I was so excited to take over EAT. I was brimming full of ideas, had invites to visit various places and then the unthinkable happened. I lost my appetite. It completely disappeared overnight. Those that know me know that I have never been a massive eater. I am certainly no Tarrare (aka – The Man …
TUNBRIDGE WELLS
Kent Wine School, Tunbridge Wells, 12 March 2020
The evening before I visited Ferah for my Turkish lunch, I took a trip to Tunbridge Wells for some wine tasting. The lovely folks at Kent Wine School had invited me to a tasting and, as you might expect, I had jumped at the chance. As someone who’s partial to a glass or few of wine, I like to try to sound knowledgeable and so, pre-lockdown when the evenings were still dark, my trusty tasting companion, Cathy and I strayed from Tonbridge and popped along to the Hotel du Vin Tunbridge Wells to learn more.
thetncard – Interview with founder, Jess Gibson
One silver living of this awful situation is that I have been able to work alongside the lovely Jess Gibson, founder of the tn card. I interviewed Jess (over the phone of course!) about what motivated her to set up the tn card and learnt that she’s as passionate about Tonbridge flourishing as I am!
We might have left Europe but … Coco Retro, Tunbridge Wells, 29 February 2020
We really are spoilt around here – there are so many places to eat out and so many that I haven’t tried yet! Anyway, I knocked one off the list last Saturday when I went to Coco Retro in Tunbridge Wells for a friend’s birthday. Would I go here again?
Foodie gift inspiration from Tonbridge and around
This might be the quickest blog I’ve ever written as I’ve just realised it’s Small Business Saturday! Typical me, I’ve been thinking about this blog for weeks and left it to the last minute – that’s what December is all about really though isn’t it?! Well don’t leave your foodie gift shopping to the last minute – here’s my Eat Around Tonbridge foodie gift guide (and unlike the mags, no one has paid to be in this list!).
*** CHRISTMAS COMPETITION *** And now for something completely different … again!
Christmas is eight weeks on Wednesday. Hopefully that isn’t too much of a shock but if you’re struggling with gifts for that tricky relative or friend then this blog might just help you out.
There are wine trails through Australia, fromage trails around France and now …
The Cook Book Trail!
If you had forgotten (ah-hem), I have been involved in creating The Cook Book Sevenoaks Tonbridge Tunbridge Wells which has been published and is available to buy now (list of stockists at the end). It is a beautiful book, full of wonderful recipes and, actually, it also serves as a great guide to eating out in west Kent.
What Eat Around Tonbridge did next …
This blog started out almost as a dare to myself: after years of being employed and becoming a parent, could I do something on my own? Well I did back in April 2016 and little did I know of the exciting journey ahead of me. I’ve met and interviewed some great local foodies, broken the news of places opening in Tonbridge, been nominated for an award thanks to all of you, been interviewed by new cooking app developers on the eating and shopping habits of the average Brit (true fact!), co-founded a successful, local foodie networking club and last and definitely not least, today I’m thrilled that it’s publication day for a cook book that I have helped to bring to reality! Whoop! Whoop!
The secret’s revealed!
If you follow me on Instagram (@eat_tonbridge) and have been observing my recent stories, you’ll know that I have been teasing you all about an exciting project which has involved some interesting meetings with local businesses. Well the wait is finally over and all can be revealed!
Putting the cat amongst the pigeons – the new cafe that’s dividing opinion
Cat cafes are not new but they certainly are new to Tonbridge. I know that there were some guffaws when the cat cafe rumour was first announced on here but it really is happening and it’s opening soon…
