StrEATfood Awards interview

We catch up with Antony Webb, area development and support chef for Gather & Gather, who made the finals last year...

What’s your everyday role?
My role within Gather & Gather is a fluent and ever-changing one. It’s the variety that I love, from developing new and exciting recipes to planning and executing lavish events to delight and entice our clients into the ever-expanding Gather & Gather ethos of great food brings people together.

My background is fine dining hotels. I started out in a three-rosette hotel in Shropshire, then moved to the big city of Manchester, working at some of the best-known hotels including Mal Maison, Hilton and the Hyatt cooking for all kinds of clientele. After enjoying extensive travel, including southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand, I decided to turn my talents to contract catering, and that is when I began working for Gather & Gather.

How important is street food in contract catering?
I find street food to be a major player in the contract catering world, as it is an excellent way to showcase exotic flavours, innovative ideas and brilliant colours in an affordable and approachable environment. It’s definitely a popular choice among our customers – I can’t think of a better way to keep our offer fresh, while also giving them variety and the opportunity to try new things.

What was your signature dish and how did you come up with it?
My signature dish was a trio of savoury stuffed doughnuts, a Philly cheese steak, bravas pollo and a Bombay bad boy! I’m forever searching for an original idea in a world that increasingly feels like everything has already been thought of… to me, crazy stuffed savoury doughnuts seemed pretty original.

And your technical dish?
My technical dish was a barbecue beef boa bun, which I felt would go fantastically with the barbecue mari base that we were showcasing. Always wanting to inject a bit of my personality into my dishes, I added some pickled cucumber for extra zing.

How do you stay calm when competing?
I think practice makes perfect, so repetition is key. And make sure that you completely understand your timings and what you can achieve in the given time. Don’t rush anything. It doesn’t sound like you have much time at all in the brief, but you will be amazed at how fast you can cook in front of an audience.

Did you enjoy the event?
I had an absolute blast – from the support I got from my team and the amazing people I met and competed against. I would definitely recommend this fun and friendly competition to all!

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