Chefs cook up a storm for children's charity

The Grand Hotel hosted the inaugural Brighton Chefs’ Table last Thursday, in support of charity Rockinghorse, the official fundraising arm of the Royal Alexandra children’s hospital in Brighton.

More than £18,000 was raised from the evening’s auction, with diners bidding to win a dinner party experience, enjoying food cooked and served in their own home by each of the chefs.

Held in partnership with Restaurants Brighton, the event saw seven of Brighton’s best chefs serving up some of their finest dishes.

The chefs taking part were: Alan White, GB1 Restaurant; Steven Edwards, etch.; Michael Bremner, 64 Degrees; Alun Sperring, The Chilli Pickle; Dan Kenny, The Set; Mauro Loffredo,

Hotel du Vin & Bistro; and Andy Vitez, The Restaurant at Drakes.

Diners experienced food theatre from The Chilli Pickle, with a whole leg of lamb carved at the table, a tantalising Wagyu beef dish from The Set and GB1’s signature sea bass with suckling pig chorizo.

Andrew Mosley, general manager at The Grand Brighton, said: “It was wonderful to see some of Brighton’s finest chefs come together in support of such a great cause.

“We are extremely appreciative of the seven chefs who have been hugely generous by funding the menus and their teams on the night. I must also give thanks to my own team, who have worked incredibly hard behind the scenes to make this event come to fruition. Rockinghorse is very dear to The Grand Brighton as our nominated charity and on a personal level very dear to me as a trustee on the board. The thousands of pounds raised on the night will without doubt make a huge difference to the charity.”

Ryan Heal, chief executive of Rockinghorse, said: “It has been a wonderful evening of gastronomic delights and we are so grateful to have been beneficiary of this truly brilliant event. Thank you to the event organisers and to Andrew Mosley and all his team at The Grand Brighton for the usual first-class hosting and hospitality. And finally, to the stars of the show – the magnificent seven!

"Each chef has been totally committed to the event for the right reasons. In every case they are acutely aware of the Rockinghorse cause and the work we do to improve the lives of the children of Sussex that need our help the most, including – in the case of Michael Bremner from 64 degrees, a personal visit with his partner to the Royal ‘Alex’ earlier this year. We are overwhelmed with the amount raised, and thanks to the generosity of everyone involved on the night; from

“The Grand’s hospitality to the chefs’ time, the event organisers have been able to donate every penny raised to Rockinghorse to allow us to continue our work.”