Tag: East Kent College

B is for Broadstairs

On a stunning sunny Sunday in October we made a beeline for Broadstairs taking in the beautiful beach at Viking Bay, Breakfast at the delightful Belvidere Place Boutique B & B, the highly acclaimed Broadstairs Food Festival and the hidden delights of Bleak House.

I’d like to say we did the picturesque beach walk from Ramsgate to Broadstairs but alas we didn’t allow ourselves enough time. Instead we jumped on the regular Loop bus for the 15 minute journey to Broadstairs.

Belvidere Place

We had pre booked breakfast at Belvidere Place, Jilly Sharpe’s rather special Boutique Bed & Breakfast. It’s a beautiful quirky and artistic place with just the right level of civilized informality.

 

There was no menu, breakfast is based on whatever goodies Jilly can source locally. We were offered the choice of figs or baked apple to start. We opted for the Apple served with yogurt and just enough Muesli. Very healthy and tasty. Next course was bacon, tomatoes and egg served with toast and a delicious stuffed mushroom. Arbroath Kippers were also on offer. After a leisurely morning reading the newspapers, chatting to Jilly, her friendly staff and guests lucky enough to be staying in the much in demand 5 bed-roomed B & B, we headed off to the Broadstairs Food Festival.

 

UPDATE – Under new Management.

Broadstairs Food Festival

The Broadstairs Food Festival is an event that attracts a lot of mainly Kent based suppliers and Restaurants. This year they had 100 plus stalls and 53,000 plus visitors over the course of 3 days. The Kitchen Theatre demonstrations were from several well known local chefs like Matt Sworder from the Corner House in Minster.  Steven Edwards who won Masterchef The Professionals in 2013  also did a session. The Kitchen Theatre presentation highlight I suspect though was from GBBO semi finalist and Broadstairs local Chetna Makan. Her session was interrupted by a surprise visit from the ever so slightly famous Paul Hollywood – check out the fun videos published by the Isle of Thanet Gazette. It’s just like being there 😉

Top Kent Restaurants like Wyatt & Jones and Rocksalt had stalls, as did Quex Barn – the wonderful deli at Quex Park.  There were tastings for Dudda’s Tun our favorite Kent Cider, and East Kent College were showing plans for their 4 star Training Hotel due to open next year.

 

We had hoped to get food from The Ambrette stall but they weren’t there this year. So for a late lunch we had some Pad Thai from an old favorite Siam Kitchen, followed by a dessert of coconut macrons and salted caramel bars from Sylvia and Terry.  We also brought some bread from McCarthys Country Store.

Bleak House

We took refuge from a very busy Broadstairs in Bleak House, which despite its uninviting entrance via the kitchen area is a lovely tranquil spot for drinks or afternoon tea.

You can pre book the formal Afternoon Tea in the Great Expectations Dining Room overlooking the garden and visit Charles Dickens study and the Smuggling Museum.

So after our lovely day out, we are certainly looking forward to next years Food Festival and to having a good few more breakfasts and afternoon teas in lovely Broadstairs.

UPDATE – Bleak house closed.

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Prawn and Pig pop up on the Ramsgate Riviera

It’s always sad when a much loved Restaurant closes. So we welcomed the chance to re visit some of dishes from the sadly missed Eddie Gilbert’s at Craig Mather and Gareth Olivers 2 Day pop up in The Mariners Ramsgate. So of course we had to order the playful Eddie Gilbert signature dish of Soft Boiled Duck Egg and Smoked Eel Soldiers (Jay Rayner’s starter of the year a few years back), it was just as I remembered it. The menu was Tapas in both food style and plate size. It included some lovely Cured Ham and Cheese Croquettes which along with the Squid, Chorizo, Pork Belly and warm weather made for a very Spanish vibe. The waitress recommended 4 dishes per person so we pretty much ordered all the dishes on the menu which was an excellent approach especially when accompanied by a nicely chilled bottle of Prosecco.

Our favorite dishes were the aforementioned croquettes and the House Soused Mackerel with warm Shallots, Potato and Water Cress. Shame this was just a pop up as it would be great to be able to have this Mediterranean style food on a more regular basis especially when Ramsgate manages so well on a warm sunny day to look very much like one of the better resorts on the Med with its stunning Marina, impressive Architecture and almost cosmopolitan atmosphere enhanced by the local language schools and increasing number of foreign tourists.

Hopefully after the success of this pop up we will see more of this type of event. In the meantime there are the excellent Gala Dinners organized at East Kent College where Craig and Gareth are Chef Lecturer’s to look forward too.

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The Restaurant @ East Kent College – a Game of two halves

We booked a table for the Game Night in The Restaurant at East Kent College. The event was sponsored by Godmersham Game and was an excellent showcase for their Game with the Venison dishes being a particular highlight. Not having been to this type of venue before, where the guests are Guinea Pigs for the catering students, we were not sure what to expect. The front of house were well mannered and enthusiastic if occasionally a little nervous.

The evening started really well despite accessing the Restaurant via a lift that would have been at home in a dilapidated Tower Block and a Dining Room that had all the ambiance of a Cruise Liner Restaurant. We did not see much of the view over Viking bay as it was a bit hazy but I suspect the sea view would have enhanced the Cruise Liner vibe.  The room was full and I understand from a conversation with one of the waiters that this was the largest number of tables they had catered for.

We started with some good canapes, Venison Liver Paté, Bunny Burger Sliders with pickled carrot relish, Peppered Venison Carpaccio and ordered a decent bottle of wine from the bar. We were actually not expecting to see a huge amount of finesse in the food and it was lovely to find out we were wrong when our starter, Mosaic of Game with Sweet Wine Jelly, Celeriac Remoulade & Toasted Brioche arrived.  The dish was beautifully presented on the plate, full of flavour and nicely enhanced by the inclusion of the sweet wine jelly.

The next course of Venison Pasty with Piccalilli was equally good.

The palate cleansing pre dessert Gin and Tonic Granita with a lovely chocolate and toffee brittle was also well received.

Unfortunately what happened next was the equivalent of a football team scoring an own goal. The team of waiters came in to the room resplendent in their white gloves looking very much the part for the delivery of what should have been the highlight of the evening. The main course of Sous Vide Pheasant Supreme with a Confit Potato & Bacon Terrine, Roasted Butternut Squash & Sauce Financiére. However our table was missed and all the staff disappeared back into the kitchen. I had to go to the bar and wait until someone came out, to advise them of the omission which was quickly corrected and apologized for. This incident really shows the importance of always having someone overseeing the room not just to catch this kind of problem but also to spot opportunities to up-sell drinks.

We found the partridge to be the weakest dish. Being a little tough and dry, the accompaniments were fine though.

The Tasting Plate of Chocolate & Berries dessert looked better than it tasted and not all of the Petit Fours were quite right. The colouring of the macaroons was off and the caramel encased chocolates were overly sweet and way too runny. However these are just our constructive criticisms, as on the whole we were very impressed by what East Kent College delivered and most definitely look forward to returning for other such events. I should also mention the cost which at £24 for 5 courses, Canapes and Petit Fours is incredible value.

Please forgive our Football analogies as we could not resist especially since our fellow dinners included the owners of Margate Football Club. So here is our score 😉

Marks out of 10

Food –  First Half 6.5  – Second Half 4.5

Service 5.5

Ambience 4

 

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