AAK UK Ltd, Hull, East Yorkshire, England - News

AAK Celebrates Next Generation of Cutting Edge Chefs

Chris Tough — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:10:28 +0000

In their 10^th year, the esteemed awards give chefs under 23 the chance to prove they really are at the cutting edge and are making great strides up the career ladder.

They recognise a young, working chef’s culinary excellence, testing their knowledge and skills in a series of culinary challenges in a high pressured environment.

Of the 10 chefs who made it to last year’s final cooking exam, only four achieved the 85 percent needed to make the coveted Craft Guild hall of fame.

“Becoming a Craft Guild of Chefs graduate is no mean feat and those who make the mark are definitely ones to watch out for,” said Rachel Neale, foodservice marketing manager at AAK Foodservice. “There are chefs out there who go through training and show signs of greatness and, in our view, the awards are the perfect platform to test out this greatness.”

Vice president of the Craft Guild of Chefs and awards organiser Steve Munkley said they were now keen to hear from young chefs who wanted to push their boundaries to the limit.

“We want to hear from chefs who are 23 or under to put themselves forward for the chance to prove they have taken the skills they learnt in college to the next level,” said Steve, executive chef at London’s Royal Garden Hotel. “These awards offer young chefs the chance to be verified by the best chefs in the industry, a great endorsement to be able to cite on a CV.”

After submitting entries by email, a select few will be asked to take a regional cooking test at University College Birmingham or Westminster Kingsway, London, on July 18^th 2012.

Chefs who make it through will then be invited to take a final cooking exam at the University of West London (formerly TVU) on September 6^th 2012, judged by a panel of top chefs including Chris Galvin as chairman of examiners.

This year’s successful graduates will be announced in front of hundreds of influential guests at a glittering awards luncheon at London’s Royal Garden Hotel on September 18^th 2012.

In addition to gaining new skills and an industry-recognised achievement for your CV, a host of unique opportunities are opened up as a graduate, including a study tour to Luxembourg with Villeroy & Boch and a Scottish fish farm arranged by James Knight of Mayfair.

The Highest Graduate Achiever also receives a special prize. Warner Hotels (Bourne Leisure Group) is offering a 3 night / 4 night break (weekend / midweek) for the winner plus a partner. There will also be an Employers' trophy for excellence in training, which last year went to Fergus Martin at Wyboston Lakes.

The deadline for this year’s entries is 30^th April 2012 (chefs do not have to be members of the Craft Guild). Ingredients will be supplied (Chefs must bring own knives and small equipment) and assistance will be given to chefs with special needs.

In a bid to be ‘greener’, the Craft Guild is inviting chefs to download and submit their application forms online at www.craftguildofchefs.org, where potential graduates can also peruse a Q&A. For more information, call 020 8948 3870 or email craftguild@btconnect.com.

AAK Foodservice Sponsors National Fish and Chip Awards 2012

Chris Tough — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:50:34 +0100

The National Fish & Chip Awards, which celebrated its 23rd birthday this year, is a prestigious competition that continues to celebrate the great British tradition that is fish and chips, and reward outstanding businesses across a variety of award categories.

AAK have chosen to sponsor the Awards as we have always had very strong links with the industry as we currently supply it with nearly 20,000mt of oil.

At AAK we are always producing new blends to cater for specific needs, for example, our sustainable and low saturate oils, and the fish and chip shop industry are always extremely supportive and respond very well to these innovations. The industry always wants to offer something more to their customers, an ethos AAK itself has always strongly adhered to.

The 2012 awards, like every year, look set to be a great celebration of the industries finest, a celebration AAK is both proud and honoured to be part of.

Companies show their support with fish and chips!

Ricki — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 12:05:09 +0100

This year the charity has support from companies, restaurants and chippies throughout the UK including DFDS Seaways, Seafish, Maersk, NYK Group Europe, Fish‘n’Chick‘n, Fishy Fishy and many more. A full list of participating businesses can be found at www.fishandchipfeast.org. The event takes place from Monday October 10 until Sunday October 16 and is an opportunity for staff canteens, restaurants, cafes, pubs, and fish and chip shops and their customers to raise much-needed funds for Seafarers UK.

Celebrity chef and fish fan Mitch Tonks is an enthusiastic supporter. At his Rockfish restaurant in Dartmouth he said: ‘Fish is the lifeblood of our business and it is important for us not to forget the huge effort and risk that goes with catching it and bringing it ashore. The Seafarers UK charity does a great job in supporting so many of the amazing people in this industry and we are really proud to play a small part in helping.’

By supporting the Fish & Chip Feast, businesses will be helping fishing communities throughout the UK. Inshore and deep sea commercial fishing is the UK’s toughest and most dangerous civilian occupation. Fishermen are 115 times more likely than other workers to suffer a fatal accident. And life for the 50,000 retired fishermen and their dependants has its own hazards, with inadequate pensions, scant savings and personal debt meaning no respite from hardship.

For more information visit www.fishandchipfeast.org, email events@seafarers-uk.org or phone 020 7932 5961.

Praise gained for AAK

Chris Tough — Wed, 18 May 2011 12:55:38 +0100

Both AAK Foodservice & Retail were recently awarded runner up for the Best Foodservice Supplier & Best Retail Supplier to Nisa Today’s Group. Suppliers that work hard for the group are chosen at their head office, and then sent out to their members to vote for who should win. The announcements were made at the respective Nisa Foodservice and Retail annual dinner’s held throughout the Nisa show. This is a fantastic accolade for AAK Foodservice and Retail and a welcome reward for all the hard work put in to ensure we remain a top supplier to our customers.

AAK introduces RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil into entire bakery fats range

maria — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 11:37:50 +0000

The roll-out begins this week and all customers have been informed that subsequent supplies will contain sustainable material.

AAK, approved by the RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) as a supplier of certified sustainable palm oil, has also committed to supplying sustainable stearin within its bakery blends from 2012/13.

In the meantime, says AAK, customers can support sustainable production in relation to their use of blends and palm kernel oil with the GreenPalm certificate trading programme, or Mass Balance, which are both options approved by the RSPO.

This is the latest sustainability milestone for AAK, which in 2003 co-founded the RSPO and in 2008 imported Europe’s first shipment of certified sustainable palm oil into its refinery in Hull, UK. In April 2010, AAK US was the first company in the USA to import RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil.

Don't be caught out over sustainability claims

However, AAK is warning businesses that simply buying RSPO-certified palm oil is not enough if they want to make claims about ethical sourcing.

AAK UK managing director Martin Craven said: “It is important to make clear that any user of RSPO-certified sustainable palm oil must be a member of the RSPO if they want to tell their customers and stakeholders about their use of sustainable palm oil.

“There are strict rules about making such claims, in order to maintain the integrity of the system, and yet this is not always made clear from the start by suppliers. All parties of the supply chain must be RSPO members and their equipment and operations approved by the RSPO.

“Our concern is that some businesses might, with the best intentions, buy certified sustainable palm oil and think that means they can state this on pack, in CSR statements, in press releases and as part of their corporate message.

“Since early last year we have been offering sustainability clinics, to customers and non-customers alike, to explain the complexities of making sustainability claims and to guide them through the process. As a founding member of the RSPO, the last thing we want is for businesses to be deterred from using certified sustainable palm oil, so we’re doing all we can to help them buy it and make the most of it.

“In many cases, especially for manufacturers that use palm blends or derivatives or palm kernel oil, there is not a suitable sustainable option, so they can choose instead to cover their use of palm products with GreenPalm certificates. This option is endorsed by the RSPO as a genuine means of incentivising the use of RSPO-certified production methods and rewarding producers that are working without harm to people, animals or the environment.”

For more information about AAK products or the sustainability clinics, please call +44 (0)1482 701 271 or email uk.info@aak.com