The Capital Pub Company has held the first Menu Graduation final, which was hosted at the recently refurbished Crabtree.
David Peevers, head of food, wanted to create an event that celebrated the group's kitchen teams who work incredibly hard and are the beating heart of the pubs and to showcase the synergy of the head chefs and general managers.
The day included the egg challenge, followed by the invention test, where the teams were asked to come up something interesting from a basket of assorted items. The grand finale saw the teams devise their own 3 course showstopper menu.
The judges included Bruce Poole co-owner of Michelin starred Chez Bruce, along with the Michelin-starred Glasshouse in Kew and the three-rosette La Trompette in Chiswick, and Grzegorz Olejarka a renowned chef who has cooked in some of the best kitchens across the UK join our senior operations team in judging.
The teams were from the City Barge - Chiswick, Greyhound - Finchampsted, Wandle - Earlsfield, Oxford - Kentish Town,
The judging was incredibly difficult and the result incredibly close but in the end, the City Barge just came out on top. The City Barge was refurbished three and half years ago and the team of Rob Leader (General Manager) and Pat Lynch (Head chef) have been there from the start.