I was invited to the launch of #riverfood and Coopers Restaurant Consultants. Aboard the MV Royalty boat, one of the oldest boats on the Thames, located on the Festival Pier on a very sunny and steaming Sunday afternoon together with press, bloggers and respectives +1. We were the first people in London to experience #riverfood, a dining concept created using ingredients sourced predominantly from The Thames Estuary. Andrea, 1/3 of Coopers explained: ‘Thousands of species of edible fish live in rivers all around the world, so it’s hardly surprising that over 125 different types can be found in the fresh river waters of the United Kingdom. Despite the current interest in locally sourced ingredients, regional recipes and even foraging, few chefs have as yet to explore and serve food from this rich and diverse supply…until now’ – #riverfood
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| photo by #riverfood |
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| photo by #riverfood |
The boat set sail at 1.45pm and we got back to festival pier at 4.30pm. Beautiful afternoon, tasty and interesting fish and seafood menu devised by Phillip Cooper.
Coopers Restaurant Consultants was founded by Phillip Cooper, Arno Marsman and Andrea Britton. Phillip Cooper trained in ‘Bakery, Confectionery & Cooking’ with a mission to work with the best. He worked at The Royal Garden Hotel, Michel Roux Senior at the prestigious The Waterside Inn. Phillip travelled the world working on the luxurious QE2, Claridges, Michelin Star restaurant ‘Souffle’ at Hotel Intercontinental. He also worked as head chef at the Le Manoir aux Quat’Saisons with the legendary Raymond Blanc and was Marco Pierre White’s right hand man at ‘Criterion’, ‘Quo Vadis’ and ‘Belvedere’ and eventually was made Executive Head Chef at ‘The Mirabelle’, the largest Michelin star restaurant in the UK.
Arno Marsman, the second partner is a highly successful innovative management professional with a reputation for excellence in hospitality management. Arno has worked as General Manager in places such as; The Wallace Restaurant (Oliver Peyton), ‘Searcys’, at The Barbican and Marco Pierre White’s Frankie’s Bar and Grill. The last but no least Andrea Britton who has spent the last 15 years in the Music, Events and PR Industry and was at the forefront of the Social Media and Online Marketing boom. Andrea founded Online PR UK in 2010, she has since creatively marketed countless eateries, bars and clubs and has worked with a varied array of startups on their brand both on and offline.
All pictures were snapped by me unless otherwise stated.
Disclosure: I was a guest of Coopers restaurant consultants and #riverfood.
