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Chef’s page
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
Chairman’s Jottings
HAPPY New Year! The Under 30s ended 2021 on a high with a fantastic Winter Weekend, which Emily Pile, the incoming Vice Chair, has reviewed (right). We are all really excited about the coming year and look forward to getting all our farm walks and Club weekends up and running, starting with the New Members Weekend on the 25/26 February. This will include a black-tie dinner on Friday and something equally exciting on Saturday thanks to Craig. I would like to say a huge thank you to Eleanor Kay for all her hard work and commitment to the Club and committee over the past two years as Under 30s Chairman. It was a joy to be her Vice Chairman. Having grown up in Denbighshire, North Wales and completed my BSc (Hons) Rural Land Management at the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, I am now based in London as Head of Early Years at a Westminster primary school. As I write my first Chairman’s Jottings from a Forest School in Westminster, looking around and recognising all that we are doing to bring the countryside to this central London primary school makes me so proud. I have been a member of The Farmers Club since 2015, having heard about the Club whilst studying and being invited to a Farm Walk on the Isle of Wight as a guest. We had the most amazing weekend visiting a range of enterprises and I met people who soon became my closest friends. I have loved being a member and am proud to represent our thriving section and look forward to seeing many of you very soon.
Contact for more information: Alice Hind c/o The Farmers Club 020 7930 3557 generaloffice@thefarmersclub.com
2021 Winter Weekend
Last year ended on a definite up for the Under 30s with a great November Winter Weekend – our final event as Under 30s before we progress to the Under 35s for a trial period, as explained in the adjacent article (right). The weekend kicked off with a black-tie dinner on the Friday evening, where 50 members and their guests met together, along with the main Club Chairman, Keith Redpath, for a drinks reception followed by Chef’s excellent three-course meal. Our speaker for the evening was Clive Blacker from Map of Ag who gave a very insightful and interactive talk on the growing need for data-driven insights into farm performance, and more specifically ensuring efficient potassium use. Finally, the evening concluded with a trip to the infamous Bunga Bunga in Covent Garden where Espresso Martinis flowed and the dance floor appealed. After a bleary-eyed breakfast and committee meeting, the Under 30s came together for the AGM. Here we thanked Eleanor Kay for her hard and tenacious work over the past two years and voted Alice Hind in as 2022 Chairman and myself as Vice-Chairman, as well as agreeing to the trial period of the new Under 35s section. Following a ‘free’ afternoon, and the increasing severity of weather warnings, some of us made it to Salvador and Amanda in Covent Garden, where we made the most of the seemingly unlimited tapas and wine. We finally rolled our way out of the restaurant and on to Clays Bar in Moorgate. This was a great booking by Craig – it is a new interactive clay shooting cocktail bar in the City. All of our competitive streaks came out in a variety of different games with Mike Reynolds going home with the gold medal!
Emily Pile 2022 Vice Chairman
2022
Under 35s Calendar
The confirmed dates for Under 35s events are as follows:
25/26 FEBRUARY
New Members Weekend
29/30 APRIL
Weekend at the Club
MAY
Farm walk – details tbc
22/23 JULY
Weekend at the Club
16/17 SEPTEMBER Weekend at the Club
OCTOBER
Farm walk in North Wales – date tbc
25/26 NOVEMBER Weekend at the Club
Further details coming soon – watch out for updates on the Facebook group
