Marking its 24th year, last night saw the return of the eagerly anticipated Too Many Critics, in aid of Action Against Hunger.
Hosted by James Robson, Will Murray and Jack Croft’s Roe in Canary Wharf, the event raised nearly £130,000 for the charity, with the exact total coming in at £129,275.
The event puts critics in the kitchen, and makes chefs the judges.
Founded by Bill Knott and the late Charles Campion — once a restaurant critic for the Standard, alongside Fay Maschler — Action Against Hunger seeks to address the crisis of starvation around the world. Critics and food writers downed their pens, picked up some tongs and swapped their desks for the pass, providing dishes to whet the appetite of otherwise hungry bidders.
Would-be-chefs included the Standard’s David Ellis, Hannah Twiggs and Leonie Cooper, food and drink editors of The Independent and Time Out respectively, founder of CODE Hospitality Adam Hyman, Bloomberg’s food editor Kate Krader and Molly Codyre, deputy food editor of Foodism. Hosting the event was Masterchef judge Leyla Kazim.
Among the dishes cooked were Devon crab with courgette, almond kaffir lime and horseradish; Roe’s Surf & Turf of grilled lobster, 35-day aged beef, lobster boulangère, shellfish butter and red wine sauce. Rounding things off was Roe’s now somewhat signature dessert of caramelised banana, peanut, toasted vanilla and banana skin tuile.
The winning dish was a starter of spiced lamb belly skewers laced with smoked onion yoghurt, hot honey, onion and tomato with Leonie Cooper scooping the prize. Judges included Ashley Palmer Watts, chef and co-owner of the Devonshire in Soho, and Gizzi Erskine.
The bidding on lotts was generous and kinetic; a tour of Soho flanked by Ellis and Bill Knott sold twice for a total of £19,000. A ‘Feasting at Fallow’ offer saw a meal for 12 with all the trimmings go three times over, while a master class with Vivek Singh at Cinnamon Kitchen sold for £14,000.
Yet among the food-focused philanthropy stood out one bid in particular. Donating £10,500 for “nothing” — purely in the name of Action Against Hunger —was The Dover’s Martin Kuczmarski.
Instigated by a collective of doctors, scientists, academics and philanthropists, Action Against Hunger has been helping millions facing starvation by providing critical treatment for malnourishment since 1979, with Knott having raised more than £5 million for the charity since Too Many Critics began.
For more information, visit actionagainsthunger.org.uk
