Too Many Critics, the annual charity event which flips the script for restaurant reviewers, is to return this year on June 25 at Darby’s in Nine Elms, the New York-inspired restaurant from Robin and Sarah Gill.
Too Many Critics, founded by Bill Knott and the late Charles Campion, gives the chefs a night off whilst a group of critics and food writers are sent back of house to cook a meal for guests, all in aid of Action Against Hunger. The charity helps support those facing starvation across the world, and it’s hoped that this year’s event can raise more than £100,000 for its work.
This year, the critics under the spotlight include the Mail’s Tom Parker Bowles, Giles Coren of the Times, the Independent’s Hannah Twiggs, Kate Krader of Bloomberg, Masterchef judge Leyla Kazim, and the Standard’s own David Ellis.
Joe Warwick, the author of the best-selling Where Chefs Eat, will be master of ceremonies, while chefs judging the results include Francesco Mazzei and Vivek Singh. Singh hosted the record-breaking event last year at Cinnamon Club, which raised £121,000.
The menu for the evening is yet to be revealed, but will see the critics each adopt a different cooking technique for their course — be it baking, frying, smoking or similar.
As well as the meal, the evening will feature a silent auction, with prizes including a private four-course meal for 12 at last year's host restaurant, the Cinnamon Club, and an overnight stay for six with a private dinner party at the fashionable Princess Royal in Notting Hill.
A live auction will likewise be held, offering more extravagant prizes, including a trip for two to Dubai with five-star accommodation from the team behind Tashas in Battersea. Other prizes in the auction will include a tour of Soho with Devonshire landlord Oisín Rogers, and the chance to head out with a critic on a review. More prizes are to be revealed shortly.
Action Against Hunger has been supporting millions of people who suffer from life-threatening hunger for more than 40 years. Their work provides treatment for malnourished people and aims to prevent others from being impacted.
Tickets are £250 and can be purchased here.
