Contract caterer Host launches Chef's Table scheme

Diners can book the Chef's Table in advance and will be served a five-course lunch including an amuse bouche, starter and choice of four main courses from the school dining room menu, as well as a pallet cleansing pre-dessert and a dessert. Appropriate wines will accompany the food with front-of-house service provided by a specially-trained member of the Host catering team. The dining room was given an eight-week makeover by an interior designer. The transformed room now features oak-panelled walls, atmospheric lighting and a CCTV screen giving diners a view of the working kitchen. The Chef's Table seats six and will operate for lunch twice a week during term-time. Box Hill school catering manager Des del Frate said: "The Chef's Table is primarily for the use of governors, trustees, staff and guests of the school but will also be a useful training facility for our chefs." "Each Chef's Table sitting will be run by myself or our head chef Ben Gardiner, along with one of the junior chefs. We have re-organised our kitchen so that it operates much more along the lines of a commercial restaurant kitchen. Each chef has his own section – whether it be pastry, cold, mains or sauces – and we have created a pass where we can oversee the plating up." Host chief executive Bill Toner said: "This is the first Chef's Table in the education sector and will give the team at Box Hill School a fantastic opportunity to demonstrate their cooking and service skills. In time we hope to roll the concept out to our other independent school contracts."