146 guests, 60 workers, 8 Colleges , 16 different fish, 1650 portions of food, 876 glasses, 2044 pieces of cutlery, 1 great cause

​

Chris Le-Vien and Murray Chapman planned A Nine -course Fish Feast, On Saturday 21st March the team pulled out all the stops for an evening of mouth-watering dishes and carefully selected wines. Each course was put together by an award-winning chef or industry expert, ably assisted with preparations and plating up by a team of apprentice chefs and Front of House students from “ A Passion to Inspire “ the team and quests raised £9,300 for the NSPCC,

​

The evening began with wine and canapés, created by infusion4chefs Jeremy Medley MCGB, followed by a short introduction with tales from the UK fishing industry.

​

Together with Barry Bentley and Alice Larkins from Colchester Institute, Russell Bateman (Colette’s Restaurant- The Grove ) produced the first course: oyster panna cotta, scallop & apple tartare and chilled celeriac consommé. 

​

The second course – grilled plaice, langoustines, fennel and cucumber – was carefully constructed by Mark Poynton of Restaurant Alimentum. Olivia Scarfe and Kieran Wallbank from Milton Keynes College were by his side to lend a hand. 

​

 Chris Le-Vien  created a dish that proved a favourite amongst quite a few of the guests –curry-cured salmon and charred cucumber with a cucumber & ginger sorbet. Chris was supported by Joshua Gibb and Connor McFarland, both from Mid-Kent College, as well as Matt Dakin, Junior Sous Chef at Corpus. 

​

Next up was Phil Thompson, the owner of THOMSPON@Darcy’s, assisted by Joshua Phillips and Sam Sturman from West Suffolk College.Together they created a fabulous dish of poached hake fillet, crisp frog’s leg, creamed nettles and onions. 

Matt Gillan from the Pass Restaurant created the fifth course: flounder, mussels, almonds and cauliflower. This complex dish consisted of twelve different elements, but with the help of Ashesh Purja and Aidan Rogers from Eastleigh College ,Matt was able to pull this off and score another success amongst the guests.

​

The feast’s final savoury dish– cod, grilled white asparagus, fermented white asparagus, charcoal and truffle –was produced by Adam Simmonds FMCGB from the Pavilion, South Kensington, supported by Andrew Sung and Boyeon Kim from Westminster College.

Executive Head Chef, James Circuit, who worked with Kevin Beckett and Michal Hul from Cambridge Regional College to create…a fish course dessert.James and his team devised a stunning beach-themed dessert that included coconut crème, brandy snap, lime foam, squid-ink sponge, samphire and shortbread.

​

Every guest was positively fit to burst by this point – but we weren’t finished yet. The front-of-house team, which consisted of students from various colleges, served tea & coffee with a selection of petit fours, such as honey lavender & rhubarb, strawberry& thyme, smoked whiskey chocolate and spiced mango. Murray Chapman MCGB from “ A Passion to Inspire “ headed up this team, ably assisted by Panteleimon Bazinis and Simon Kirkham from Cambridge Regional College.

​

Always a pleasure to give up time ( especially on a Saturday Night !! ) to work with Passionate college students from across the country , lecturers driving them from first thing and midnight back again – dedication to developing young Chefs.

These occasions are a privilege to be part of – cooking Great food with Great Chefs and Great students 

Mark Poynton Chef/ Owner 

Alimentum Restaurant 

 

Chris Le Vien

Corpus Christi College, Fishy Feast, 21 March 2015 - I planned and organised the night to be a celebration of fish, raising much needed funds for the NSPCC and it turned out to be  much more than that. 9 amazing chefs produced magic on a plate whilst mentoring the chefs of tomorrow, 146 guest were effortlessly served 9 course of fish by my front of house team with the assistance of catering students and lectures. The evening was finished off with a few words from the NSPCC and a compelling recount of Alice's life story and how the NSPCC has helped turn her life around. I am proud to have had the opportunity to work with, train and serve so many people all for such a worthy cause.

Chris Le-Vien ACMI Catering Manager

Corpus Christi College Cambridge

Jean-Luc Benazet, with his knack for appearing everywhere and anywhere, managed to capture the atmosphere of the evening through the beady eye of his camera lens. All photographs, including shots from behind-the-scenes, can be found at http://jeanlucbenazet.smugmug.com/Events/Fishy-Feast/