Hi all, as you know, I’m on a mission to get to know more about the people in the food industry, both front of house and behind the scenes. This week’s turn is the fabulous Cosy Club Derby, where I caught up with Tony Curry. Here is what he had to say about the Cosy Club menu, and sneak peeks into what to expect in the coming year. Enjoy!
How many people make up the fabulous team of chefs at Cosy Club Derby? Who does the team consist of?
The team in the kitchen consists of 9 chefs and 3 KPs lead By Andrew Winter (Head Chef).
Who comes up with ideas for the menu? Is it a collaboration, or does the head / executive chef have the final say?
All Operational Chefs are asked for input into the new menu and collaborate with all of the Head Chefs across the Cosy Club estate to submit what they would like to see on the menu. Then the Head of Food goes into the development kitchen in Bristol to bring those ideas into reality.
I imagine there must be a lot of tasting when a new menu is about to be launched. Do you ever switch off from tasting food, and can you still eat for pleasure?
We all love it when a new menu comes around and extra tasting is put into place to make sure we nail it from the start. We will normally have 3 full cook offs as follows:
1- Operations cook off
2- Head Chefs cook off
3- Site cook off (all staff attend which normally takes 2 hours with a fun quiz)
Me (Tony) and the Operations Manager (Steve Mantle) are real foodies and eat out for pleasure wherever possible.
What is your favourite dish off the Cosy Club menu?
There are so many, it’s really hard to choose but my favourite would have to be the Hero Burger. It’s a real flavour packed burger with two beef burgers, chorizo, pulled pork, chipotle mayo, tomato, gherkins, all served in a toasted brioche bun. Just writing that makes me want one!
What is the timeline progression of a dish, from concept to plate? I’d love to know the process by which an idea becomes a tasty physicality.
It normally takes 4 weeks between getting ideas from the team, to our Head of Food putting those ideas onto a platel then getting the operations team involved, plus directors signing the dishes off for the new menus.
What culinary feasts can we expect from Cosy Club this year?
Well funny you should say that! The menu is getting changed at the end of this month, with a seasonal change so more healthier options will be seen. Subject to tasting, you can expect:
- Rack of lamb with sautéed new potatoes, sprouting broccoli with a mint and balsamic glaze
- A delicious take on salmon Nicoise
- Feta cheese salad
- Buckwheat mushroom pancake bake (my favourite, so much flavour)
- Chocolate pot with Shortbread
I don’t know about you, but I’m loving the sound of the new, upcoming menu. Why don’t you check out your local Cosy Club? I’d love to know how you got on.
RAxx