On 13th October the Birmingham Chefs Alliance Dinner, in
association with Amadeus Food, will kick off the inaugural year of
Birmingham Food Fest. The dinner will include a seven course taster
menu created by the city's leading chefs who have helped put
Birmingham on the culinary map. The exclusive event, co-ordinated
by Simon Hellier (Amadeus's Executive Head Chef at the ICC), sees
Birmingham's food heroes uniting to celebrate the city's
outstanding culinary excellence - the first event of its kind in
the city.
For more information head to
http://birminghamfoodfest.com/search/?q=chefs+alliance+dinner
Here we ask Simon a few questions in advance of the big
night....
1. Why are you taking part in Birmingham Food
Festival?
Birmingham is a very special place for me as I have spent 27 years
of my professional catering career in the city.
2. What do you love about
Birmingham?
This industry is hugely competitive and what's great about
Birmingham is that it's a city with a mentality to always improve,
and this inspires me to try even harder to promote how good
Birmingham food is through large scale conference &
banqueting.
3. What is your earliest food
memory?
I have to say that the one thing that has stayed with me from
childhood was my Nan's perfect bacon sandwich! She served it on
freshly cut white bloomer bread, spread with salted butter and two
perfectly cooked rashers of bacon, and it was cut into small
squares as I was only 7 at the time.
4. What is your guilty pleasure?
Not one but two very large chocolate éclairs! Then a lifetime in
the gym!
5. What is the luxury you couldn't do
without?
I could not do without my dish washer - as everyone knows that a
chef will always manage to use every pot, pan & plate within
any kitchen!
6. What / who is your biggest cooking
influence?
All the guys that I worked with over the years, each & every
one of them has sparked my interest for food for thought. But if I
had to put my career down to one person it would be John
Sweeny, Executive Head Chef at the Plough and Harrow Hotel
Birmingham, in my opinion he's Birmingham's first
Michelin star chef of the 1980s.
John gave me the opportunity to work in his kitchen from the age
of 17 as an apprentice chef on a day release to Halesowen College
so that I could qualify in City + Guilds. It is only now with
hindsight, and years of working in this profession, that I realise
how valuable this teaching of classical French cuisine was to
me.
And of course my current boss Paul Gould, has been a massive
inspiration and influence on me! For over for over 20 years he has
fine-tuned my skills as a chef, but also just as importantly as
manager. The knowledge he's passed onto me and the support
he's given has been invaluable to my career, and most importantly,
the trust and confidence he has in me to oversee the ICC and run it
all my way has been phenomenal!
7. If you weren't a chef, what job would you be
doing?
I've always been keen & involved in active sports and would
love to have helped develop younger generation with health &
fitness benefits.
8. What has been the highlight of your career to
date?
Achieving my present position as Amadeus' Executive Head Chef, at
one of the most innovative and influential conference and
banqueting centres in Europe- the ICC.
And working alongside of a team of dedicated people that support
me.
9. When you're not cooking, how do you spend your
free time?
There is nothing better than hanging out with my children as they
are now mini adults.
10. What is your signature dish?
Anyone who knows me, it simply has to be 'Hot & Spicy' and not
bland!