with it both excitement and a modicum of sadness at the closure of 21 at Home.

Rather than saying goodbye we bid a fond farewell, not really wanting to let go of what we’d built together. It seems the feeling was mutual as we’ve had so many lovely conversations with guests, fondly reminiscing about the service as well as asking “when it might return?”

With that in mind, we’re delighted to announce that our chefs across 21 Hospitality Group have collaborated with some of our favourite suppliers, to bring 21 at Home back to life just in time for Christmas.

From Beef Wellington and Seafood Platters to Afternoon Tea and Bûche de Nöel, 21 at Home allows you to re-create your own 21 experience with ease and bring some festive joy around your Christmas table.

Collection is from ST. Vincent, 29 Broad Chare, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 3DQ.

Please call us on 0191 232 1331 to alert us of your arrival (number active only during collection hours).

CLICK HERE TO TAKE THE HEAT OUT OF CHRISTMAS

Supervisor Success in Service at the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts

We are immensely proud to announce that restaurant supervisor Francesca Merico, of 21 Hospitality Group, has achieved the Annual Award of Excellence in service from the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts.

To a table of 2 guest judges, Francesca was tested in her mise en place, filleting a dover sole, and decanting and describing wines. Judges included John Williams MBE, Executive Chef at The Ritz, Sergio Rebecchi, Director of Serenata Hospitality and Sarah Hartnett of Buckingham Palace.

One of only 17 people in the country to meet the standard, she impressed the judges and was invited to a Gala along with the other successful candidates in service as well as those who achieved the award in the kitchen and pastry categories, including fellow member of the 21 Hospitality team, Elliot Welsh in Pastry. Francesca was presented with a magnum of Laurent-Perrier champagne, certificate, and lapel pin.

Well done Francesca for this fantastic achievement, you have done 21 Hospitality Group proud.

21 Chef Achieves Excellence in Pastry

Our very own Elliot Welsh, a pastry chef from our flagship restaurant 21 on the Quayside, has received an Award of Excellence in pastry from the Royal Academy of Culinary Arts.

After going to an initial round, Elliot attended the final at the University of West London, where he was one of only 3 chefs to achieve the standard. Rather than a competition, this event judges whether or not the chefs meet the highest standard of cooking.

For the final he was tasked with creating 2 Sacher torte, 10 Pea and Lobster Bouchée, 10 Crème Diplomat and Wild Strawberry Bouchée, 10 Hazelnut Millefeuille and 10 Vegan Rhubarb Verrine. Elliot suitably impressed the judges and it was deemed that he had, in fact, met the required standard, for which he received a certificate and a bottle of champagne.

Well done Elliot, you have made everyone at 21 Hospitality incredibly proud. A special thanks must also go out to mentors Helen Doyle and Stefan Milligan for their fantastic work.

Once the other categories have also been awarded, he will be invited to an Awards Dinner at Claridge’s Hotel in London where the highest point scorers in each category will be revealed.

North East Chef of the Year

21 Hospitality Group took park in the annual North East Chef of the Year Awards organised by NECTA. Big thanks to our sponsors Hodgson Fish and Delifresh for providing our ingredients for the event.

21 Hospitality Group Trainee of the Year

Our trainee chefs, coached by their mentors, went head to head, each with their own take on a sea bass dish.

They have been forming and practicing their dishes with the help of their mentors in the 21 Hospitality Group kitchens ready for the competition.

On the day, the chefs had 45 minutes to cook and plate their dish. They all dealt with the time pressure well, on top of getting used to equipment they had not used before.

Below is the list of our participants, their mentors, and their chosen dish.

Cori Smith mentored by Alex Walker – Fillet of Sea Bass with Scallop Mousse, English Asparagus and Jersey Royals – Butter Sauce – The Broad Chare

Sophie Southall mentored by Danilo Sabellico – Pan Fried Sea Bass with Asparagus, Razor Clams, Golden Artichoke and Buttered Potatoes – 21

Joe Kennedy mentored by Arron Hassan – Pan Fried Fillet of Sea Bass with Calamari, Clams and Gem Lettuce – 21

Daniel Simpson mentored by Tiziano Guerico/Andy Luck – Steamed Sea Bass with Stuffed Corgette Flower, Asparagus and Lemon Verbena – Café 21 Fenwick Newcastle

Ethan Clark mentored by James Horner – Grilled Sea Bass with Jersey Royals, Asparagus, Clams and Beurre Blanc – Saltwater/Porterhouse

Declan Chambers mentored by James Hayter – Grilled Sea Bass with Lardo, Pea Puree and St George’s Mushrooms – Saltwater/Porterhouse

All chefs finished and did 21 Hospitality group proud with such fantastic dishes cooked to a high standard and plated beautifully.

Our winner this year was Joe Kennedy. Second place went to Daniel Simpson. Third place was awarded to Ethan Clark. With such high quality across the competition, all of our trainee chefs should be proud of what they achieved. They all pushed themselves and met the high standard expected of 21 Hospitality. Creating your own dish means you must consider many factors: time, complimentary flavours, plating and more.

Original Dessert – A Classical Dessert

We also had a trainee chef in the Original Dessert Category, Frankie Page mentored by Megan Armstrong (representing 21). These chefs had 35 minutes to create their dishes which they had also worked on with the help of their mentors.

Frankie’s dessert was a Hazelnut Soufflé with Madagascan Vanilla Chantilly Cream.

Frankie also won his category, making us here at 21 Hospitality very proud. With such a blank canvass of a category it can be daunting to come up with a dish and have to make sure it meets the cost requirements. With the help of Megan, Frankie showed just what he was capable of with a fantastic dessert.

The competition pushed our chefs to show what they are made of. This is a real challenge and cooking under pressure for a competition feels different to getting a dish done in the restaurants.

All of their final dishes are a testament to how far the young chefs have come since they started their traineeships as well as the fantastic tutorage of their mentors.

Well done to everyone who competed and their mentors who should all be immensely proud of themselves, and thanks again to Hodgson Fish and Delifresh for sponsoring our event and providing our ingredients.

#CookForUkraine Thank You

As you may be aware, 21 Hospitality Group held a Sunday Lunch event at 21 on the Quayside on 24^th April, with a view to raising money for humanitarian aid for the people of the Ukraine.

It was a fantastic day from start to finish with the restaurant buzzing with activity all day long.

With the help, support and generosity of our staff, friends and suppliers we were able to raise a fantastic total of £26,514.71 on the day. This will go directly to UNICEF via #cookforukraine and through them will, we’re sure, help to ease some of the suffering.

If you were a contributor on the day itself, bid in our blind auction, bought a raffle ticket for one of our “Ukranian” Easter eggs or simply donated via our website, thank you all so much. It’s because of you that the event was such an overwhelming success enjoyed by everyone.

The feedback we have received about the day has been wholly positive, from the quality of the food and service down to the atmosphere.

We are immensely proud of all the colleagues that helped on the day and beyond, also to those who donated their goods and services, we couldn’t have done it without them.

Thank you to everybody!

An Evening at Gateshead College

In March 21 Hospitality Group headed to Gateshead College to deliver an ‘Evening with 21’ at their college campus restaurant, Enfields Kitchen.

The event gave 21 Hospitality trainees and Gateshead College students a chance to deliver an evening service under the direction of the leadership team from 21. Students studying for their Front of House qualifications were supported by restaurant manager and supervisor Steven Henderson and Francesca Merico to deliver the service. In the kitchen, our very own trainees prepared the 3 course menu supported by Head Chef Chris Dobson, Sous Chef George Duhaliu, along with Helen Doyle and Stefan Milligan who head up the 21 Hospitality pastry team.

The menu was designed to show what the trainees had been learning, the types of dishes on offer at 21, and give them an opportunity to learn new skills. The chefs spent the day preparing the dishes at the college ready for the evening service. The front of house team were briefed by the chefs before service on the menu, including important information about each dish.

Farewell to 21 at Home

This week (27th April 2021) brings with it some strange emotions. As the excitement builds for re-opening our restaurants, there’s also a modicum of sadness attached to bidding farewell to 21 at Home as next week’s menu will be our last for a while.

With a certain amount of trepidation, we started our collection service on 19th May last year, initially having no desire to be involved in what we viewed as the “tawdry” world of take away. The general feeling within the team was (with a healthy dose of arrogance) “proper chefs don’t do take away” – yet here we are almost a full twelve months hence, about to shed a tear for its closure. It seems that proper chefs do indeed do take away!

We’ve had some laughs, there’ve been some tears and we’ve even learned a thing or two. Most importantly it enabled us to stay connected. Connected with one another and also connected to you, our customers. Initially a team of four uncertain volunteers, “Team Takeout” grew pretty quickly into a veritable band of brothers and sisters who not only cooked, but packed, photographed, sketched, designed, printed, delivered, built endless spreadsheets as well as a website.

Bravo Team Take Out, you’ve done us proud.

We hope this isn’t goodbye but merely a fond farewell; we’d like to revisit 21 at Home for special days and holidays, dinner parties and even pop ups. But right now it’s time to re-focus our attentions on the day job as we head toward 17th May and the re-opening of our restaurants.

Online reservations are available now www.21hospitality.co.uk and please remember to check our social channels for updates. The retail counters at Saltwater Fish Company and Porterhouse Butcher and Grill are also open now in Fenwick Food Hall.

An update from Terry- 21 at Home

It’s getting more and more surreal, don’t you think? Not many of us envisioned that we would still be living under such challenging conditions. Thankfully, we have been blessed with some fine weather over the past two months, which has perhaps made things a little more bearable.

We are buoyed by the messages of goodwill we have received from you, our extended family – our friends. Just to reassure you, we are still missing you all. We miss going to work, cooking for you, serving you and looking after you.

Last weekend brought an about-turn in my thinking on all things takeaway. I was adamant I didn’t want to do it, but here we are a week later launching 21 at Home. We hope we can all have a bit of fun with it; keep ourselves stimulated, our minds active, and some of you well fed.

Initially, we are offering a collection service 4pm – 7pm Thursday to Saturday; starting with a small choice of 21 crowd pleasers. We hope to be able to expand the offer and bring you some comfort food and a bit of luxury too, which I’m sure you’re missing.

Lockdown has taken me through the joys of spring, where I’ve enjoyed purple sprouting broccoli, Jersey Royals and English asparagus. Out in the field we’ve had an abundance of wild garlic and woodruff and now that the weather is changing in earnest, I feel anticipation building for the arrival of the first elderflowers and early English strawberries. Perhaps there is a silver lining in this lockdown; for once, having the time to appreciate the development of the seasons and the bounty that they bring. As a cook, this is the most exciting time of the year and can be a real exciting ride if you’re prepared to put the work in.

Some of our longstanding suppliers can help you on your way with their home delivery services. Our pal Ken Holland, who has been keeping me going at home, is supplying super seasonal veg and salad; and our friends at Delifresh are bringing a range of restaurant-quality produce to your door with a generous 10% discount off the first order for 21 Hospitality customers using the code: 10%-21Hospitality.

In other news, last week saw the opening of the latest Nightingale Hospital in Washington. We were approached by a pal of ours, ‘Hairy Biker’ Si King, who asked if we could bake a cake to celebrate the opening. I have to say, it was lovely to be asked. Shout out to Helen and Stefan for producing a thing of such beauty.

Social media has really come into its own over the last two months. I’ve enjoyed seeing what people are making. There really are some great cooks out there. Please remember to share your posts using the #21athome hashtag, they’re great to see.

Stay safe and take care and here’s to keeping you well fed!

Terry