Tuesday, 13 March 2012

The Food of Love


“Stafford Festival Shakespeare is the perfect environment to enjoy a summer's day”
 
 Stafford Festival Shakespeare is thrilled to announce the return of The Lewis Partnership who will be catering for Stafford Festival Shakespeare for the fourth year running.

 The partnership is managed by Stafford born and bred entrepreneur, Chris Lewis.

 “We’re over the moon about doing the catering, as a company we’re very excited to be in our fourth year with the event. Year one and two built the foundations for us but this year is going to be slightly different in that it’s the cultural Olympiad and the queen’s jubilee so this is the year for parties”, says Chris.


A team of talented chefs from The Swan and The Moat House have created a menu fit for a king (or queen) featuring a variety of food from the rustic and traditional to the vibrant and cultural, available as a delicious three-course dinner or as a choice of four picnic platters.


 “We’re learning year on year what the customers want and the experience they’re looking for”, explains Chris.

As a company we’ve got a reputation with The Moat House for wedding receptions and so this works well with Romeo & Juliet as it is the most romantic of all the Shakespeare’s.”


The menu embraces locally sourced produce featuring mouth-watering medallions of Staffordshire reared fillet of beef to delicious Staffordshire honey roasted ham.



All our food is sourced locally with local suppliers and so our partnership with our local suppliers is used at the festival”, Chris continues.
 
There is also a fin-tastic array of seafood including sesame and lime marinated salmon, ravioli of scallop with watercress and line caught sea bass.

 Vegetarians are fully catered for too and can enjoy food such as a creamy goats' cheese panna cotta, a vegetable risotto and Stilton and red onion marmalade tartlet.

Those with a sweet tooth will enjoy a variety of desserts including Canal side Farm fresh strawberry tart and Morella cherry torte.

 We’re also having a Romeo and Juliet beer, one will be dark and one light with the pump made to look as if Juliet is calling out to Romeo from her balcony”, adds Chris.

The spectacular array of gourmet food will be served in a luxury marquee with those opting for platters given the choice of a picnic in the spectacular grounds or under cover in the bar area.

The Lewis Partnership runs several hugely successful eateries and hotels in Staffordshire and is synonymous with luxury dining and first class hospitality.

Their impressive portfolio includes The Moat House, The Swan, The Dog and Doublet Inn and The Bear Grill.

The Lewis Partnership began by pulling pints at The Moat House pub and has since expanded in size.

Chris says: “The company was formed in 1988 from a farming family, we diversified from farming and started with The Moat House, originally just a pub and restaurant and then we expanded to include a hotel.”

He adds: “Our roots in agriculture and supporting all the local farmers inspired us to become involved in food and hospitality. Our visions have always been excellence in hospitality in a family-run business.”

The partnership is renowned for buying; refurbishing and modernising tired businesses, creating not only profitable companies but also animated focal points for the community.

The company have won several awards for their hard work explains Chris: “We’ve won awards from The Taste Of Staffordshire, brassiere of the year, restaurant of the year at The Moat House, and AA rosettes at the Moat House and The Swan. We also won best traditional bar at The Dog and Doublet in 2011. 

  

Their establishments have seen their fair share of celebrities, playing host to TinieTempah, The Cheeky Girls, Pam St Clement (Pat Butcher -Eastenders), Jools Holland, David Gest, David Walliams, Neil Morrissey and Ed Clancy to name but a few.

The Lewis Partnership is passionate about live events and runs The Swan Live, which showcases the best in local music.

When we started using Swan Live we were using an external agency with bands from out of town and now it has changed and all our bands are sourced from Eric at Guitar and Sons and now over 70% of all our bands are local talent.”

Stafford Festival Shakespeare is now in it’s 22nd year and organisers are proud to be working with such a reputable company to help deliver the culturally important event. The festival attracts audiences from all over the country and is recognised as one of the biggest open air Shakespeare events in Europe.

Chris says: “Stafford Festival Shakespeare is the perfect environment to enjoy a summers day.”

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Romeo and Juliet will commence on Thursday 28 June and run until Saturday 14 July 2012.  Ticket prices start at just £10.00 for the first night and Monday evening performances, with tickets for other evenings starting from just £17.50.

To purchase tickets simply call our friendly box office team on 01785 254653 or visit the Stafford Gatehouse Theatre Website on www.staffordfestivalshakespeare.co.uk. 

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