Head Chef & Director of Food • Paul Hogben
Smiling through the Challenges DEAR Member, firstly a slightly belated Happy New Year and best wishes to you all. Over recent months the excellent feedback we have received from the membership has been really appreciated. The understanding that has been shown to the challenges we are facing has helped keep morale high and a smile on the team’s faces. As I write this we are still in 2021 and what a year it has been. The beginning was awful the middle got better and the end finished with a bang! The number who have used the food and beverage areas of the Club exceeded our expectations and budget forecasts. Thank you so much for your support. It was such a shame we had to implement restrictions on our offering, as a consequence of a massive shortage of staff for the hospitality industry, especially in the Kitchen. But what we do, we want to do right. In December l was still five full time Chefs and two Kitchen Porters below where l should be and Jelle had similar issues Front of House with a shortfall of four from his team. Our suppliers are also struggling. Some of my smaller niche producers have called it a day, or have restrictions of their own, again
down to staffing shortages. It all made 2021 a very challenging year, as I’m sure you have experienced too. On the plus side, we saw the welcome return of functions without the need to socially distance and through December the Christmas parties that so many members look forward to, brought a warm glow to the Club. Many of you enquired about the Club Hampers and whether we were going to offer that service again. l would love to have done that but the storage alone for everything we would have needed to produce them wouldn’t have allowed me to run the Restaurant or any functions, on top of that the staffing issue. Hopefully we can find a way forward and they will return! As you read this we will be about to start our Winter into Spring Menu, where we can all start looking forward to warmer climes and the first spring buds poking through, hopefully with a full complement of staff to cook, serve and look after you when you are here at your Club. We look forward to welcoming you all. Enjoy! Chef
“As you read this we will be about to start our Winter into Spring Menu.” “What we do, we want to do right.” www.thefarmersclub.com • 19
