News that Michelin starred chef Paul Welburn and OXTWO‘s Johnny Parke will go head-to-head at a cook off dinner at the Summertown restaurant spread like wildfire, and had diners scrabbling to get their hands on a revered ticket.
Selling out immediately, those who managed to nab a prized ticket for the event on August 6 will be presented with a three course, six dish menu, without knowing who’s cooked what. Guests then have to pick their favourite dish from each course and organisers will reveal the winner at the end of the meal.
‘It just seemed fitting to launch ‘Evolve’ in Summertown which was so pivotal to my career’
Aimed to coincide with the launch of Paul’s new cookbook Evolve, the two chefs, each recipients of the BEST CHEF award at the OXINABOX FOOD AWARDS, both jumped at the chance to take part and are raring to go.
“We want it to be a really fun evening. This isn’t about big egos but it seems really fitting to come back to Summertown where it all began for me in Oxfordshire, and cook there again,” Paul Welburn says, who won a Michelin star at Oxford Kitchen before moving to The Swan in Islip, recently moving to Cornwall after the birth of his daughter Coco.
‘We want it to be a really fun evening. This isn’t about big egos but it seems really fitting to come back to Summertown where it all began ‘
“It’s going to be quite the occasion. I’ve had so many messages from people trying to get hold of tickets but if it’s sold out it’s sold out. It will just be nice to see some familiar faces and cook in Summertown again. I’m really looking forward to it, it’s going to be fun,” he says.
Chris Brewster who co-runs OXTWO, The Back Lane and The Duke in Woodstock is equally as excited, coming up with the idea after enjoying a similar event in Chile. “There has been such an amazing response to this event and it sold out immediately. Paul has been working with Grape Minds (who co-run OXTWO EXCLUSIVE: ‘Sexy, sophisticated and enticing’ Sneak peek at OXTWO, Summertown’s new restaurant, which launches tomorrow night. What a transformation!) for his cookbook, and we came up with this idea as a way of enhancing the launch of EVOLVE, so its perfect on so many levels. And who knows maybe this is the start of a celebrity chef cook off event here at OXTWO so it’s really exciting.
“Both Johnny and Paul are such great chefs – Johnny is a rising star and Paul a Michelin starred chef, so it will be a great evening all round. We can’t wait to see if people will be able to figure out who cooked each dish, but it will keep them guessing!”
‘It’s going to be quite the occasion. I’ve had so many messages from people trying to get hold of tickets but if it’s sold out it’s sold out’
The menu is planned as two appetisers, two small plates and two desserts: “We don’t want to overload people with food,” Chris laughs, “and maybe when Paul is set up in Cornwall we can have an away match!”
As for Paul, apart from taking part in Parke V Welburn, he is launching his new cookbook Evolve in Oxford on August 5/6 with events at Grape Minds and OXTWO in Summertown (find Paul at @paulwelburn on Instagram), and is delighted to be coming back to the city where he won his Michelin star.
“It just seemed fitting to launch Evolve in Summertown which was so pivotal to my career,” he says. “Writing my own cookbook is the realisation of a dream, something I’ve always wanted to achieve, but has been hugely rewarding as well as incredibly hard work,” the 44 year-old explains.
‘who knows, maybe this is the start of a celebrity chef cook off event here at OXTWO, so it’s really exciting’
“It’s called Evolve because it’s a mixture of recipes evoked by memories, my childhood, influences, inspirations, heroes, holidays, flavours and my dishes. A good chef has to evolve, so it seemed a fitting title.
“I know lots of people use social media for their recipes now but cookbooks were such a source of inspiration for me, browsing famous chefs’ recipes and being inspired. That was certainly the case with Gary Rhodes, I saw him on TV, read his cookbooks and knew I wanted to work for him “Gary Rhodes was the reason I became a chef!” Paul Welburn honours his mentor at 215 in Oxford so it’s also about the story.
But I didn’t want this to be an autobiography, so it’s 55 recipes that span my career with little anecdotes and pictures of all my old recipe books and scribblings over the years, to show how I’ve evolved. It’s me, my dishes and their inspiration because all my dishes start with a memory. So Evolve is my DNA on a plate. I’m really proud of it and it looks great.
‘Evolve is my DNA on a plate.
I’m really proud of it and it looks great’
So can everyone cook from it? “I have made the recipes a bit easier but I didn’t want pare it back so much that it wasn’t me, so it’s basically aimed at foodies, but you can cook one or all of the components,” he says.
Paul will be in Grape Minds signing books and chatting to people on August 5, and in OXTWO all afternoon on August 6. “I just hope people will pop in, buy a book, stay for a chat, ask some questions, have a drink…..
Johnny Parke is also excited about the event: “I’m really looking forward to spending a couple of days with Paul in the kitchen. I have a lot of respect for him and obviously he’s a Michelin starred chef. But as for being really competitive, I’m not like that so I think it will be more fun than edgy.
‘I think we could have sold hundreds of tickets, so it’s going to be really cool’
“But selling out so quickly shows the support OXTWO has in Oxford, and there is already a massive buzz around it. I think we could have sold hundreds of tickets, so it’s going to be really cool.”
OXTWO is compiling a waiting list for anyone still hoping to attend and the bar will be open for drinkers on the night as per usual https://www.oxtwo.co.uk
To order a copy of Evolve by Paul Welburn go to https://www.awaywithmedia.com/buy-books/food/paul-welburn
