Last week was a busy one for Eat Around Tonbridge and it only involved a little bit of eating! We had the Food and Dink Networking Club and a charity event with foodie connections – what will you host?
Tag: CAKE
A little birdie told me….all about Finch House, Tonbridge
Tonbridge has a great deal of energy at the moment and some of that is thanks to the foodie scene and the people who are taking a leap of faith and going for it. Daron Goldfinch was one of those people four and a half years ago. If you hadn’t already realised from the name, Daron is the man behind Finch House, the café that brightened up our High Street & kick started the boom that we’re now enjoying. Despite the growth of Tonbridge’s café culture since then, Daron has managed to stave off competition and remain a stalwart on our High Street thanks to the high quality of his food and service, two of Daron’s passions. Daron trained as a surveyor but then decided to follow his dream of working in the food & drink industry. This journey saw him training with Starbucks (before we knew who Starbucks were); learning about coffee in Italy; opening some coffee shops of his own and then consulting for Konditor & Cook, the cult London cake bakers. During this time he realised that there was a gap in the market for a café that served “the best quality food, sourced locally, made fresh that day”, he tells me. He returned to his home town, and despite the nay-sayers telling him “he was mad”, opened Finch House. “Made by Us” is award-winning Finch House’s slogan which concisely sums up their ethos. Quality of taste is very important to Daron & they do use produce sourced as locally as possible – Kent cherries, Sussex Ham & Owlett’s juices to name but a few – in their diverse menu full of tempting small dishes and treats. Their coffee is a bespoke blend (using coffee beans that are also found in some of the country’s Michelin starred restaurants) and all the mouth-watering cakes and pastries are made on site. The Finch House experience could also be described as “Made by Us”. The quality of the customer service they deliver is tested month on month by mystery shoppers who document their findings in detailed reports (praised staff members are awarded vouchers). Daron is a great employer (don’t worry Daron didn’t tell me this himself – I have my inside sources) and is repaid with loyalty – many of his staff has been with him for a sizeable chunk of his four and a half year tenure. And Daron, the ‘good egg’, doesn’t stop there. He is keen to support local events such as the Tonbridge Half Marathon and the Dragon Boat Racing, local schools (he supports three around the town) and local charity Porchlight – at the end of each working day, any surplus food is donated to them. Porchlight tell me that “this really helps young people who are struggling with money, people who are on benefits and perhaps have to wait for their benefits to come through….we also use the food for our outreach programme. We’ll take some of the food with us to give to homeless people .” Daron was the first Tonbridge foodie pioneer, in my opinion, and he has paved the way for many more eating places. He really fired up people’s imaginations about what Tonbridge could become. Finch House is constantly striving to improve and evolve not only within its café but as a brand itself – there is now a Finch House Orpington and a third one is in planning. This birdie is spreading its wings… It’s great that Tonbridge can say it hosts the flagship café of a very successful, homegrown brand. Good luck to Daron & the team at the Kent Life & Kent on Sunday Food & Drink Awards on Monday- they’re entered in the Best Cafe’ category! If you’d like to learn more about the charity Porchlight, click here. Daron has kindly donated a prize for the Eat Around Tonbridge ’12 Days of Feastmas’ competition so remember to keep checking the website, Twitter (@eat_tonbridge) or Facebook page. I’m also now on Instagram- eat_tonbridge. To read about Tonbridge’s other foodie pioneers in their fields, click here for Ben Sulston of Sulston’s Kitchen and here for The Old Fire Station.
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.
Beyond the Grounds, Tonbridge, 28 June 2016
It’s hot isn’t it?! Mustn’t grumble though…keep drinking they say. So grab a glass of something, sit down and have a little read about Beyond the Grounds. I went into Beyond the Grounds expecting just a café but after speaking to the founder & manager, Jennie Kenny, I realised that there is much more to this riverside spot than meets the eye. Jennie, grew up in the hospitality industry and loves entertaining, interacting with people. She decided about 20 years ago after a tough night shift as a midwife that one day she’d like to open her own café. Like Richard Collins and The Tonbridge Old Fire Station, Jennie had her heart set on her current premises and couldn’t believe it when it came on the market; after some patience and a friend’s generosity, she opened Beyond the Grounds downstairs whilst her friend Amanda Hedger runs the counselling service upstairs. There’s a very healthy portion of community in this project which is heartening to hear – Jennie wants to contribute to improving the aesthetic of the town with her venture; the owner of the building donated it to Tonbridge Baptist Church who benefit via the Gift Aid scheme; & Beyond the Grounds itself is a social enterprise. This means that once the bills, staff, café improvements are paid, any leftover money is spent on the local community, and in particular charities that resonate with Jennie and her team. Some charities have benefitted already during the café’s 6 month lifespan. I visited one lunchtime with my friend and three children. We received a very warm welcome – “I want people to feel as though they’re coming into my front room,” says Jennie who wants the café to be hospitable and homely, and the ambience certainly is that: the staff is helpful and smiling, the décor functional but cosy in green & purple hues using upcycled timber from the building’s past. The menus (kids’, grown-ups’, breakfast) are concise & provide good variety. Unlike other cafes, the serving staff come to the table which makes things that little bit more sociable. The children had the tomato & roasted pepper soup which was delicious and perfect for their palates, served with white bloomer toast. The waiting staff was considerate, thinking ahead and bringing the little diners teaspoons, rather than large soup spoons. My friend and I both had burgers – the BTG Bistro special was steak burger that week but for other weeks it may be quiche, beouf bourginon – it changes regularly. It was cooked to perfection and came with some delicious homemade mango relish. My friend had the Slow Roasted Meat Bap which on the day we visited was pork. Both the bap & burger were accompanied by garlic potato wedges and a green salad. They were both really tasty and the portions were perfect, not overwhelming as sometimes burgers and their sides can be. The table of cakes! It was hard to choose from the ‘Table of Cakes’! We had shortbread for pudding as we knew there was a secret recipe behind it (melt in the mouth), and finished off our coffees (good coffee). Our every need had been met in here, teaspoons for children’s soup, soya milk for my friend and an accommodating atmosphere for three noisy children! It might be tricky to manoeuvre round the tables with a buggy but Jennie and the team would help you out and make it work – just as if you were visiting her at home. This is a café with lots to offer thanks to its altruism – a great back story with a community focussed future. Experience ingredients: In the group: 2 ad + 3 children Consumption & cost: 2 x coffees, 3 x carton juices, 2 x adult mains, 3 x children’s soups, 3 x shortbread cookies – £35 If you’d like to nominate Beyond the Grounds for an award in the Kent Life and Kent on Sunday Food & Drink Awards, click here – sadly there isn’t an award for best name!
Beyond the Grounds – a Kent Life & Kent on Sunday Food & Drink Awards winner?
As you know, this blog was borne out of the fact that Tonbridge has been regaining its mojo thanks to the plethora of new eating places we have now. Just in case featuring on my blog isn’t recognition enough (ahem), over the coming weeks I am going to be highlighting places that you might like to nominate for categories in the Kent Life & Kent on Sunday’s prestigious Food & Drink Awards 2016. Wouldn’t it be GREAT to have some Tonbridge winners? One of the categories is Café of the Year and several have sprouted on or around Tonbridge High Street this year alone. I visited Beyond the Grounds this week to meet the founder Jennie Kenny and, of course, to sample the food. A full review to come soon but here’s a taster to kick start the nomination suggestions… I received a warm welcome as I entered Beyond the Grounds, just next to HSBC bank. The founder Jennie, wants the café to be hospitable and homely, and the ambience certainly is that, the staff helpful and smiling. The children had the tomato & roasted pepper soup which was delicious and perfect for their palates. The waiting staff was considerate, thinking ahead and bringing the little diners teaspoons, rather than large soup spoons. My friend and I both had burgers – the BTG Bistro special is steak burger this week and the Slow Roasted Meat Bap is pork, both of which were accompanied by garlic potato wedges and a green salad. They were both really tasty and the portions were perfect, not overwhelming as sometimes burgers and their sides can be. We had shortbread for pudding (excellent – apparently it’s a secret recipe!), and finished off our coffees. Our every need had been met in here, teaspoons for children, soya milk for my friend and an accommodating atmosphere for three noisy children! Positioned conveniently betwixt park and high street, Beyond the Grounds is a community orientated café that is well worth a visit. I asked Jennie what it would mean to her and the team if they won Café of the Year. “The Kent Life awards are prestigious! It would be amazing to win, to think that people actually connect with it, like what we’re doing & love it for what it is. I would think I’ve achieved what I wanted to achieve.” Hopefully that has started your brain ticking about where you like to go for a coffee and a piece of cake; perhaps it’s Beyond the Grounds, perhaps it’s somewhere else. But if it’s in Kent, nominate it! http://kentfda.co.uk/nominate/ It is easy to nominate! I did it within five minutes, on my mobile, on a dog walk! And in that time, I added the all-important comment that could help to add my favourite foodie haunt to the short list. Will yours be on it? Closing Date – 7 August 2016