We all know it’s been a challenging year or so for hospitality. Meet the women working for Garden Kitchen café and event catering company Alex Chef, based in Norfolk, who prove there really is no ‘I’ in ‘team‘
Gemma Pitcher is the Head Chef of the Garden Kitchen, at Hoveton Hall. Her boss, Alex Firman, of Alex Chef Catering, describes her as ‘an absolutely amazing chef, incredible baker, all round good human being and strong female role model in a frankly very male dominated world.’
‘I’m Gemma, the manager and chef at the Garden Kitchen. I look after the day to day running of the café and work closely with Alex to keep our menus interesting and exciting.
January in all honesty was a bit depressing on all fronts, we had been shut for two months and in the height of the second wave it all seemed a bit doomed. I had also been given notice on the house I had lived in for seven years, two weeks before Christmas and looking for a place to live in January I think is hard enough but adding a pandemic into the mix made it quite stressful. I was thankful that I lived in such a great city so walking and Kofra coffee was almost a daily thing.
I have gone from just being in the kitchen to looking after front of house too, with help of course. It’s been a great way to get to know the customers and I feel last year we gained so many regular customers.
We are planning a few events through the summer season, Sunday brunches with live music, supper clubs in the barn and we are looking ahead to the winter months too. We recently had a wood burner stove installed in our hay barn which gives us more opportunities to have events when the weather is colder. The cafe is in such a unique location, for those just wanting a cake and a coffee or those a more substantial lunch I can’t think of a more beautiful place to be in the summer, it’s stunning.
It’s been said more than once everyone should work in hospitality at some point to understand it. Compassion to staff when you are out is so important and I hear so many horror stories (not from the Garden Kitchen) about how people are treated by customers. It’s a job that is never dull and there is always something new to learn.’
Sian Royal is the Operations Manager of Alex Chef Catering. Alex describes her as ‘an incredibly dedicated and driven member of the team. She has been an invaluable, unwavering support during this unprecedented year for a catering company ordinarily dependent on weddings and large events. She’s kept Alex Chef Catering together.’
‘My name is Sian Royal and I work as an Operations manager for Alex Chef Catering and events and have been for six years.
At the start of 2020 I feel that professionally things were looking positive, we had lots of bookings to look forward to in an area I love. I felt very happy with where I was both professionally and personally. I have two happy, thriving children and a lovely husband who are all very supportive. We had started meeting with our couples providing them with tastings for an exciting year ahead.
Once the pandemic hit and we saw bookings and events cancel or postpone we faced some real challenges such as reorganising dates especially key summer dates, liaising with venues, hire company’s, staff by keeping them update with any changes that arise.
I have had to adapt by understanding the new regulations that have come in over the past year and what that means for weddings and events being able to take place with or without restrictions. This also means reading guidelines and offering the couples the best advice possible to ensure they have the day of their dreams.
Working in the events catering business has been very challenging, with a number of challenges such as presented themselves but I feel that I have risen to that challenge by listening to others and being there for them in such a difficult year for us all by phone calls, emails and generally checking how people are feeling.
I have grown very close to our couples during this pandemic by organising their day and supporting them through the difficult times and hard decisions they have had to make. I’m very much looking forward to their weddings taking place over the next 18 months that we both have worked so hard into planning.
I personally feel very optimistic about the future of events as well as weddings and feel that the pandemic has only strengthened everyone’s feelings of needing to socialise and celebrate special events together as we have all missed it so much.
I’m really looking forward to what the future will hold for us especially in weddings and events. I feel I have learnt a lot being a part of the hospitality industry by adapting my practice from over the years, I’m always learning new things and guiding others with their work to.’
Finally, a footnote from Garden Kitchen Manager Jayne Raffles, formerly of Raffles Restaurants in Norwich, who started working part time at the courtyard café in the Spring. Here she explains why:
‘After a lifetime in the hospitality business, you may think it would be nice to put your feet up and take it easy, and whilst I certainly do not want to work full time, working a couple of days a week in the most incredible surroundings with talented, passionate, professional foodies and all-round lovely people, Gemma and Alex, I honestly feel completely blessed.
Already I have seen so many familiar faces from the Raffles Restaurants era. If I was not working I would miss the interaction, laughs and stories I get to hear from the customers – it’s seriously addictive!’
The Garden Kitchen is located in the grounds of the Hoveton Hall estate, between Wroxham and Hoveton and Stalham, just off the A1151. Regular events this month include ‘Tapas and Wine’ on a Friday evening. For event catering visit Alex Chef.
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