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Showing posts with label Head Chef. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Head Chef. Show all posts

Wednesday, 3 July 2013

Getting Wet, Small Kitchens and Holmfirth Art Week

Hello All,

Welcome to this weeks Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar blog. Last week was a crazy, yet fun-filled week. From broken ice machines to wonderful live entertainment and early preparations for Holmfirth Art Week. Last week really did have it all!

So Tuesday morning came around and after a lovely day off Monday I was refreshed and  ready for a busy and productive day at Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar headquarters, 11a Victoria Square, Holmfirth. One thing I definately wasn't prepared for was water all over the upstairs restaurant floor. As you can imagine, panic mode set in immediately! After a bit of a tinker (and getting a little wet in the process) the problem seemed to have succumbed. This was not the case!  On arrival to the restaurant Thursday morning the problem had returned. The ice machine seemingly doing its best to change Les Caveaux from restaurant to water park! Thankfully the problem has now been completely fixed. Whats more our ice is absolutely pristine and there is plenty of it!

Although the problems of above were all sorted out with relative ease, even if it did mean a few changes of wet clothing it was of great relief that it did not impact on what was a busy week at Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar. Friday night was great. The atmosphere was wonderful. Luke and Olivia McNeil played their guitars beautifully to diners on both floors. This just added to what was an already relaxed yet vibrant and pleasant atmosphere where a good time was had by all. This Friday Night sees the return of Hannah Bamforth. She played at Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar late last year and proved a great success. She is another young local talent and has a superb voice. She will be singing from around 9:30pm. To find out what other musical performances are up and coming or what themed evenings are around the corner just click here.

Saturday night followed a similar pattern to that of Friday, the only difference being it was even busier than Friday! It was only after service on Saturday night I sat down with a stiff drink and stared in to what by then was an empty restaurant kitchen. I realized how much food is sent out of this tiny kitchen in one night. I would have no qualms in suggesting Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar has one of the smallest kitchens in the history of restaurants. Especially in relation to it's food output! Click here to see a menu of just some of the Tapas they send out.

Has to be one of the smallest restaurant kitchens in Yorkshire


I would pretty much guarantee that the kitchen here is smaller than your kitchen at home, and probably by some distance!  "It really is a miracle how the kitchen staff (as talented as they are) manage to get out well in excess of 100 dishes of tapas every Friday and Saturday night!", I thought to myself.

It is a testament to Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar's Head Chef Sean Creamer and the team he has built that they cope as well as they do on very busy services. The methods/systems he has put in to  place have to be efficient and each member of his small team must carry out their duties to the highest possible standard. Without the above the whole thing would undoubtedly break down! The kitchen's work goes relatively unnoticed which is a shame. However, hopefully you, the customer can recognize and appreciate the passion and skill in the food you taste at Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar.

To finish this weeks blog I would like to fill you in on some really exciting news for the local people of Holmfirth or anyone with a passion for art. Holmfirth Art Week is the next major festival to hit the Holme Valley. The Art Week starts on Sunday 7th July, with art exhibitions all over the town.



Not to be outdone, Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar will have its very own art exhibition running from Tuesday 9th July. This week myself and marketing manager Alex Bray visited Holmfirth High School. I felt that maybe Holmfirth should celebrate some of its own artists and what better place to find these artists than the art department at Holmfirth High. The art department is headed by Sharon Hall. Together with Mrs Hall we designed a competition in which students from all age groups could enter a piece of their work. The best 25 pieces will be selected and displayed in the restaurant throughout art week. Each of the 25 artists will also receive a 20% gift voucher for the duration of Holmfirth Art Week. I want to encourage family and friends to come and see/celebrate some wonderful pieces of local art some of which is created by your own children! Of course with every competition there has to be a winner. Diners during that week will be asked for their opinion and the most popular piece will receive a £40 voucher to spend at Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar.

Holmfirth High School really does have some outstanding talent!


However there are no losers in our competition! All students from Holmfirth High School that visit during Holmfirth Art Week are entitled to a free dessert!    

"What a fabulous idea! Holmifrth Art Week is great but it doesn't show off young local talent. This is an opportunity to showcase what our students are capable of, and who knows? We may even see the emergence of the next Ashley Jackson!" Said Head of Art Sharon Hall.

It would be great to see lots of local people come to support not only Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar but also Holmfirth High School. I think its great to support and celebrate local talent and I'm hoping for a really great response. 

So that's it for this week. Told you it was a mad one! I do hope you can all make it down this weekend or next week during art week and have the chance to see some very impressive work. Until then, see you soon.

Kind Regards,

Tom Binns (Owner)
Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar
Holmfirth
01484 689003 

Wednesday, 19 June 2013

Wrong Trousers?!

Hi All,

This last week has been a very interesting week at Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar. Head Chef Sean Creamer had to be rested due to illness which gave recently recruited Taylor Wilson (Sous Chef) the chance to lead the kitchen in what was a busy week.

Taylor joined the Les Caveaux team in March of this year after a long spell of working for another locally based restaurant; Carniceria. He is in a similar mode to that of head chef Sean Creamer. He possesses real passion and talent for working with food, which makes them both fantastic assets to the company.

It was great for Taylor's chef development for him to be in charge for a week. It was him who the book stopped with in making sure enough prep was done, everything he needed was ordered and he had enough staff in the kitchen for any given shift! All these elements became his responsibility and are important in making sure service goes to plan.

In other matters obviously you won't need reminding that this Friday marks our latest charity event, in partnership with 'The Forget Me Not Trust'. Friday 21st 2013 is 'National Wrong Trousers Day' all our staff will be representing some quite unusual leg wear all in the name of charity. The trust have been invited down on the night and they will be dining in the restaurant from 7pm no doubt wearing some very fetching garments!



As if you needed any further encouragement to come join us on Friday, for every customer that comes in sporting 'Wrong Trousers' Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar will donate 10% of the total bill to 'The Forget Me Not Trust'. Throughout Friday, Saturday and Sunday you will also be able to support the charity by purchasing a raffle tickets from Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar. Our staff will be out and about the town over the weekend selling the tickets, with the star prize being 'A Meal for 2 Voucher' at Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar.

Friday will also see a Les Caveaux debut for local singer Katie Skinner. She is one to watch! (Trust me when I say...This Girl can sing!)


 She will sing a mixture of old and new music and will wow diners of all ages. This week sees the continuation of our 'Wine & Dine for £30' offer. This offer runs Sunday to Friday and is available to all. So if you get home from work and can't be bothered to cook or wash up we are the only place to go!

Once again I look forward to seeing you all this week/weekend and fingers crossed the weather holds out!

See you all very soon,

Tom Binns
Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar
Holmfirth
01484 689003












 

Tuesday, 11 June 2013

Forget Me Not...

Hi everyone,

After another week of glorious sunshine we endured another busy week at Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar. Holmfirth has a very different complexion when the sun is shining. We even had a table who decided they would like to eat on one of the two outside tables this weekend! What better way to indulge
in our delicious Spanish tapas than outside basking in the sunshine?!

This Friday marks the end of a second month with Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar for young, up and coming chef Amy Kemp. The 16 year-old trainee chef has had her mind set on being the head of a restaurant's kitchen for over a year now and is growing stature and confidence week on week. She will start her chef's education in September of this year at Barnsley College when she officially starts her apprenticeship.

Amy shows masses of potential and has a real creative flair within the kitchen. Since I took Amy on (two months ago) she has been taken under the wing of Head Chef Sean Creamer. He will ensure she gets all the knowledge/mentoring she requires to where she wants to be! It is going to be a real pleasure to oversee her progress and ensure that she fulfills the potential she undoubtedly possesses!

With lots going on in the kitchen there is plenty going on outside of it. Here's whats on:

Last Thursday it was confirmed we would be teaming up with 'The Forget Me Not Trust' on 'National Wrong Trousers Day' Friday 21st June. The idea of the day is to come for a meal that evening and join members of the charity in dining with unusual trousers on. Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar have confirmed that for every individual that turns up in the 'Wrong Trousers' we will donate 10% of the final bill. I want to take this opportunity now to invite you personally to this event and help us support 'The Forget Me Not Trust' and raise as much money as is possible for such a worthy cause!

 


This Friday sees resident pianist James Hey return to Les Caveaux, he plays from 9pm. James will be showcasing his wonderful skills whilst couples and groups dine making for a quite brilliant atmosphere. He has been playing at Les Caveaux now for over a year and has become a real Friday night favourite. There are still some tables available for this coming weekend, with the 'Wine & Dine for £30.00' still available on Friday, to book you can call 01484 689003 or book online www.lescaveauxholmfirth.co.uk

That's it for this week folks, look forward to seeing you all this weekend,

Regards

Tom Binns
Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar
Holmfirth
01484 689003 


Wednesday, 5 June 2013

Ice Cream, Weddings & Adverts



Hey all,

So week starting 27th May 2013 was an interesting week. It marked the start of our brand new deal 'Wine & Dine for £30.00'. It was mine and marketing manager Alex Bray's job to make sure we publicize the new offer. For more information on this offer visit our web site or call 01484 689003.



Hopefully you will  have seen an advert with the offer in both the Huddersfield Examiner and in the Holme Valley Review. It is always a tight call when it comes to buying advertising space. It is difficult to know just exactly how much impact the advert can have and the value for money you receive?  However on this occasion we decided it was the right time to advertise.

The offer itself, is in my humble opinion (for what it's worth) is very good value for money. Any FIVE dishes of Tapas with a bottle of house wine all for £30.00. Come on now, no washing up, no cooking, great food and bottle of nice wine its got to be worth a shot!

Also this week Head Chef Sean Creamer has been searching for inspiration with his ice-cream flavours. Sean makes all his own ice-cream, completely from scratch. His most recent flavours have been: Vanilla & Marshmallow, Sultanas soaked in Amaretto and Orange Marmalade. All his ice-creams are delicious and they go down an absolute treat in the summer months. It's amazing, the sun has been out less than a week and we've probably sold as much ice cream in a week as we have all month! If you are like me and a bit of a sweet tooth, why not go for chocolate brownie with ice cream...PERFECTION! If you have any ideas for ice cream flavours for Sean please don't hesitate to send your ideas to info@lescaveauxholmfirth.co.uk

Head Chef Sean Creamer's Ice Cream is wonderful!


At the end of the week we hosted a wedding for 40 people. It was a wonderful day and enjoyed by all! The bride and groom looked fabulous and the comments from their guests were very complimentary about our food and service. It was a real pleasure for me to host the wedding and play a part in what will be a day they remember for the rest of their lives. The restaurant looked fantastic and with it being a nice day the views out of the panoramic windows of the restaurant were wonderful.

To find out more about what we are up to at Les Caveaux read our blog each week or visit our web page www.lescaveauxholmfirth.co.uk 

Hope to see you soon,

Tom Binns
Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar
Holmfirth
01484 689003

Thursday, 30 May 2013

What a Weekend!

Good afternoon all,

The restaurant has just about recovered from another bank holiday. We even got some nice weather!! After a steady week of preparation for a busy bank holiday period, Friday really got the weekend started.

On Friday lunch time Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar hosted a 'Ladies Who Lunch'. The restaurant was full with ladies having a fun-filled (alcohol fueled) afternoon of food and then a trip to the cinema with friends.


 It was daunting yet, enjoyable to have the restaurant full of just ladies. It was great fun, and a lovely time was had by all the ticket holders. It was also interesting to see Head Chef Sean Creamer test himself with a completely new format of dining in terms of an 'a la carte' menu for the lunch time service. Judge for yourself on just how good the food looked! 

Chicken Supreme with Fresh Buttered Asparagus and Curried Aioli
Ratatouille Stuffed Aubogene with a Goats Cheese Pesto



Once the riff-raff had disappeared (only joking ladies!) Friday night saw the long awaited return of jazz quartet 'Us & Them'. They wowed an ever growing audience of diners, drinkers and general passers by with their toe tapping beats and wonderful jazz sound. As the crowd built so did the atmosphere, which by 11pm was second to none in Holmfirth with a steady flow of Spanish Sangria and pints of Mahou to keep the crowd well oiled! The talented young men (Us & Them) thrived on the feedback they were getting from a very receptive crowd as they performed encore after encore. "They (crowd) didn't want us to stop, they were awesome! We didn't want to stop playing for them...I'm knackered now though!" - Barney Lister, (percussionist) said once they had finally finished. To see pictures from the even visit our Facebook or see our online gallery.

Us & Them in full flow!

It was once again an example of the cellar bar being a hub for great music, great food and entertainment on a Friday night. It was fantastic to see so many people down there taking in the music and having a really great time. Long may this continue! This week sees Rob Jarvis, a local guitarist play some authentic Spanish music, fantastic while you dine! He will start around 9pm. To see our up & coming performance / events list you can go to our website www.lescaveauxholmfirth.co.uk/whatson

After a  stocking up process and mass restaurant clean up we were ready to do it all again on Saturday. It was a lovely day and the panoramic views out of the upstairs dining room made for a fabulous night of wining and dining. Wine and sangria was flowing and a steady flow of tapas meant a wonderfully enjoyable evening was had by all. 

Watch this space, next week I'm going to tell you about our latest special off which is far too good to ignore!

See you soon,

Tom Binns
Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar
Holmfirth