Top chefs raise £100,000 for children's charity

Under the direction of executive chef Henry Brosi the four 'cooking' chef's designed and supervised one of the menu's four courses: poached asparagus with soft boiled hen's egg and aged parmesan presented by Chris Galvin; organic salmon mi cuit with spiced lentils, goose liver ballontine presented by John Campbell; roasted Gressingham duck with rhubarb, turnip trilogy and sauce épice presented by Henry Brosi and Paul Gayler and white chocolate, whisky and croissant bread and butter pudding with single malt ice cream presented by James Martin. Patron and broadcaster Sue Cook introduced the proceedings, which were attended by over 300 guests and 30 of the country's leading chefs. Catherine Arkley, CLDF chief executive said: "I was bowled over by the support shown on the night, it was truly touching. Once again we had wonderful support from the catering industry. Suppliers who donated their produce helped ensure we raised as much as possible on the night. Through the kindness of these companies, the chefs, auction lot donors and guests we were able to achieve this tremendous result." Catering Suppliers included Fairfax Meadow, Classic Fine Foods, Barfoot ltd, Valimex ltd, Matthew Clark, The Chocolate Society and Wolf Blass who all provided either food or drinks for the evening. There are over 100 life threatening and incurable liver diseases which strike at least two children every day in the UK, a greater incidence than childhood leukaemia. CLDF offers support to families affected, helps to educate healthcare professionals, and is the lead charity funding vital research into the causes and treatment of childhood liver disease. The event was organised by a committee of volunteers alongside CLDF, and was sponsored by Barclaycard.