This month, Lincolnshire Pride’s Editor Rob Davis meets Dushan Lukovic,  of Gainsborough’s Sands Venue, to find out how music and food combine in one of the county’s most unique venues, and to discover how the so-called Gentleman Chef acquired his nickname...

In his last appointment, The Sands Venue’s Executive Chef, Dushan Lukovic, was given the nickname the Gentleman Chef for his customer focussed, anti-ego, nice-guy approach to chef-craft and running his kitchen, resulting in the solidarity, happiness, and low staff-turnover of his brigade. That approach isn’t bad, considering his brigade consisted of no less than 124 staff turning out over 30,000 meals each month.

As the head of VIP catering at Harare airport, Dushan has cooked for former PM Tony Blair and President Bush, plus celebrities including Arnold Schwarzenegger, John Travolta and the late Princess Diana. Not only is he able to run a kitchen with a great deal of efficiency, his food is also second to none in terms of creativity and quality.

The ability to produce great food extremely rapidly has translated well to his current appointment at The Sands Venue, Gainsborough’s jazz and live entertainment venue on the town’s Lord Street. Few restaurants around the county cater for as many as 180 covers in an average night, but those that do at least have the luxury of spreading these covers throughout the evening. The Sands Venue has to have each cover ready simultaneously to ensure customers have finished their desserts when the venue’s live music or comedy performances begin.

With such credentials in terms of the efficiency and quality exhibited by Dushan, his three- strong brigade, and the food they produce, it’s fair to say that the quality of dining easily equals that of many of Lincolnshire’s dedicated restaurants. To be able to enjoy live jazz, tribute acts and comedy at the restaurant immediately after is more than a bonus, which makes for a very enjoyable, relaxed evening with no need to rush from restaurant to entertainment venue. Spectacular food and top-notch music under one roof cannot fail to work well.

 “We’ve been here as a team for two and a half years now, and in that time we’ve had only one member of staff leave.” says Dushan. “That gives you some idea of how happy we are as a team, and we all work on the understanding that there’s no ego allowed in the kitchen. Everything is about the customer and about doing our utmost to make sure they have a great night.”