In March our Events Team returned to Rhodes House to cater for their First Year Scholar’s Retreat. Our chefs cooked up amazing dishes for the whole weekend event; Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner! We kept it fresh and exciting by including our Sharing Boards and Dessert Ladder which we showcased for the very first time!
Saturday was the first day of the Scholar’s weekend retreat and our chefs started by prepping Breakfast for the First Year Scholars. Various Breakfast options were laid out on long tables in The Jameson Room, and included a Full English Breakfast (Breakfast Sausages, Bacon, mushrooms, Grilled Tomatoes, Eggs & Baked Beans), Toast, Croissants, Jams, Yoghurts, Granola & Fruit, as well a Basket of Fresh Fruit. The guests could pick exactly what they wanted for their Breakfast and come back for more if they were still hungry. To quench their thirst, Scholars were treated to our fab Bluebird Co Tea, Monsoon Estates Coffee and Fresh Apple or Orange Juice.
Soon after Breakfast the team plated up what was on offer for the Mid-Morning Break. For this break we simply served Bluebird Co. Tea, Monsoon Estates Coffee with a Selection of Biscuits to snack on before Lunch was served.
In the kitchen our chefs whipped up a variety of sandwiches for Lunch with fillings such as Wiltshire Ham & Mustard, New York Pastrami, Mediterranean Vegetables & Pesto and Roast Beef & Romesco. Additionally, we served a selection of salads with enticing flavour combinations, such as Falafel, Houmous, Grilled Red Pepper, Cherry Tomatoes, Cucumber & Mixed Leaves with Tahini. The Sandwiches and Salads were soon followed by a few Desserts which included Flap Jacks and Bakewell Slices. One of our biggest challenges for this event were the 58 dietary requirements which we needed to provide for! We found that the Dairy Free, Gluten Free Chocolate Cake which we served up was a huge hit!
The Scholars returned to The Jameson Room for their Mid-Afternoon Break for which we served Bluebird Co. Tea, Monsoon Estates Coffee and a Selection of Fresh Pastries.
In the evening, Scholar’s were treated to a fabulous 2 Course Sharing Board Dinner. Wooden Boards of Saffron & Garlic Roasted Chicken Breast were placed on each table, along with Jugs of Light Chicken Stock, and bowls of Roasted Vegetables, Spinach & Turkish Croutons, Braised Rice & Lentils with Crispy Onions, Roasted Salsify, New Potatoes, Shallots & Preserved Lemon. As if all that wasn’t enough, we also served Flat breads! The Scholar’s absolutely loved the variety of the food placed in front of them, and did their very best to empty them all!
For Dessert we introduced our brand new Dessert Ladder! This is a brilliant feature which works fantastically at events! On this particular occasion, the ladder offered Rhubarb & Custard Tarts, Passion Fruit Panna Cotta Pots, Salted Caramel Chocolate Pots and Fill Your Own Doughnuts. Everyone had a go at using the pipettes to fill their doughnuts and really enjoyed how interactive it all was.
On the Sunday we served the same buffet style Breakfast for the guests, although there were a few more takers for the fruit and yoghurt after all the food eaten the previous day! The rest of the day progressed in a similar fashion to the Saturday, with the Scholars enjoying the variety of cakes, biscuits and snacks on offer to them. In the evening we changed it up again by offering a station style of service. We had a Meat station with Slow Cooked Blade of Beef in a Red Wine, Shallot & Bacon Jus & Buttered Mash, a Fish station containing Pan Fried Salmon, Fondant Potato, Pea Puree & Butter Sauce and a Vegetarian Station which featured Roasted Tomato & Chick Pea Curry, Coriander Rice, Yoghurt & Naan Bread. The Scholar’s loved the choice of food on offer, and came back for more as they didn’t want to miss out on any of the amazing options!
After the compliments and praise about the Main Course, our guests were waiting with much anticipation for the selection of Desserts that were to follow. That evening our chefs had prepared Lime & Coconut Possets with Cardamom Biscuits, Chocolate Delice & Whipped Cream and Treacle Tart & Clotted Cream. Like the night before all these desserts when down a treat and the Scholar’s went home extremely content!
Monday was the final day of the Scholar’s Retreat at Rhodes House. Our Chefs prepared the same Breakfast and the Mid-Morning Break options, and then our Front of House team assisted with serving lunch which had been provided by the Rhodes House Staff, before bidding the lovely scholars and fabulous team farewell!
We would like to say a huge thank you to all the Scholars; it was an absolute pleasure to meet such inspirational people. It was a delight to be able to cater for them, and their compliments were gratefully received. All the feedback was very positive and we are glad we chose this event to showcase our Dessert Ladder.
In addition, thank you to all the team that worked the entire 3 days and offered great quality service to our guests.
Lastly, thank you to all the staff at Rhodes House who organised this event and chose us to cater for the duration of the retreat. It was a great pleasure working with you all again, and we look forward to returning in the near future.
Well done to the Events Team for providing yet another successful event and to our chefs for always creating high quality food at every single event. Great job guys!