Tonbridge High Street never sits still, does it? It seems as though it’s constantly evolving which is great for us and great for Tonbridge as a whole. I want to focus on one place which is perhaps the most recent to start to shake up its space and that’s Tailor Made Wine Library.
Tag: BAKERY
Calling all job seekers with restaurant operations experience!
It’s that time again where we publish the catering & hospitality jobs available in Tonbridge. The jobs at The Bakehouse and Saltwaters are still open so if you’re interested then please do apply as I know that Clare & Ellie would love to hear from you. Read more about the roles here and good luck! The catering manager role at The Bakehouse would be great for an ex-chef or someone with restaurant operations’ experience who is looking for something with more sociable hours. Clare is open to suggestions on flexible working so don’t be afraid to get in touch. Ellie at Saltwaters is looking for someone reliable and experienced in the take-away and/or restaurant industry. Ellie and her brother work side-by-side running Saltwaters so you really would be working for a family business, with a great work ethic.
Pat-a-cake, pat-a-cake, baker’s man, find me a job as fast as you can!
The Bakehouse at 124 opened in August 2015 but already feels as though it’s been there forever. Just over a year since opening & it’s already been nominated for ‘Café of the Year’ in the Kent Life Food & Drink Awards! It’s beginning to become more than just a bakery: we’ve had pizza nights, pop-up chef nights are planned for later this year and there are other exciting plans ‘in the proving drawer’. We’re featuring them this week as they have two positions available; the shop manager role could work as a job share with the right applicants. Read on if you knead some dough…(sorry, had to get dough in there somehow!) More jobs on offer on the Eat Around Tonbridge Jobs’ Board. Good Luck! Eat Reviewer Trainee Baker Fancy a change of career? Willing to learn and work hard? Love food and working in a team? Well why not think about joining the team at The Bakehouse? The Bakehouse is a supporter of The Real Bread Campaign and as such uses slow bread methods to create fantastic sourdoughs, British sweet doughs and all vennoiserie made in the open-plan on-site Bakehouse for sale and consumption within The Bakehouse but also wholesale. With the expansion of wholesale and evening events the Baker will be joining a team to support this exciting expansion of work. The mixing and preparation work is carried during a day shift with the baking of goods completed prior to the shop opening at 8am; there is a rolling shift pattern, shared with the other bakers in the team. There will also be scope to support pizza evenings which have proved such a great success and other planned events. Work to include: Feeding starters Mixing and shaping all doughs within the time constraints of a busy bakery Mixing and producing vennoiserie doughs for pastries, croissants etc, brioche product and traditional British sweet dough products Preparing all inclusions for all baked products Baking all products and finishing to a high, consistent standard Test baking new products Being part of a team and with that joining in where necessary other parts of the business Keeping accurate HSE records Maintaining a high level of clean working practices Salary: POAHours: Rolling shift pattern based on an 8 hour working day, 5 day working week to include Friday and SaturdayPlease contact Clare on 01732 360382 or email info@thebakehouse124.co.uk Shop Manager At The Bakehouse we believe that service is key to our customers, whether that is giving a welcoming greeting, helping to seat them with their drinks, ensuring that their dietary requirements are understood or being able to explain all about the bread, food, cakes and pastries that we sell. Since opening The Bakehouse has become a community meeting place and we wish to encourage this feeling whether it’s a U3A group, young mums, business meetings or just friends chatting. SO Do you have experience in Hospitality Management? Do you know how to motivate and manage staff to get the very best from them? Do you have experience of a good Health and Safety programme within the food industry? Do you have an appreciation of Speciality Coffee? Do you love food? Are you good with people? The shop management includes: Being the Front of House face of The Bakehouse, welcoming customers and ensuring they have a good experience during their visit Managing all staff throughout the day to provide sufficient cover whether on the counter, in the shop or helping our teams in the bakery or prep kitchen. Manage all staffing issues, whether recruitment, holiday or salary issues Liaising with the Bakery Supervisor with regard to product “sold” from the bakery to the shop. Ensuring the shop is set up ready for the opening time Working on incentive schemes for the staff Helping train our Shop Supervisor Participate in all shop cashing up procedures Participating in menu choices for the shop Ensuring that all opening and closing procedures are adhered to Ensuring that all Health and Safety Procedures are undertaken and recorded correctly Salary: POAHours: Up to 48 hours, 5 day working week to include SaturdayPlease contact Clare on 01732 360382 or email info@thebakehouse124.co.uk
Ticking a lot of boxes – The Bakehouse at 124, Tonbridge
The deadline to nominate for the Kent Life & Kent on Sunday Food & Drink Awards is looming – 7 August. So far I’ve covered the categories ‘Newcomer of the Year’ and ‘Café of the Year’ as Tonbridge has plenty of potential nominees for these categories. On or around Tonbridge High Street we have some lovely independent shops doing their bit to promote food & drink too. ‘Gorgeous George’ sells wines & spirits and would be eligible for ‘Independent Food or Drink Retailer of the Year’, as would Ian Chatfield The Butchers, a reliable & very friendly source of good quality meat with its accompanying deli counter. Next year, we may be nominating Favola, the new artisan ice cream parlour. This week I’d like to highlight a venue that is eligible for both ‘Independent Food or Drink Retailer’ and ‘Food Producer’, as well as ‘Café of the Year’ & the newcomer award – quite a feat: The Bakehouse at 124. The owner, Clare, & her team would love to win an award from Kent Life & Kent on Sunday, “Kent Life covers the whole county…to win an award is amazing customer feedback.” The story behind The Bakehouse is about a passion for food and in particular food education: Clare is allergic to many foods and she found it frustrating when staff didn’t know the origins or the ingredients of the food they were serving. Educating others about food was important to Clare but she decided to focus on herself first, training as an artisan baker. 124 High Street, a bakery in the first half of the 1900s, is one of the oldest buildings in Tonbridge & listed. Its size lends itself well to the café and open kitchens. Clare has lovingly restored it, maintaining the quirks of a building with history. Education comes in the shape of a ‘viewing bench’ for anyone who wants to watch the bakers kneading away; a little bit of calm is available on sofas upstairs; and tranquility can be found with a view of the castle outside in the walled garden. So what is ‘artisan’ bakery, and what makes it different from what I might try at home after watching ‘The Great British Bake Off’? “Artisan means that you are making a product from start to finish, using the best ingredients and making it in its simplest form, be it ice cream, chocolate, bread etc….,” says Clare, “At The Bakehouse we use flour, water & salt, we don’t even use yeast in most of our breads as we use sour dough.” Clare’s training means that she understands the science behind the bake and also the results achieved by using different flours. Artisan is different to ‘craft’ bakery and, of course, a world away from the sliced loaf you buy at the supermarket. The Bakehouse is a café offering a wide variety of artisan baked goods to suit appetites from breakfast to afternoon tea & cake, & it sells its on-site baked loaves too – there’s a ‘loaf timetable’ so that customers know when their favourites are available. We discussed that bread often gets a bad press, people thinking that bread doesn’t ‘agree’ with them but, Clare explains that she has converted quite a few customers. I have tried in the past to make bread by hand, inspired by Mr Hollywood and the GBBO contestants but have failed miserably. I like to know the origins of my food and to be able to see it being made in front of my very eyes, certainly ticks that box. Clare has converted me. If you’d like to nominate The Bakehouse or anywhere else in Kent (preferably Tonbridge!), you can do so here.