Professional Women’s Network Grows

{ October 7, 2010 @ 8:51 am } · { Uncategorized }
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The Hoxton Aprentice Professional Women’s Network grows ever more popular. Lunches happen every 2 months and at the last one,  (September 30th)  – 70 top business women sat down in British Food Fortnight to a three-course all-British lunch (“I do NOT like bread and butter pudding … but I loved yours.”)
You could hear the buzz right around Hoxton Square and inside the restaurant, you could feel the positivity in the room.  The guest speaker Anne MacCaig, chief executive Café Direct was “Terrific, great fun, good jokes” and “restored my faith in ethical business and lifted my spirits with a laugh”.
Find out about this Network: www.hoxtonapprentice.com and click on Events 

Only a few comments on the lunch:

·          I have been to many women’s networking events and this one will stand out because it was so jolly and informal and every woman I talked to was accomplished, interesting and fun.

·         What a lunch!  As always the Hoxton is outstandingly lovely and the staff  welcoming, friendly and personally involved at every level.  I always feel we have had lunch at a house rather than a restaurant because of the personal feel. The people attending were just great – its of course a stunning networking event and I always meet one or two people that I end up being in touch with to a mutual benefit but more importantly it is food for the soul – inspirational people, great conversation, high humour, incredible speakers and worthy causes.

·         Thank you again for such a fun and inspiring lunch yesterday – I’d do it every week if I could! I loved the way you integrated the experiences of the apprentices and staff and were so honest about how they started and how far they’d come. Brilliant work to you all and congratulations

·         It was a fabulous lunch. I was delighted to meet many more inspirational women. The positivity in the room was shining through.

·         Lunch was an absolute hoot and Anne was wonderful. The food was delicious and pud went straight to my hips. I was a bit zonked from Kuwait – but  so very happy to have been with you all. Thank you.

·         I think the restaurant has done a really great job and if people do that I always think they deserve their happy clients spreading the word. And thanks for a great lunch. Anne is amazing – I loved her talk. I just want to be her best friend now!

·          What a great room full of great women. I am already booking for 4th Nov.

·         The woman you first introduced me to could be a real help to me! In just 10 mins or so she gave me some very useful advice and feedback. I am meeting her over coffee, etc

Christmas at The Hoxton Apprentice

{ September 8, 2010 @ 2:35 pm } · { All Inclusive Christmas, apprentice, brunch, Christmas, Christmas Party Venue, Dining, food, hoxton, london, lunch, networking, Office party, restaurants, reviews, social enterprise }
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It’s that time of year again

For Christmas this year our Head Chef, Leon Seraphin has designed another exceptional menu.

The Christmas party menu is available from December 1st and offers three courses for only £32.50 or two courses for
£27.50.
You have three options:
• Book a table
• Book our Mezzanine (an exclusive dining space) for parties of between to 30 to 40 people at no extra cost.
• Book the entire restaurant for a:

- Christmas buffet reception for up to150 people.
- 3 course dinner with the option of a dance area for up to 85 people

Early confirmation is advised to secure your booking.

Click Here to download menu in PDF format

Christmas 2010

To book: either complete the enquiry form and fax it to
020 7749 2829 or email us info@hoxtonapprentice.com.

If you would like to discuss your requirements please ring
me on 020 7749 2809 and I will be pleased to help you.

I look forward to hearing from you
Best regards,

Paula Daley
Marketing Officer

Training for Life – Waldorf Fundraisier 2010

{ August 13, 2010 @ 10:35 am } · { Uncategorized }
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August is usually a dull month for restaurants … but not at the Hoxton Apprentice.  Firstly – and incredibly – while some are sunning on a foreign beach, others are planning Christmas parties. Who knew? Several  of our Christmas dates have already been booked so if you want a party on a date you prefer, you’d better rush to ring Paula on 020 7749 2809.

Planning continues on our annual fund raising event on Thursday, November 18 at the beauteous Waldorf Hilton in Aldwiych, London.  The theme this year is Legends .. the legendary hotel, a 4-course gourmet dinner cooked by the legendary celebrity  chef  Anton Edelmann with fine wines plus a legendary band (still being sorted). A celebrity auctioneer will offer sumptuous prizes including tennis finals at Wimbledon. The evening will kick off with a champagne reception and there’ll be  dancing and merriment. 100% of net income will contribute to supporting long-term unemployed to get the skills they need to land a permanent job in the hospitality business.  Tables of 10 cost £1,500 so if you want to treat your clients, your friends, family or lovers, click here ….

And the Hoxton Apprentice is sorting out an events programme to take us through the winter months.  We intend to organise jazz nights, wine tasting dinner parties, an open mic and … we’re open to suggestions!  Email paula@trainingforlife.org

Big news is that on September 2nd we are launching our partnership with the Sustainable Restaurants Association. It means we join a prestigious band of restaurants determined to become socially and environmentally aware so that all ingredients in our menus will be seasonal and locally sourced wherever possible.

And continuing that theme, the guest speaker at the Hoxton Apprentice Professional Women’s Network lunch on September 30 is Anne Maccaig, chief executive of Cafe Direct.  A pioneer in ethical eating, Anne’s topic is: How to start something new and live to tell the tale.  

Brainstorming in Brighton

{ August 4, 2010 @ 12:29 pm } · { apprentice, brunch, Dining, food, hoxton, london, lunch, reviews }
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The Hoxton Apprentice crew skived off — er, went on a fact-finding tour of Brighton’s best restaurants.  Chef Leon, managing director Pat, graphics bloke Wayne and marketing whiz Paula sampled several top places looking at the menus, sorting out what they liked about the displays to see what ideas inspired them.

Sometimes, when you are involved in a business you can’t see the wood for the trees.  This is why Pat organised the trip to ensure that our restaurant is at the top of its tree in terms of food, presentation and ambience.

At  the first restaurant: we were impressed with the look of the place, the simple but effective ideas. Like placing loads of oranges around the base of a tree – look out for that one at the Hoxton Apprentice!.  Their use of small blackboards made sense because we spotted customers using the blackboards far more than the printed menus. And we liked the way they displayed produce in large and small baskets — we particularly admired their displays of bread.  And as our kitchen bakes the same beautifully different shapes and textures of bread, this is something we can do.

Other restaurants impressed with vegetarian food, produce hanging from the ceiling and scrumptious cakes which tempted us all. At the most expensive restaurant in Brighton there was a wonderful display of all the many varieties of fish, beautifully displayed outside the front of the restaurant. We defy anyone to pass by without going in to sample.  Not that we did – strict budget, folks – and then we went to have lunch at a much-vaunted Italian restaurant. The presentation of food was terrific but you know what? The food wasn’t a patch on ours — chef Leon’s chest expanded somewhat when we pointed this out.

What did we learn? That displays make people’s mouth water.  That the simpler they are, the better. That mirrors can be written on — and there are many at the Hoxton Apprentice. And we will be putting some of the ideas we saw into practice so watch out for them!

Brighton Comes to Life

But more than that, we discovered (though to be truthful we knew it already) that the food and ambience at the Hoxton Apprentice is on a par with all the restaurants we saw.

And we have the added advantage of being able to help long-term unemployed to get the job skills they need to land a permanent job.  And more: 100% of our net profits are ploughed back into the charity to give our apprentices a hand up, not a hand out.None of the places we visited could say that.

On that proud note we hope you will visit the Hoxton Apprentice for our £10 three course lunch, or use us as a base for your meetings – its free as is the wi fi – or for some appetising dinners.  Or use our outside catering service for your special function.

A warm welcome awaits!

“Qu’ils mangent de la brioche”

{ July 26, 2010 @ 9:05 am } · { apprentice, food, hoxton, london, social enterprise }
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Marie Antoinettes fabled ‘Qu’ils mangent de la brioche’ (‘Let them eat cake’) response to the French peasants shortage of bread in famine was possibly not the best thought out piece of advice. Perhaps Marie was a lady before her time though, perhaps she would have received a better response present day? We at the Hoxton Apprentice certainly think so and it is with her words in mind that a new baking initiative has started.

Apprentices are baking cakes that will be available for people eating in as well as for those with less time but just as much desire for good cake.

Come one, come all, come eat cake.

Matthew

Britian’s Best Dish

{ July 16, 2010 @ 12:01 pm } · { Uncategorized }
{ Comments (2) }

Hi Followers,

Just a quick update!

ITN  production team was at Hoxton Apprentice this morning, filming critics for Britian’s Best Dish series broadcasted on ITV.

So keep an eye out for Hoxton Apprentice if you watch the show !!

Also had a photoshoot with PhotoPlan to produce 360 degree imagery of the restaurant on our site  www.hoxtonapprentice.com , so stay tuned for further information on events at Hoxton Apprentice.

- Don’t miss your chance to hire our Mezzanine for FREE for your meetings and events-

BOOK NOW CALL Paula on 0207 749 2809

Out in the City – Catering Events run by the Hoxton Apprentice

{ July 15, 2010 @ 1:23 pm } · { apprentice, Dining, food, hoxton, london, lunch, social enterprise, venue }
{ Comments (1) }

 The Hoxton Apprentice is in the process of developing a formalised event catering service. The restaurant has provided this in the past on an ad hoc basis, and on the feedback received from these has decided to formally provide the service.To give credence to this, here are examples of two of our events from the recent and slightly less recent past.

We provided catering this July for the Parliament Education Service’s event in House of Lords. Working within this prestigious venue was an impressive feat and the Service commented on how we created ‘a nice relaxed and welcoming atmosphere in what could be an intimidating venue‘. The location and was an important opportunity for the Apprentices to ply their skills outside the restaurant environment, which they excelled at, ‘adapting well’ and with ‘a high level of professionalism’. Similarly the quality of food was well translated and received excellent reports, ‘the food was really tasty‘ and ‘there was a good range to suit all tastes‘.

At the risk of inducing groans at the thought of Christmas, the following review was received after the Harvard Business School Alumni Club event at Trinity House, and could not be passed by.

‘The Hoxton Apprentice catered the Xmas Party held by the Harvard Business School Alumni Club at Trinity House and we were delighted with their services. Everything worked very smoothly, the canapés were delicious and the serving staff extremely attentive and professional. We are planning to use their services for future events.‘

We are available for consultation about your event catering and would be very happy to talk through this upon your request. We can be very flexible with the food provided through the service will endeavour to meet your needs as far as possible. Our principles of excellent standards and high quality produce will be retained throughout. Our reach is throughout London with maximum capacity running up to 150 guests.

Please do not hesitate to contact either by phone on 0207 7492809 or by email at info@hoxtonapprentice.com

Hoping you’re enjoying the sun and escaping the rain.

Matthew.

Friends of St Monica’s

{ July 12, 2010 @ 3:20 pm } · { apprentice, brunch, Dining, food, hoxton, london, lunch, networking, restaurants, reviews, School Reunion, St Monica's School, Uncategorized }
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SCHOOL REUNION

As you may already know, Hoxton Apprentice currently occupies the old  St.Monica’s Primary School.

We always get old pupils of St.Monica’s School retracing their childhood steps around the Square sometimes with granchildren;  reminisicing on horrid school dinners, that old miserable head teacher or broken arms from the trees in the Square.

With this in mind, i think a SCHOOL REUNION is long overdue, we are currently trying to get in contact with previous teachers, pupils and other alliances of the school.

IF YOU ARE INTRESTED OR KNOW SOMEONE THAT WENT TO THE SCHOOL PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT WITH YOUR CONTACT DETAILS.

MANY THANKS

- PAULA-

New Volunteer on board

{ July 9, 2010 @ 11:44 am } · { apprentice, brunch, Dining, food, hoxton, london, lunch, networking, restaurants, reviews, social enterprise, venue, women }
{ Comments (1) }

As a new memebr of the team at the Hoxton Apprentice, I wanted to write a brief piece to introduce myself and publicise the great work being done here – and which you likely know all about already!

I am going to be working on marketing and the continued development 0f the restaurant – my history is in finance and more recent culinary training.  The ethos and success of the restaurant were key draws for me and I have been impressed within the first few days here by how readily these are upheld in the day to day work here. All too often, mission statements and statements of intent keep relevance only to the paper they are written on, but here it is apparent how indemic they are within each member of staff and piece of activity that takes place.

In the kitchen I have seen our head chef Leon working to incorporate new ideas within the menu and to pass these on to the apprentices working alongside him. There is a genuine sense of enthusiasm and willingness to learn both within the kitchen and the front of house team. Eager to pass on the lessons from their mentors, the apprentices have not failed to stop me in my tracks to introduce themselves and tell me what they’re doing, and all with a great sense of pride.  The greatest sense of achievement obviously comes from guests to the restaurant and came readily from the 60+ ladies here yesterday (Thursday 8th July) for the Women’s Professional Lunch. This show of support was exactly the kind of endorsement the restaurant deserves and will surely continue to achieve with the current standards. 

It is hard to find fault with the Hoxton Apprentice and I am keen not to become one so will now get back to the work of spreading the word, and attracting more people to this excellent restaurant.

Matthew

Professional Women’s Network

{ July 7, 2010 @ 10:10 am } · { apprentice, brunch, Dining, food, hoxton, london, lunch, networking, restaurants, reviews, social enterprise, venue, women }
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Women’s Network

For women who know-how and know-who

Guest Speaker – Anne MacCaig

Ethical Pioneering: a navigation guide

How to do something completley diffrent and live to tell the tale.

Anne MacCaig has been CEO of th  UK’s largest Fairtrade hot drinks company Cafédirect since March 2008. In june Anne was named Tridos Ethical Business Woman of the year in recognition of her extraodinary determination to improve the lives of more than a mmillion people across the developing world.

If you have been lucky enough to come to one of our Women’s networks, you will know that the network provides valuable connections to professional women in London. Tomorrow event is FULLY BOOKED, but please feel free to ring to reserve your place for September’s Lunch.

Please Note: If you are booked onto this month network (July 8th), Networking starts from noon we sit down at 12:45 precisley. Unlike other lunches, the speaker starts before the first course is served. Please be on time- as the airlines say, if your late we won’t wait.

See you there XxX

p.s – If you have any ideas for future networks please leave a comment …..

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