LIGHTLY GRILLED: QUENCH

Quench is a new venture, set up in the north of England to provide both bar training for new and established bars and also to cater at events, parties and, well, anything that needs a touch of class. Quench is run by four directors, but the driving force comes from Leeds man Gary Hayward, co-owner of Boutique. We meet Gary, and Gareth Clements, the men behind Quench.

Tell us a little about Quench...
Gareth: The driving force behind Quench is Gary. There's two sides to the business: QuenchLive is more the consumer side of things, catering for parties, events, launches and that kind of thing; the Quenchology side is the training side, for training staff on or off the premises, bar consultancy and bar design.

What kind of events will you cater for?
Gary: We'll do anything from weddings, shop launches, private parties -- anything that needs some 'wow factor', really. We'll do a bespoke menu and can tailor drinks to meet needs. So we can theme them for peoples' weddings and parties. We did the launch for Mulberry in Leeds and based the cocktails on their new range of bags, so they were the same colour and the same name and had the same glamour that's attached to a brand like Mulberry. We're in strong contact with Radisson, the worldwide hotel range. They've asked us to impress 12 of their top clients, and I'm going to do some cocktail training for them, just for entertainment.

Gareth: It's called cocktailtainment.

Gary: Yeah, it's a way of learning, but it's keeping it fun. The reason bars round here are so successful is because the bars never forget that, yes, it's good -- the service is good -- but it's fun as well. I try to push boundaries, keep it interesting, try to bring in crazy fruit and crazy drinks, but I always like to keep things fun as well. Everything's quite tongue-in-cheek. And that's the difference between Leeds and London, and that's why London raves so much about Leeds and the north: because it's got quality, but it's never forgotten that it should be fun as well.

What sort of training do you offer?
Gary: All sorts, really. We offer a one-day course, we can take on singles or take on a whole team, and they can come to us or we can go to them. We can also go to them for anything from a week to three months. We can do simple bar training or we can do consultancy as well, where we can run their business for them. There are a lot of sharks in this business, and because there's a lot of money around it's easy to be robbed. You've got to know how to run a business properly.

What credentials do you have to make you suited to train and support new bars?
Gary: I think what we've done at Boutique, is that we've worked on getting a core clientele that do appreciate good service, and will pay a premium, which comes alongside top drinks and top service. We've taken that and we've taken it on the road. I've come up with all sorts of recipes in the past that I know in any other city might not work but I know in this city it does work, and in the north it does work. It's not overly serious -- I've taken into account that people who go out are mainly 18 to 25 in this area, but we also get a lot of people asking for quality. In the time when people don't have so much money, people who do have money are going out and depending on quality. We want to continue that in different areas as well.

For more information, call 0845 603 5732 or visit www.quench-inspirations.com

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