News has reached ChefHermes.com that Silverstone racing circuit have parted company with their on site hospitality provider, Silverstone Hospitality, whose CEO is TV chef Steven Saunders. It is understood that the contract to provide services at the Formula One venue were terminated with immediate effect on Wednesday morning.
This will come as a hammer blow to Steven Saunders, who is looking to relaunch a smaller version of his 3rosette Pink Geranium in Towcester early next year, whilst continuing to supply hospitality services to various aspects of the motorsport industry.
During the course of this investigation ChefHermes.com has come across several facts about Silverstone Hospitality & its CEO Steven Saunders, which beg some questions.
The contract at Silverstone was (according to Saunders’ website) due to run until 2019, so why was it terminated early?
Saunders claims he is a ‘Michelin starred chef’ & that the Pink Geranium achieved the French tyre makers gong in 1991, as demonstrated by this screengrab from his official website:
The truth is, that there have only been two Michelin starred restaurants in Cambridge: Midsummer House & Alimentum. But what actually makes this worse, is that the entire Michelin history is online for anybody to check: Michelin website.
He also claims to have achieved ‘3 AAA rosettes’ in 2001. The Pink Geranium did gain this accolade in the 2000 guide, but in an interview with The Caterer, in 2000, in which it says:
Saunders spends every night in the kitchen at Sheene Mill, a situation that will change by next April with the opening of Steven Saunders At The Lowry..
So really, how much influence did he have in getting the multiple rosettes, or was Mark Jordan (currently holds 4rosettes & 1Michelin star) left to get on with it?
At the time of publishing Steven Saunders had yet to supply a comment to ChefHermes.com about the contract termination at Silverstone.
Sivlerstone Circuits Ltd supplied a firm ‘No Comment’ when approached about this story.
Either way, I’m sure that over the coming weeks the full story will come out.