DELI DELIGHTS
New kid on the block The Truffled Hog is an all-day dining spot in the picturesque market town of Stokesley. It’s a hip new place to drink, dine and embrace the Mediterranean vibes. An elegant escape from the everyday. Elysia Fryer catches up with the brains of the business over coffee…
As the world began to wake up again, the late summer months brought a cool new addition to the pretty-as-a-picture market town of Stokesley. And it’s one that takes its inspiration from some of the coolest corners of the world, inspired by hip coffee shops, swanky cocktail bars and laid-back Mediterranean vibes. There’s nothing like it in the area. It pulls its inspiration from café hopping around the globe and it really is an escape from the everyday. It’s a place you can go on your own to get lost in a book over a cup of coffee, it’s a place you can socialise over sundowners with friends, it’s a place you can grab a quick bite to eat over a bottle of wine, and it’s a place you can get dressed up and dine out for date night. You really get that feeling of wanderlust here. You could be anywhere. It’s effortlessly charming and oh-so chic. It’s a total gem, and we’re so excited to find it sitting right on our doorstep. As the business brings new life to Stokesley, Elysia Fryer checks in with Laura Hall, to find out how she’s bringing a taste of the Med to the market town. “I wanted to create somewhere that had a cool menu and was a little bit different to what everybody else was doing,” Laura explains. “I also wanted to focus on the interiors because that is a big love of mine – and people love to find themselves in cool
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new surroundings. I went for something that works really well at night, with a really nice glow to it, but also somewhere laid-back with a luxe twist – somewhere that felt a bit like you were in a chic café in Ibiza or Morocco. “I’m a real tourist when I go abroad. I sit at coffee shops and cocktail bars and I take it all in. I always think, ‘oh, I’d love to recreate that moment in that bar with an Aperol Spritz in hand’. I wanted to recreate that for people, and so far, people really like it.” The coast is home for Laura, so market town life is very much a new thing – that, and putting her roots down to work in one place. “I’ve done stacks of work in cities all over the UK,” she says. “My background is not in hospitality. I’ve always worked in senior project management roles in large software and technology houses. Until I took the keys for this place in February, I was doing a lot of travelling - working with very large teams. “I’ve very much become accustomed to city life. Even though I live in Redcar, I love the buzz of life in the city – hopping from one place to the next. “I was always torn between the rush of city life and the absolute bliss that comes with a slower pace of life in the North East – that laid-back, beachside vibe. Life is too short to live out of a suitcase five days a week. It was time for me to come home and spend a bit more time with family.” And so The Truffled Hog was born… “My previous roles were very strategic
and business-focused, so I already had the management experience, but I was itching to do something with my creative side,” Laura says. “I wanted to merge everything I love – food, interiors, coffee, meeting new people – and create something really special. “And as I was working from home and brainstorming for new business ideas, it dawned on me that I couldn’t find anywhere in the North East that I wanted to go for coffee, work, socialise and simply just enjoy the space. “I’m one of those people that can’t work in silence - I need a buzzy atmosphere around me. I need noise. I used to work at home a lot when I was consulting. On a Friday if I wasn’t with clients, I’d go and work in Costa Coffee in Redcar - and it just didn’t have the vibe. “I was looking at buildings in Saltburn to begin with, because it has a great mix of creative businesses. It’s really indie - I have friends that run businesses there - it’s great. “I viewed the building on the off-chance because my fiancée, Chris, was doing the accounts for the people who were buying it. “I came to view the building last September when Stokesley Fair was on. There was a huge ride in front of it, so I had to climb over the fence and peek through the window. “It was the only building that I’d looked at that really excited me. It was a big enough space for me to be a bit creative and do my thing.
“I love my interiors. I like to think I’ve got some kind of flair. So I just wanted to create somewhere that we didn’t have in the North East. I love nothing more than getting out for a good coffee - it’s my hobby. Sitting and people watching, flicking through a magazine and enjoying a good cup of coffee - it’s a lifestyle for me, and that’s exactly what I wanted to do with The Truffled Hog – create a space that can become a part of people’s lifestyle.” That is what is so special about this place. Yes, it’s a deli, wine bar, restaurant, café
OCT20
