Better late than never…
Apologies for the long break since my last Journal post. It’s been a busy end to the summer and time has flown. Time for an update on what’s been going on!
Summer?
It was a funny one, wasn’t it. The weather wasn’t really on our side, and the North Norfolk coast was a little quieter than usual, but things picked up at the end of August, and the September sunshine has been fantastic, meaning the summer season ended on a high. Weather didn’t stop weddings, though, and we hosted some wonderful celebrations throughout the summer. As you know, we love creating unforgettable experiences for our couples and their guest, always such happy times.
Eric Snaith cooking at a Titchwell Manor wedding
Goodbye Ollie, hello Yasmin
We said farewell to Ollie Bacon-Hilton recently, who moves on from cooking to a role outside hospitality. He’s been a strong, hard-working head chef at Titchwell Manor for the past two years, and someone I really enjoyed working with. I appreciated his conscientious ways, and the feedback from customers on the food was always outstanding. Thank you, Ollie!
Having been in business for over 35 years, I’m well aware that people move on and you have to roll with that and see the positives and the fresh energy and enthusiasm that change can bring. I’m delighted to welcome Yasmin Godfrey to our Titchwell Manor team as head chef, having worked previously at Morston Hall Hotel, Benedicts and Stanley’s, Chelsea. I’ve been working alongside her for the past few weeks, and I’m impressed by her professionalism and talent – the dishes are looking great, and I think we’re really going to raise the bar food-wise. I’ll tell you more soon about the food and introduce Yasmin properly. We’ve had another couple of chefs join too, so again, look out for more details in the next few weeks. The team is looking strong as we go into autumn which is great news.
Ollie Bacon-Hilton
Image of starter in Terrace Bistro restaurant
The chippies and pizzas
Pizzas flew out of the yurt at Eric’s Pizza this summer. The Drove Orchards site at Thornham was way busier than we expected right through July and August, so big congratulations to head chef Fred Bambridge who leads that business and worked extremely hard all summer. Fred and I were both delighted with the standard of food and service the team produced – and to judge by the wonderful feedback, so were our guests.
As summer began, I was delighted to welcome Michael Medlicott to Eric’s Fish & Chips at Thornham. Michael has fantastic experience working in London and Norwich, and he really impressed at interview. And he delivered all season too, improving the professionalism and consistency at the chippie. Now that things are a little quieter, he’s able to take some time to tweak things to improve standards even further.
Over in Holt, Ben Crawford has had an excellent first summer in charge of our chippie on Fish Hill. He has a brilliant young team and I’m proud of the way they run the restaurant with such maturity and independence. It’s great to see the pedestrian area around the shop finally coming together too, with beautiful planting and benches that will come into their own next spring when we increase our outside seating and create a space to relax and enjoy food and drink from us and other local businesses.
Summer in St Ives and Norwich is always a bit quieter for our shops and restaurants than it is in Holt and Thornham, but I’m very grateful for the hard work of every team member.
Member of team at Eric’s Pizza
Eric’s Fish & Chips team at Holt
Member of team at Eric’s Fish & Chips Thornham
Join us for Supper
Speaking of Norwich, why not join us at 7pm on Tuesday October 10th for our Slow Food Supper Club at Yalm Food Hall in the Royal Arcade? After the success of our first Supper Club in July, I’m excited to be hosting a second, cooking alongside Fred, head chef at Eric’s Pizza. We’ll be serving up a beautiful menu of autumnal flavours and the very best local ingredients – think local squash, Brancaster mussels, venison from Norfolk estates, and a gorgeous almond and Drove Orchards quince dessert. It’s all very informal, with plenty of time to chat with us and obviously each other.
Tickets are £50 for a five-course meal, bookable via our EventBrite page here where you’ll also find the full menu. See you there!
Eric and Fred outside Yalm Food Hall
Eric cooking at Yalm Food Hall
