Jobs…Vacant Positions…Employment Around Tonbridge Here are this week’s jobs….Keep checking out the Jobs’ Board to stay up-to-date with vacancies. Don’t forget 12 Days of Feastmas starts on 1 December – you’ll be able to enter the competitions on Facebook, Twitter and the Eat Around Tonbridge website. The Gatehouse (formerly Slug & Lettuce), Tonbridge The manager at The Gatehouse is open to suggestions about hours worked so if you’re a parent with specific requirements or if there are two of you interested in a job share then please contact him… Job: Deputy managerSalary: £19,000-£22,000Hours: Full-timeStart date: ASAPContact and application requirements : Apply through www.Stonegateonline.net/careers Job: Bar staffSalary: £6.80/£7.50/hourHours: Full & part-time positions availableStart date: ASAPContact and application requirements: Apply through www.Stonegateonline.net/careers Havet, Tonbridge High Street Job: Barman – Looking for someone to join our vibrant team at the weekends. Salary: CompetitiveHours: Part-timeStart: ASAPContact: Serhan or Corey on 01732 387387 or email havetrecruitment@outlook.com The Plough, Leigh Job: Wedding day team members – Looking for enthusiastic, energetic people with keen attention to detail to help set-up & deliver our dream weddings.Salary: £8-£10/hour + TipsHours: Part-time, flexibleContact: Send your CV to Mike & Hazel, info@theploughatleigh.com or call in to the pub itself for an application form. Graze, Tonbridge High Street Job: Bar positions – Experienced bar staff required for working in a busy bar; good knowledge of cocktail making required.Salary: £6-£8.50/hour dependent on experienceHours: Vary depending on shiftStart: ASAPContact: Email trevor@graze-kitchen.com with your CV. Job: Weekend wait staff – waiting staff required for this busy restaurantSalary: £5-£7/hour + Tips dependent on experienceHours: 8-10 hour shiftsStart Date: ASAPContact: Email trevor@graze-kitchen.com with your CV. If you have any feedback on this page, please email me reviewer@eataroundtonbridge.com.
‘Cocktails & dreams’ – which actor said that?
Fancy yourself behind a bar, mixing amazing cocktails? Want to follow in the footsteps of famous local mixologist Tony Adams? Then why not apply for these jobs… If not, more jobs available here. Good Luck! Graze, Tonbridge High Street Job: Bar positions – Experienced bar staff required for working in a busy bar; good knowledge of cocktail making required.Salary: £6-£8.50/hour dependent on experienceHours: Vary depending on shiftStart: ASAPContact: Email trevor@graze-kitchen.com with your CV. Havet, Tonbridge High Street Job: Barman – Looking for someone to join our vibrant team at the weekends. Salary: CompetitiveHours: Part-timeStart: ASAPContact: Serhan or Corey on 01732 387387 or email havetrecruitment@outlook.com The Gatehouse, Tonbridge High Street Job: Bar staffSalary: £6.80/£7.50/hourHours: Full & part-time positions availableStart date: ASAPContact and application requirements: Apply through www.Stonegateonline.net/careers
WFH – Will Edge, Greensand Ridge Distillery
Wow! What a 24 hours! If you’re still reeling, I promise there’ll be no mention of that election & especially not that man! Instead I’d like to introduce you to the Greensand Ridge brand, currently building a reputation for its gin. This gin has only been around for a few weeks but it’s already being talked about. Will Edge and his family have set up home in a beautiful 19th century coach house in Shipbourne with spectacular views over the Greensand Ridge. The stables have been transformed into part science lab, part bottling production line whilst maintaining some of their original character and, as the saying goes, ‘this is where the magic happens.’ The beautiful view from the courtyard over the Greensand Ridge. Will, originally from Sevenoaks, left the area in his youth to find his fortune but after working in London for quite a while, he decided that sitting behind a desk was for him no longer. He turned a hobby into something more by enrolling in a master’s degree in Brewing and Distilling after years of home brews and cider making. Now, let me tell you about the gin. I was served it neat and was, quite frankly, blown away, and I don’t mean by the alcohol content. It was amazing, the best gin I’ve ever tasted. (Listening to the interview, it’s quite amusing to hear my emphatic ‘WOW!’ when I taste it for the first time.) It’s made with eight botanicals that grow within a mile of the distillery including cobnuts, oak moss & gorse and seven traditional gin botanicals, including the essential juniper. It’s drinkable with a mixer or neat, unlike lots of other gins on the market (responsibly, of course!). There is a growing appetite for consumers to understand the provenance of their food and drink alongside an industry & consumer mission to reduce waste and the Greensand Ridge Distillery is keen to embrace both of these things. Like the spirits he creates, Will wants his brand to be transparent. “I’m trying to build an honest brand so that consumers know what they’re getting,” he tells me, “and I can do that as I have the still [the distilling apparatus], I don’t need to outsource anything.” He not only distills in-house but he also bottles, labels and distributes. He’s proud to be able to say that the only non-recyclable waste from his production line is the backing of the stickers that adorn the bottles – pretty impressive hey? And that isn’t the only way he recycles: ‘sustainability’ is a word that you hear Will use a lot and he is keen to support local farmers who have to contend with price squeezes and mounting competition. The Greensand Ridge ‘Raspberry Ghost’ schnapps is made from surplus raspberries and the barrel aged apple brandy* (apples fermenting as we speak) uses storm damaged apples deemed below par for the supermarkets – both fruits sourced from local farmers. Just as Will supports local, lots of local establishments are supporting him: Fuggles, TOFS, The Kentish Hare, The Wine Library and Gorgeous George are just some of the local places where you can support him to enjoy it yourself or buy some for home (it would make a great Christmas present!). And you can book now on the website to visit the distillery in the new year and create your own alcoholic tipple. So at a time when the world seems to be going mad, I heartily recommend pouring yourself a Greensand Ridge gin & tonic (Will recommends a gin: tonic ratio of 1:3) and taking some time out with friends. That’s what gets my vote. Will has kindly donated a prize to my “12 days of Feastmas” competition so keep liking and sharing Eat Around Tonbridge on Facebook, Twitter & Instagram as well as the website, to be in with a chance of winning a bottle! Greensand Ridge distillery can be found on Twitter on @GSRdistillery
Jobs are going, going, gone! Start applying!
I hope everyone enjoyed Bonfire Night! If you feel as though you’ve lost some sparkle, why not think about applying for a new job? There are jobs available on the Eat Around Tonbridge Jobs’ Board but be quick as some are starting to go! Remember, if you’re interested, contact the employer and discuss your interest – it’s hard to include all the job options in an ad and there may be flexibility available. *** Job of the week *** Shamo’s, Avebury Avenue, Tonbridge Job: Delivery driver – Shamo’s are looking for a confident driver to join the team! Knowledge of local roads would be beneficial but not essential.Salary: CompetitiveHours: Part-time evenings & weekendsStart: ASAPContact: Sharan or Amo on 01732 356661 Good Luck!
*** ‘Flexible working’ jobs here!! ***
Happy Halloween! I don’t have any spooky offerings this week on the jobs’ board but I would ask that you use your imagination when it comes to some of the roles on offer – the employers are very keen to fill their vacant positions and are open to suggestions about flexible working. So please don’t be scared off by a role that says ‘full-time’ – contact employers and sound them out about working school hours, a job share, part-time work etc. New jobs are below – the full list is at the Eat Around Tonbridge Jobs’ Board. Tonbridge Old Fire Station, Tonbridge ***Perfect for Slade School parent! *** Job: Coffee shop assistant – helping 65mm founder David run his coffee shop pop-up at TOFSSalary: £8/hourHours: 9am-1pm, 2 days a week, possibly more.Contact: Please contact David, davidleeper.15@gmail.com The Gatehouse (formerly Slug & Lettuce), Tonbridge The manager at The Gatehouse is open to suggestions about hours worked so if you’re a parent with specific requirements or if there are two of you interested in a job share then please contact him: slugandlettuce.Tonbridge@stonegatepubs.com Job: Deputy managerSalary: £19,000-£22,000Hours: Full-timeStart date: ASAPContact and application requirements : Apply through www.Stonegateonline.net/careers Job: Bar staffSalary: £6.80-£7.50/hourHours: Full & part-time positions availableStart date: ASAPContact and application requirements: Apply through www.Stonegateonline.net/careers Job: ChefSalary: £6.80-£7.50 /hourHours: Full & part-time positions availableStart date: ASAPContact and application requirements: Apply through www.Stonegateonline.net/careers Good Luck!
WFH – Nichola Ferron, The Black Rose Bakery – “Everyone needs awesome cake in their lives!”
WFH is not a rude abbreviation! For those of you wondering if I’ve gone mad, it stands for ‘working from home’ and represents a new series I’m running on local folk that are setting up their own food & drink enterprises from home. I say ‘local’ but Nichola Ferron’s journey has taken her a long way from home. She was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, cooking providing an escape from an unstable family life. She would religiously watch cooking programmes on television every week. In adulthood she worked in a ‘proper’ job but then decided enough was enough – one day she ‘borrowed’ her mum’s car and made the ridiculously long drive to Seattle to enrol in culinary school, using the car as a temporary abode as well. And now she creates truly spectacular “American style cakes with a French twist,” she tells me, in her kitchen in Tonbridge whilst nonchalantly moulding sugar paste flowers. And this isn’t a professional kitchen or even a very big kitchen but with her numerous fridges, work station and culinary implements stored wherever possible, it works for her and goes to show that if you want to realise your dream, the small issue of ‘space’ shouldn’t stop you. The Black Rose Bakery cakes are true ‘showstoppers’, an edible reflection of this music-loving ex-model’s exuberance: multi-layered, using locally sourced ingredients & fresh fruit, the flavour combinations are unusual and enticing, abundantly decorated with the likes of caramel drizzle, fruits dipped in gold leaf, meringue kisses & award-winning sugar paste flowers. Yes, this is a cake Her signature cake is the hand painted stained glass wedding cake which is simply exquisite; Nichola uses the allegory of an haute-couture gown to describe her cakes, she is preparing them for a catwalk show – they must be perfect. I was treated to amaretto and chocolate sponge with vanilla buttercream, drizzled with caramel and hazelnuts. (Yep, it’s a tough job.) Nichola’s infectious ambition and energy mean that her journey has certainly not finished: this cook with a conscience is aiming high but isn’t forgetting her roots – she wants to help others along the way, just as she was helped back in Brooklyn. She would like to open her own premises next year, employing young apprentices, to showcase her cakes and to share her skills with others, offering sugar paste flower making classes and the like. And in the meantime, look out for her ‘popping-up’ around Tonbridge (offering us savoury, as well as sweet, treats) and going for gold at Cake International in the wedding cake and sugar paste categories (only bronze last year!). Nichola is inspiring, incredibly positive and a great advocate of working flexibly. I’m sure as a little girl she didn’t imagine herself in a kitchen in a town in Kent, England but that’s where her journey has brought her, so far. Once you’ve tried her cake, you’ll be pretty pleased it has. Black Rose Bakery has kindly offered one of her cakes as a prize in the “12 days of Feastmas” competition I’m running in December. If you’re bored of the fruit cake, marzipan, royal icing Christmas cake combo, make sure you’re watching Eat Around Tonbridge on 1 December! If you’d like to meet Nichola, she can be found at the monthly Tonbridge Farmer’s Market (the next is 13 Nov); alternatively, you can find her on FaceBook, Twitter @BlackRoseBakery, Instagram blackrosebakery and at her very own website!