Back of the Net for Midland Foods!

The restaurant, in the Directors Suite of Villa Park Stadium, employs local youngsters from 16-19 as part of the Birmingham College Apprentice Scheme. The ethos of the restaurant is focused very much on local produce and this has extended to its staff – all of whom life in the areas around the stadium. Head Chef Peter Reed comments, “We knew we wanted to focus on local food in the restaurant and are delighted that we can also offer local youngsters the opportunity to start a real career in hospitality. It was difficult at first – both for the students and for us – but the restaurant has come on leaps and bounds in just this first year. They’ve all discovered a real passion for the hospitality industry – from preparing the food to front of house. Each student has an individual mentor employed by the club and this has been a valuable asset and experience for everyone involved – it’s second nature for a chef to act as a mentor and we’ve been able to pass on our knowledge and expertise to the students.”

VMF is open Friday and Saturday for dinner service and Sunday for lunch and caters for 45 covers each service. Says Peter “We’re a unique training restaurant but we’re also a fine dining one too. We create a ‘picture on the plate’ for our guests and a big part of that is the quality of the food we use.”

Leading catering butchers Midland Foods is one of the companies supplying the restaurant – after 15 years supplying the in-house catering at the venue.

Managing Director of Midland Foods Russell Heptinstall says, “We’ve had a brilliant working relationship with AVFC for many years so when the idea of a fine dining restaurant came about we were excited to be involved. The idea behind the restaurant is important to us too. As a company we pride ourselves on sourcing local produce and being able offer all our customers’ full UK traceability from farm to fork so to work with VMF as they develop local hospitality talent is a perfect fit.”

The restaurant uses pork, beef, lamb and poultry from Midland Foods, getting them a lot of the way to their 80% of produce sourced within 30 miles of the stadium.

Says Peter, “Russell and the whole of Midland Foods have been big supporters of what we’re doing with VMF. They understand the quality and variety of produce we need as a fine dining restaurant and make it easier for us and the students to produce a lasting experience for our guests. We’re hoping to have them involved in one of our Food Champions Evenings where we invite people to the restaurant for a meal and the farmers/suppliers explain where everything has come from – it’s just another way where we can focus our passions on local produce.”

Since its opening, VMF has become a favourite of locals, AVFC fans and food critics alike – winning awards along the way.  Says Alison, “We’re so proud of what we’ve achieved in such a short amount of time. We’ve won (sustainability award) and one of our current students, Frances Cash has been awarded Silver for ‘Young Chef of the Year’ in the Marche Awards for Excellence 2011. We’re excited to see what they will do in their future careers – of course we will willingly take them on if we can but if not we will help them secure jobs. We’ll also be taking on our next lot of students in the near future and are looking forward to seeing what they can do for VMF and what VMF can do for them.”

And the future for VMF and Midland Foods? “It’s a strong partnership,” says Peter. “They are committed to helping us make the restaurant sustainable and have access to the best meat and poultry in the Midlands thanks to their relationships with farmers. I’m excited to see what the future holds for VMF thanks to the support, expertise and outstanding produce we get from Midland Foods.”

For more information about VMF visit www.avhe.co.uk or call 0121 326 1570. For more information about Midland Foods visit www.midlandfoods.co.uk or call 0845 400 7777.