How to unleash your kitchen porter power

An efficient kitchen is about more than getting the orders out on time. Kitchen porters, once married to the sink, are the new kitchen assistants. Watch the film below and see how you can unleash the power.

Is 18 too young to be a head chef?

Luke Thomas, a previous Springboard FutureChef, has been named chef patron at his own restaurant, Luke’s Dining Room, at just 18 years of age. He has also signed with a talent management company. Is this a good or bad thing?

LIWF to host UK Sommelier of the Year 2012

The Academy of Food and Wine Service has joined forces with the London International Wine Fair in a move which will see the exhibition play host to the finals of the annual UK Sommelier of the Year competition, for the first time, on Wednesday, 23rd May.

Royal Warrant for "low profile" Foodspeed

The dairy that few have ever heard of, and yet supplies an increasing number of senior London hotels and restaurants, has been awarded a royal warrant. But don’t expect to hear a fanfare. The secret of their success is not blowing their trumpet.

England's Best Burger Comp is Back

‘England’s Best Burger Challenge’ is back for 2012 and is now open for entries! EBLEX is looking for the most succulent, tender and tasty burgers in the business, so if you think your burger could be ‘England’s Best’, then enter it now.

Paul Ainsworth tops summer Rock Oyster Festival line up

Held in the grounds of Dinham House near Rock, north Cornwall, the Rock Oyster festival will showcase some of the county’s best food and chefs, with two acclaimed headline music acts already confirmed.

New beer for Cornwall as Harbour launches

Two Cornish brewers have made their dream a reality and are launching a new craft brewery in North Cornwall.

The inspectors who are putting Billingsgate back on the map

Billingsgate Fish Market has had a police force for hundreds of years. They go mostly unnoticed and few outside the market even know they exist. However, by being effectively policed, Billingsgate market is one of the best places there is to buy fish.

How to get a job in a 3 star restaurant

Timothy Hollingsworth, Chef de Cuisine of The French Laundry, wanted to work with Thomas Keller. But he had no idea how he was going to do it. So, he took the plunge and would not take no for an answer. Ten years later he was running the kitchen.

Service - What's all the fuss about?

Calm down, dear, they’re only customers. Sit them down, get them a drink, take their order, give it to the kitchen, organise some wine, serve the food and get them to pay the bill. Simple, right? Wrong. The first of a new series on service.

Are you using your water bath properly?

Trendy technology is one thing but a sound understanding of food safety and traditional cooking methods such as roasting and braising should always underpin the use of a waterbath. Andrew Fairlie talks about his waterbath experiences in the film below.

Cheesy facts at your fingertips

Craft Guild of Chefs consultant chef Lee Maycock has joined forces with cheese supplier Lactallis McClelland to bring a monthly email cheese fact sheet for chefs who sign up

Replace salt and sugar with spice and herbs says new report

According to 10 development chefs from Schwarz, the spice people, 2012 will see a shift away from sugar and salt as the mainstays of seasoning. To be replaced by spice and herbs. They would say that. However, they might be right.

WMF launches new collections at Hotelympia

Once again WMF will be exhibiting at Hotelympia, showing its latest Tableware and Buffet collections, as well as a few new launches, adding style and functionality to any operation.

The Kitchen Garden of your Dreams

Modern chefs have a dream. They want to be outdoors foraging and in their kitchen garden. But, you'll need an expert to help you achieve it. Enter Richard Vine. The chefs new best friend.

Goodfellows return with new bespoke service

For the first time chefs can buy bespoke lines of tableware to make their food and their tables as unique as they can be.

The secret of croissants revealed

In our very first training series we reveal the secrets of the croissant. One of the cornerstones of a French breakfast the croissant is still the ultimate morning pastry. Alain Roux reveals all in part 1 below. Parts 2 and 3 are below right..

Why you should enter The Roux Scholarship

Regardless of where you work or what you're rank is if you are aged less than thirty you should think about entering this unique competition. The result could change your life. The 2011 film is below. Other scholars talk on the right.

Foie Gras - You Be The Judge

Knowing exactly where your foie gras is produced and what the welfare standards are is the only way to fight back against campaigners. Their whole argument is based on cruelty but as we show that is not always the real picture.

Is this really the original burger?

Have you ever wondered how the burger became so famous? If so you have to watch this great film about a small restaurant in Conneticut called Louis Lunch. Legend has it they invented the burger there.

Suffolk's Guinness-family owned Elveden Inn reopens following a refurb

Guinness Time As Lord Iveagh Opens New Pub

The Best of 2011 by The Chef's Directory Team

Its been a wonderful year. There have been some great highlights. These are our picks of some of the people and events that have shaped the year. Such as this outstanding food film from Australia. Best food film of the year.

Do you know your Texel from your Swaledale?

Chef Jonathan Harrison takes buying lamb to the extreme. He buys direct from the auction, does all the butchery in his restaurant kitchen and saves a small fortune. But, as he explains, you have to know a thing or two about breeds.

The Importance of Being Parker

Who is this Parker bloke that wine writers and wine snobs bandy about as the best thing that happened to wine since corks kept wine from going off? Hugh Bygott Webb digs into the myth that is Parker.

TV Chef or Master Chef. Which do you want to be?

Does Masterchef the Professionals represent the chef's profession? Or is something like the film below more in keeping? Which one do you aspire to?

Cloudy Bay teams up with the Royal Albert Hall

Some marriages seem to be made in heaven. Cloudy Bay, seafood and The Royal Albert Hall could just be one modern classic too sexy to resist.

Great British Menu is Great for Business

Stephen Terry, chef owner of The Hardwick near Abergavenny, puts his recent success down to two appearances on the TV’s popular Great British Menu programme.

Rational to show new combi at Hotelympia

The new Rational SelfCooking Center has been hailed as a ‘quantum leap forward’ in cooking technology. Visitors to Hotelympia 2012 will be able to see chefs preparing dishes in the unit and taste the results.

EBLEX launch seam butchery films

EBLEX has produced a series of butchery cutting demonstration videos featuring many new cuts which have been developed by EBLEX master butcher, Dick van Leeuwen.

Winterhalter goes green with new cleaning aids

Winterhalter has added some environmentally friendly cleaners, sanitisers and soaps to its range of chemicals. All the new products are based on detergents, biocides or solvents derived from plants.

Breakfast: The Acid Test of a Great Hotel

Housed in the eccentric Cleveland Tontine, an old coaching inn, McCoy’s at The Tontine, near Northallerton, has been a stalwart of the northern restaurant scene for 30 years. However, the secret of the success is the breakfast and the man who cooks it.

Time Gentlemen, Please: For Foraging!

A Cotswold pub has come up with a winning formula for finding local fruit, vegetables and foraged items for its menu: a voucher scheme that can be redeemed for food or drink.

School dinners improved by new servery

E.R Moffat worked closely with Notting Hill and Ealing High School to produce a new modern and vibrant servery that has made all the difference to lunchtime.

Top honour for The Pipe and Glass Inn

James Mackenzie's Pipe and Glass Inn in East Yorkshire has gone one further than a Michelin Star and been named by Michelin as the best pub in Britain.

Shaun Hill: Still a master of his craft

An evening spent in the kitchens of The Walnut Tree revealed that nothing has changed in Shaun Hill's world. It's as good as ever.

Talisker goes Jurassic with Mark Hix

A press trip to Lyme Regis to taste Talisker in its naked glory seems an odd decision. But throw in the Jurassic Coast, some bad weather, Mark Hix and Nick Strangeway and the result was nigh on perfect.

The best Hospitality video team in the world. Now at your service.

We've worked alongside 3* Michelin chefs, the worlds best airlines, restaurant groups and international retailers. We understand kitchens, restaurants, chefs, suppliers, farms, fishing boats, front of house training and more. And now we can help you.

How to write the perfect CV

Writing a CV the right way can make all the difference to a prospective employer. Follow our sage advice and get things right from the start

Gastrovac takes sous vide up a level

It costs £3,000 but it could be best piece of kit out there at the moment, we say.

Kerbisher and Malt redefines Fish and Chips

Saul Reuben, a young chef with an impeccable training under luminaries such as Henry Harris at Racine, has abandoned fine dining to concentrate purely on fish and chips. And very well he is doing it, too.

Exclusive video tour of L'Enclume

It’s been a great year for Simon Rogan. The launch of Roganic has been an acclaimed success and a high ranking in The Good Food Guide has made sure that L’Enclume, in Cartmel, Cumbria is a must visit destination.

The Chef's Directory is Free to Use. Join Now!

The Chef’s Directory is the fastest growing chefs website on the internet and the number 1 website in the world for high quality, independently hosted chef and restaurant video. And it is completely free to use.

The New Bratt On The Block

So you thought bratt pans were only for larger kitchens. Frima makes you think again!

Thomas Keller in action at Harrods

The legendary California chef and the brains behind The French Laundry in Yountville and Per Se in New York City let us into the kitchen at his pop up at Harrod's to make this amazing short film

Travel the world, make food films, get paid

Video is the story telling medium of the future. Have you got what it takes to become one of our new film makers?

How good are your knife skills?

Ask any chef worth their salt what they think about the importance of knife skills and you will get your ear bent. So, we did just that. Here's what some of them had to say.

The Secret World of the Second

The secret of my holiday tomatoes and how I discovered the secret world of the vegetable that's not quite good enough to make the grade

Clifton Food Range Causes a Stir With The Portable Clip-On Digital Immersion Circulator

The Single Muscle Revolution Speeds Up

As chefs find it more and more difficult to achieve GP so a rise in single muscle cuts is making life easier in kitchens. The video below has no sound.

Making Ingredient Connections with Steve Drake

Surrey based chef Steve Drake has 1 Michelin star at his restaurant Drake's at The Clock House. In our latest video he talks about the restaurant and how his dishes are created.

Geoffrey Zakarian on being a customer at his new restaurant The Lambs Club

New York Chef Geoffrey Zakarian talks about his restaurant at The Chatwal Hotel and how thinking like a customer has enabled him to create more meaningful menus.

Can you eat as well as you can cook?

If you get the opportunity to eat with a great chef, grab it. You might just learn the lesson of a lifetime

A new glimpse inside The Waterside Inn

Alain Roux and Diego Masciaga talk about the new Waterside Inn now that founder Michel Roux has stepped aside.

Square Mile Salute raises £250,000!

Stellar line up of industry professionals lines up for troops benefit

Remembering Santi Santamaria

Dan Cox, Roux Scholar in 2008, remembers Santi Santamaria, the reknowned Spanish chef, who died on February 16th 2011.

Dinner Changes Everything

Heston's new restaurant at The Mandarin Oriental Hotel in London's Knightsbridge has taken everyone by surprise with its mix of complexity, history and sense of fun

Free Jobs Listings on The Chef's Directory

Yes, you did read that right and we do mean it. Jobs listings are free to add on The Chef’s Directory.

Il Vicolo may be unknown but it still packs them in

Giacomo Bonavita owns and runs this little Italian gem not far from St James's Palace that attracts customers from all over the world. You can see him in action in the film below.

Foraging for girolles and wild raspberries with Andrew Fairlie

Andrew Fairlie takes time out to pick amazing girolles and wild raspberries close to Gleneagles. Back in the kitchen he and head chef Stevie McLaughlin conjure a couple of dishes worthy of the wild harvest.