Payne + Gunter is the accredited caterer for the BRIT Awards and, for more than 10 years, the team has delivered a three-course meal to about 4,000 guests before the cameras start rolling and the awards are transmitted live to the nation.
Within a 75 minute window, the 550-strong front of house team support a brigade of 60 chefs in the kitchen to ensure the brief – ‘an elegant and stylish menu using seasonal British produce with a twist’- is meticulously executed.
And here’s what those 4,000 guests can look forward to eating!
BRIT Awards 2015 menu
Starter
Dorset wasabi and green tea pannacotta, tosaka salad, salted edamame, lotus root crisp, yuzu soy dressing, smoked tofu and pickled daikon
Wasabi from an English company growing fresh wasabi in Dorset and Hampshire using traditional techniques employed for centuries in Japan. This “sawa” or “water-grown” technique produces the highest quality wasabi and has been well received by both European and Japanese chefs.
Main course
Wellington of slow cooked rib wrapped in brioche dough, slow roast fillet of West Country beef, Lincolnshire savoy cabbage and celeriac puree
Veggie main course
Woodland mushroom mille feuille, wild mushroom arrancini, roulade of aubergine, shallot and red pepper
Desserts
The BRITs sherbet fountain – pistachio cake, lemon posset and Chantilly whirl, puffed meringue, lemon sherbet dust and liquorice stick
The dessert is based on a “sherbet fountain” a classic English treat from the sweet shop bringing back feelings of nostalgia, and is made using another very old English recipe dating as far back as the 1600’s – lemon posset (a set lemon cream).
Payne + Gunter’s version contains lemon posset, pistachio sponge, candid lemon sherbets and is topped with a pillow of marshmallow meringue in a crisp case, dusted with freeze dried liquorice and the all important liquorice stick that went in every tube of sherbet fountains.
Stats on the night
Over 550 front of house waiting staff
60 chefs and more than 2,300 man hours to produce the dishes
Over 15,000 glasses
5,500kg ice
Over 1,600 bottles of Champagne
4,000 bottles of wine
10,000 bottles of beer
9 lorries of catering equipment delivered
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