Goodwood's Rising Culinary Stars: Apprentices 'wow' guests with gourmet three-course meal

On Thursday 8 February, apprentice chefs took over at Goodwood’s Members Clubhouse, The Kennels. They prepared a gourmet three-course meal for guests under the watchful eye of Mike Watts, Goodwood's Executive Chef.

Mike Watts, the Executive Chef said: "We are delighted to showcase the talents of our apprentices. This event not only highlights the skills they have acquired, but also demonstrates the importance of investing in the future of the culinary arts.”

Jake Lindgren, one of the apprentices said: "We’ve been given this great opportunity to run our own event night, it's really exciting. I would one-hundred percent recommend this Goodwood apprenticeship, I want to push myself in my career and felt like this was the perfect break for me to try and learn more and express myself.”

Sam Spooner, another of the talented young chefs said: “I started in sport and found myself fully getting into cooking. It’s been an amazing time so far. You get to see what goes on, from farm to fork here.”

“You get loads of time at the farm, working in restaurants and it's been the best experience that I’ve ever had. I heard about Goodwood and their opportunities when they came into my college. They did a college takeover and ever since then, I’ve always been interested in doing something like this.”

Henry Harvey was inspired to cook when he saw his mum baking. He said: “My mum works in the Navy, she originally wanted to get in as a Navy chef which didn’t quite work out. But she does loads of cakes and decoration stuff. When I saw her passion for that I wanted to get into cooking.”

He also spoke about the staff at Goodwood and how the apprenticeship scheme had been for him so far. He added: “All of the staff I've worked with so far have honestly been lovely, they're understanding and help you on your cooking journey.”

Lots of parents were present on the evening. Ian Lindgren said: “It’s been a wonderful evening for us all. I’ve never had lamb taste as good as that, everything was really nice. He (Jake Lindgren) truly puts his heart into his cooking and I think he’ll do really well because of that.”

The starter was South coast scallops, celeriac puree, curried apple & sultana dressing. The scallops tasted like they’d just come out of the sea with the freshness they had. The puree provided a creamy undertone of sweetness that lifted this dish to another level along with the curried apple and sultana. It was presented in-shell and was set the a high standard that carried on for the remainder of the event.

The main on offer was a Goodwood lamb cutlet, confit lamb shoulder, fondant potato, and roasted butternut. The lamb itself was beautifully rich and cut as smooth as butter. The robust, gamey notes of the meat were balanced impeccably with the complementary ingredients, which resulted in an unforgettable dining experience.

The meal itself was also a visual feast for the eyes, a dish to frame, or at least take multiple photos of before it was eaten immediately! Finally, to conclude what was a quality dinner was a bread and butter pudding.

Notes of whiskey could be tasted in the pudding itself which intertwined with the marmalade glaze. For each meal, I’m confident that I got every last drop off from my plate, I’d be gutted if I hadn’t! The cooking wouldn’t go out of place if it was produced by a team of seasoned chefs. In fact, I believe it would even had be applauded.

The Apprentice chefs who crafted and delivered the menu on the evening were Sam Spooner, 20, Henry Harvey, 17, Jake Lindgren, 18, Monty Holben and Josh Bolton, 19, who have all been part of The Culinary Academy at Goodwood.