I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas – I was imagining you scoffing mince pies, glugging mulled wine, eating cornflakes with Baileys whilst planning your long walks on Boxing Day! Thanks again to everyone who entered the ’12 Days of Feastmas’ competition – if you’re a winner and missing part of your prize or need some help then please email me at eatreviewer@gmail.com. I think everyone has their prizes but it’s hard to keep track! Please send in pics of you enjoying your prize/s with family and friends and I’ll feature them on the blog! As promised, some town news….160 High Street is going to become Creams Factory, an ‘authentic Italian gelato’ pit stop. They’re hoping to open early 2017 so I’ll keep you posted. We wish them lots of luck with the venture! Also, after such a successful year as winner of Best Newcomer in the Kent Life Food and Drink Awards, Sulston’s Kitchen is going to start to offer ‘eat-in’ as of 2017. This is a great addition to ‘Soto’ (south Tonbridge – do you like it?! can we make it stick??)! Good luck to Ben & Kirsty! If you hear of any other foodie news, do let me know – eatreviewer@gmail.com. Have a great New Year and see you in 2017!
Tag: Tonbridge
Another new place = more new jobs
If you missed the announcement last night on the Eat Around Tonbridge Facebook page then what were you doing? It has created quite a buzz! It’s great to think that we will have another new place opening soon….and another new eating establishment brings new jobs to Tonbridge too. In the meantime, check out the Eat Around Tonbridge Jobs’ Board for vacancies available NOW! There are still jobs that you could start before Christmas…. Good Luck! p.s. Don’t forget that ’12 Days of Feastmas’ starts on Thursday 1 December at 9am. Enter to win some great prizes from Tonbridge food and drink producers!
‘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
*** ‘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!
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