London – August 11, 2011
Group-wide competition for young talent is launched. Award-winning city-centre hotel brand Mint Hotel has launched its Star Chef Competition, designed to showcase the talent of junior level chefs within its signature restaurant City Café.

“The prize up for grabs is fantastic,” says Scott Macdonald Group Executive Chef at Mint Hotel.
“The winner will receive a five-day stage at two Michelin-starred restaurant Hibiscus. They will also receive a commemorative Villeroy and Boch plate and their winning dish will feature on the City Café autumn menu. All three finalists will receive a branded and personalised chef jacket,” says Scott MacDonald.

The competition is open to Demi Chef de Partie or Commis Chefs, within all eight Mint hotels. Each kitchen must enter a team of three chefs. The first round and regional heats are running throughout August, when each City Café will hold a dinner event for 40 local residents, top clients, suppliers and partners. Each evening event will include a three-course meal, with each course produced by a different chef.

Following the Star Chef dinner heats, the chef from each hotel with the highest score will progress to one of two regional cook-offs against rival hotels, hosted in Mint Hotel Leeds and Mint Hotel Westminster.

The three overall highest point scorers from the cook-off heats will enter a final dinner heat on Thursday 8 September at Mint Hotel Tower of London, when a winner will be announced. Mint Hotel's Group Executive Chef, Scott Macdonald will judge all heats in the competition, alongside a local food hero and each hotel's General Manager.

“The competition is a great opportunity to showcase the uncompromising, memorable service of the talented young chefs. Locally-sourced ingredients and seasonal produce will also be on offer to sample at each event,” says Macdonald.

Mint Hotel is a dynamic, innovative and award-winning city-centre hotel brand, founded in 1995 by David Orr, Sandy Orr and Donald MacDonald. It offers seven UK hotels – in London (Westminster and Tower of London), Birmingham, Manchester, Leeds, Bristol, Glasgow – and one international property, Mint Hotel Amsterdam, which opened in June 2011. The group has 2,783 rooms and around 1,500 employees in total.

City Café is Mint Hotel's signature restaurant, featuring award-winning chefs who focus on locally-sourced ingredients and seasonality. Mint Hotel's destination bars include the unique SkyLounge with its stunning city views, in London (Tower of London), Leeds and Amsterdam.

Mint Hotel offers 'blank canvas' flexible spaces to create inspired meetings and special events, with features such as natural daylight through floor-to-ceiling windows. Mint Hotel is the only hotel brand offering iMacs in guest rooms as standard and has free Wi-Fi throughout.

Mint Hotel Creates The 45-Minute Lunch Hour
Mint Hotel, the award-winning city-centre hotel brand, is celebrating summer in novel style by launching a 45-minute express lunch, available from a mere £10 per person, across the group’s City Café restaurants.

For that sizzling price guests can enjoy two-courses from the restaurant’s Market Menu coupled with a drink, including any house wine, spirit and mixer, beer or soft drink – all of which the group pledges to serve within 45 minutes.

The £10 ‘Fresh this Summer’ offer is available in City Café restaurants at Mint Hotel Glasgow, Mint Hotel Birmingham, Mint Hotel Bristol, Mint Hotel Leeds and Mint Hotel Manchester. In London, the offer is priced at £10.95 at Mint Hotel Westminster and £12.50 at the new Mint Hotel Tower of London. At Mint Hotel Amsterdam, which opened its doors in June, the express lunch offer is priced at just €15.00.
Guests choosing the ‘Fresh this Summer’ offer will also be handed a City Café loyalty card, entitling them to receive a complimentary two-course lunch (exclusive of drinks), after five return visits to the restaurants – a great excuse to keep coming back. What’s more, the loyalty card can be used through across all City Café restaurants in the Mint Hotel group, and lasts until 30 March 2012.

The fantastic lunch offers are available between 12–1 pm weekdays, and 12.30–3pm on Saturdays, with the promotion lasting until 3 September 2011.

City Café offers diners a modern European cuisine experience with the Market Menu focusing on locally sourced, seasonal produce, all created under the careful guidance of group executive chef Scott Macdonald. Summer dishes in the offer include breast of chicken with roast pumpkin, curly kale and caper jus, or fillet of mackerel, steamed bok choi, spring onion, red watercress, grapefruit and ginger reduction. As City Café’s Market Menus change weekly, regular diners can expect new dishes based on the freshest seasonal, regional ingredients throughout the summer.

The offer guarantees that guests will be wined and dined within a 45-minute time window – ideal for busy city workers, locals and visitors wishing to sample the delicious cuisine of City Café. Mint’s 45-minute pledge does not apply to diners who wish to add a third course to their meal, available for an additional £3.