Following an introduction by chefs Clare Smyth and Daniel Clifford, Bateman will create a seven-course dinner in the Oxford Street's The Corner Restaurant and Champagne Bar next week (21 and 22 September) using carefully sourced British and foraged ingredients as part of Meet the Makers, a celebration of Britain's top chefs and producers.
The Meet the Makers event, which has involved The Greenhouse chef and S.Pellegrino's Young Chef of the Year 2015 winner Mark Moriarty and Steven Ellis and will also feature Lyle's owner James Lowe later this month, forms a wider programme of food-related initiatives Selfridges has, and is, running this year.
Katie Bone, project and concession manager at Selfridges told BigHospitality the store, which hosts 15 restaurants, 10 of which are concessions, was working hard to help showcase talent of the restaurant world and give as much focus to food as fashion.
"Selfridges is a fashion brand, which isn’t associated with restaurants specifically, so holding events like Meet the Makers is our way of bringing more excitement to food and restaurants at Selfridges as well as supporting new talent," she said.
Food and fashion
Bone said food events are designed to tie into wider themes running through the store, but were also a way to showcase the talent of the restaurant world.
"Every year we work from a creative brief with different themes running across the store. This year we've had 'Welcome to Mexico' with Mexican chefs flying in to cook at The Corner Restaurant and this Christmas we have a Nordic theme, so we have chefs from Denmark coming over to cook," she said.
"But it's also about using Selfridges as a platform for up-and-coming young chefs and celebrate the talent of the restaurant world. We're really supportive of the National Chef of the Year competition, which is why it was great to get Russell Bateman involved in our Meet the Makers event."
Birmingham and Manchester
Much of Selfridges food celebrations have so far been limited to its London store, but Bone said there were plans to extend initiatives to Selfridges in Birmingham and Manchester.
She said: "We don't have the same facilities in Birmingham and Manchester to do as much as in London, but they are both cities with a thriving food scene so we are really working hard to do more there."
On 1 October Arbutus and Wild Honey chef patron Anthony Demetre will be cooking at The Balcony restaurant at Selfridges Birmingham as part of its Live + Loud programme.
"To be able to attract a chef of Anthony's calibre to the store is amazing," said Bone. "We are really trying hard to promote the wealth of talent we have on offer in the UK."