Reconnecting to my connections

Hello and thank you for being one of my valued LinkedIn connections, I've created this platform to share updates and foster more meaningful relationships hopefully taking us beyond being a mere connection number on our LinkedIn account.?

In this newsletter, I will not only keep you informed about some of the exciting projects our company, Captivate Culinary Connections, is undertaking, but also showcase the talents and best practices in the food and beverage industry from our extensive network of contacts. If you would like to contribute to our newsletter with content please do let me know.

Over the past year, my focus has been on establishing and growing Captivate Culinary Connections. Our company specialises in supporting hotels by developing and implementing F&B concepts, addressing operational challenges, and offering a SaaS advanced audit and assessment platform with the Captivate Culinary Connections team carrying out operational F&B audits with recommendations and solutions. After spending seven years in Zurich, Switzerland, I've recently returned to the UK and set up our office in Peterborough, Cambridgeshire.

From there I lead a small dedicated team of F&B professionals, and over the past 2 years we've had the pleasure of collaborating with amazing clients such as Hyatt, IHG, and Meeting Point Hotels, and RA Capital. By diligently striving to help our clients achieve their desired successes, we aim to foster the continued growth of Captivate Culinary Connections. For this first newsletter I would like to share with you the opening of the Chinese Cricket Club at the Hyatt Regency in Blackfriars, London. Having been actively involved in supporting the hotel and F&B team with the implementation of the venue concepts for the last twelve months I'm excited to introduce the first restaurant to open. Originally opening in 2009, Chinese Cricket Club has undergone a full rebranding with a reset menu and further conceptual improvements to enhance the overall dining and food experience and is now open for reservations.

The Chinese Cricket Club's story is deeply intertwined with the historical context of the first recorded cricket match that took place in 1858 between the Shanghai XI and officers of the British Navy. Interestingly, the individuals involved in this historic match went on to establish the first Chinese restaurant in Lime House, the original China Town of London.

Leading the culinary team at Chinese Cricket Club is Chef de Cuisine,Tony Troung. I would like to thank Tony for his unwavering dedication to enhancing his team's knowledge and creating a modern take on classic culinary flavours. Here, I'm happy to be able to share some of the food pictures captured during the menu tasting sessions, giving you a glimpse of the culinary experience that awaits both hotel guests and non residents.

The restaurant is aimed at serving local people working and living around Blackfriars and the surrounding areas for lunch and dinner. Tony has been kind enough to put a recipe together for those of you that love to cook. The recipe is Sweet and Sour Pork, which is believed to have originated in the 1800s from Guangdong province of China. Guangdong cuisine, is also known as Cantonese cuisine and is renowned for its use of bold and diverse flavours. Tony`s Sweet and sour pork recipe exemplifies this and the balance of the contrasting sweet and sour creates a dish that is a classic of Cantonese cuisine. Here is the recipe Tony shared with me, please do try the recipe and let me know how you get on.

As with many hotels these days the Chinese Cricket Club restaurant opens for breakfast in the mornings for hotel guests where a tasty breakfast is prepared by Chef Tony and his team who have worked with the Hotel Executive Chef Melih Yurt?ren to create the breakfast menu offering. Please see some breakfast photos taken during the pre opening stages.

The Hyatt Regency Blackfriars opened this week and I have to say has some pretty spectacular views across London to be seen from many of the rooms. Having seen the views myself including the room designs I can highly recommend a stay . There are two further concepts we have been working on with the team at the Hyatt Regency Blackfriars, the re-opening of the Leaf and Cane Bar and a totally new restaurant NynLon ( New York in London) Bistro which brings to life the casual energy of New York's famed residential neighbourhoods. In the next newsletter I will bring you up to date on the Leaf and Cane bar and share the latest news on the projects we are working on across Europe. Feel free to contact me on [email protected] or the WhatsApp QR code below should you have any questions or comments.

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