It’s Saturday and you may well be thinking about plans for the weekend. The weather is dry and we have lots on offer in Tonbridge – pub lunch with the children at one of our great local pubs? Trip to Haysden, lunch at the fantastic Cafe in the Park followed by a play on the swings? Picnic on the castle lawn this evening at the Luna cinema?
Tag: CASTLE
A leep of faith, 65mm Coffee, Tonbridge Old Fire Station
Yesterday Eat Around Tonbridge launched “Bring a friend February!” where you introduce a friend from near or far to somewhere new in Tonbridge. And why not 65mm coffee? Ensconced in The Old Fire Station, it receives rave reviews on social media, is always busy and many say serves ‘the best coffee in Tonbridge’. Tonbridge born David Leeper, the founder of 65mm alongside his partner Jade Derrick (65mm named as such because of their love of old films & picture houses), aren’t just chancing their luck. David knows his stuff; in fact he really knows his stuff. David at work- photo courtesy of Alma Photography @almaphotography “Consistency, skill, knowledge & passion” are what David says make 65mm coffee different & that sums up David too. David knows so much about coffee and his enthusiasm is infectious; he really wants to share his passion with customers. After working in FCB (the coffee chain with a branch next to Tonbridge station) where he’d fallen in love with coffee and learnt everything there is to know about it, including meeting the coffee farmers in Rwanda, he decided he needed to flex his coffee muscles – and there was his leap of faith. A chance conversation with Sam from TOFS and his venue was decided, he just needed equipment and coffee! As well as the great coffee, 65mm enjoys the luxury of a lovely, wide space, great for buggies and groups of friends. It serves delicious, salads and soups from Sulston’s Kitchen and specialises in offering allergy friendly cakes and treats from Eat ‘n’ Mess in Sevenoaks –there’s something for everyone. David is extremely welcoming and friendly – he prides himself on remembering your hot beverage of choice and can often be seen chatting to customers or amusing babies and children in the rare lulls. It’s only been a few months but David & Jade are relishing their position in Tonbridge and the reputation they’ve gained. David acknowledges how they’ve been accepted into the community with open arms and 65mm will be in Tonbridge for the foreseeable future. The future for them is looking bright…albeit black (with/without milk). If you take a friend to 65mm coffee for the first time, please take a pic and send it to me eatreviewer@gmail.com. The best ones will be published. (named due to their love of film and that is the size of the film reel in old school picture houses)
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
*** COMPETITION TIME *** Exclusively for Eat Around Tonbridge Facebook followers!
There’s a lot happening this weekend in Tonbridge and it’s all focussed on food and drink! How lip-smackingly lovely! There is the Tonbridge Food & Drink Festival on the Castle Lawn, which starts on Friday evening 6pm -9pm with music, street food & a bar. For the rest of the weekend, there’s a wide array of stalls setting up shop to tempt our palates selling all sorts of gourmet goodies sourced locally, regionally, nationally and internationally – olives, cheese & fudge to name but a few. Tonbridge Music Station is providing many of the artists who will be performing on the live music stage. On Saturday everything starts at 9am, finishing at 9pm & on Sunday it’s 10am-6pm. *Please note that some posters around town show the wrong dates, the ones shown here are correct. *** Competition *** In addition, just passed the canon and round the corner a bit, The Old Fire Station is hosting its inaugural cider festival! They will be serving the delicious TOFS cider, of course, but also, over 30 ciders from across the country. To soak up the cider, there will be food available, including local cheeses & pizzas made in their in-house pizza oven. The guys at TOFS have kindly offered two complimentary pizzas to a person chosen at random who comments on this post on the Eat Around Tonbridge face book page with three chefs who have held or are due to hold nights at The Old Fire Station. This is an Eat Around Tonbridge Facebook followers exclusive, it won’t be posted on other Facebook sites. The deadline is 10pm today 18 May 2016. Good luck! It is sure to be a great gastronomic weekend! Enjoy!