A host of masterclasses, including tapas and cocktail matching, will bring down the curtain on the 2008 Caterer and Hotelkeeper Chef Conference.

The classes, scheduled to take place at the end of the day prior to the conference’s gala dinner, are being limited to small numbers of delegates.

A spokesman for the Chef Conference said: “We really want to get the delegates who sign up for these masterclasses involved in them – and hopefully to go away having added to their craft skills. And to do that successfully means we’ll have to put a cap on numbers.” 

The classes are: a culinary demonstration hosted by Ollie Couillaud at his newly opened Bord’eaux brasserie at London’s Grosvenor House hotel on Park Lane; a patisserie masterclass hosted by chocolatier Damian Allsop at the conference’s host hotel, the InterContinental Park Lane; and two cocktail and canape matching sessions hosted by the bar teams at Galvin at Windows and Trader Vic’s – both at the nearby London Hilton on Park Lane.

Couillaud will be showing off his modern take on baked Alaska, while Allsop his unique and revolutionary take on a chocolate mousse using a water-based chocolate recipe.

The Galvin at Windows and Trader Vic’s teams will be giving pointers on how to get the tills ringing with skilful cocktail and tapas matching, as well as getting participants mixing a few pre prandial drinks.

• The Chef Conference takes place on 12 May at the London InterContinental Park Lane hotel. Full details on how to reserve a place at the conference and the gala dinner go to www.chefconference.co.uk.

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By Joanna Wood

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