Three hundred guests at a gala dinner at the new Hilton Tower Bridge Hotel tucked into the ‘Great British Menu’ originally created by chefs Richard Corrigan, Bryn Williams, Nick Nairn and Marcus Waring for the Queen’s 80th birthday. 

The four chefs attended the event in aid of Training for Life, the charity behind The Hoxton Apprentice restaurant which gives unemployed young people the opportunity to gain qualifications through working in a functioning restaurant.

Former Hoxton Apprentice Darren Murrain, now a commis chef at the Hilton Tower Bridge Hotel, was named Apprentice of the Year and received a tankard from the evening’s guest of honour, His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent. Murrain and the rest of the hotel’s brigade were joined in the kitchen for the evening by chefs Giles Thompson and Mark Hix who oversaw the operation.

Following dinner the guests were invited to take part in an auction, which included lots for the personal cooking services of the four celebrity chefs who between them fetched bids totalling £14,500.

The menu
Smoked salmon with blinis, woodland sorrel and wild cress (Nick Nairn)
Pan-fried turbot with cockles and oxtail (Bryn Williams)
Venison with rosti, celeriac, creamed cabbage, game gravy (Nick Nairn)
Custard tart with garibaldi biscuits (Marcus Waring)

By Diane Lane

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