Andy Murray, British Lions, The Ashes, Oh & Tapas

What a week to be a Brit!

Early Saturday morning the British & Irish Lions put our friendly southern hemisphere neighbors to the sword with a crushing victory, followed by Andy Murray putting an end to a 77 year wait for a British Wimbledon Champion! Whats more we've had some more great weather and the long awaited Ashes Cricket series has just started.

However Any Murray has much to answer for! Last Friday was a quiet night. In fact the whole of Holmfirth seemed unusually quiet for a Friday. Of course Andy Murray was on court, doing his best to reach his second Wimbledon final and in turn being the main reason for a quiet restaurant (I'm blaming him anyways!). Having said all that, on this occasion I will forgive him. I'm sure you will agree that the performance he put in on Sunday was phenomenal. But I forgave him mainly because he finished his final in three-straight-sets and that did allow for our customers to return on Sunday evening!

On Friday Hannah Balmforth sung her heart out to an upstairs dining room. The tables in the restaurant enjoyed her so much they had her doing more than just the one encore.

 "I had to stop in the end as I had run out of material!" Said a very excited Hannah.

I look forward to Hannah's return within the next few months. This weeks live music comes from resident pianist James Hey. James is becoming a local celebrity within the Holme Valley. He can now be found playing at the recently opened 'Spiced Pear', Hepworth as well as various Weddings/Events throughout the Valley and Huddersfield. He will be playing in the restaurant from around 8:30pm. To book you table click here or call 01484 689003.  

Saturday was business as usual. There was more great sporting news in the morning due to the Lions success down-under and even better was the 30degree temperatures all over the Holme Valley. I don't think we have ever sold so much ice-cream!

I should once again remind you all that we are currently bang in the middle of Holmfirth Art Week. As was outlined in last weeks blog we have teamed up with Holmfirth High School and are currently exhibiting 30 different pieces of students art work. The feedback on the art from diners and some local experts has been outstanding! The school and the students should all be very proud of their work! All Holmifrth High School students and their families have be encouraged to come and see the art 'up in lights' so to speak. Every student with art work on display that dines with us will receive 25% off their tables bill. Any Holmfirth High School students that want to come down to see their fellow students work are entitled to a free dessert!

Some fantastic examples of some of the brilliant work we have on display! To see more of the work click here

Away from the restaurant itself Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar will be making it's debut at Honley's 'Street Market' 2013. We will be found on a stall providing appetite wetting tasters from our menu and selling our homemade sangria. My fingers will remain firmly crossed that the weather will be sunny and warm. The market runs from 10am-3pm Saturday 13th July. It would be really great to see you all their!

So next week, what with James Hey, Art Week winners and the Honley market to write about, it should be a packed edition of the Les Caeveaux Tapas & Wine Bar blog. Until then, I hope to see lots of you over the weekend in what should be the perfect weather for tapas.

Kind Regards,

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

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 

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












 

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 

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

Jazz Night, Film Festival

Hi Guys & Gals,

Another week passes in which i think the entire British population are praying for an ounce of sunshine. Week nights and weekends seem to be complete wash outs! Regardless of the weather Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar will not let their spirits be dampened (As owner and manager I can personally assure you of that!)

Us & Them - Jazz Quartet Playing This Friday 9pm

This Friday sees local jazz quartet 'Us & Them' grace the Les Caveaux Cellar Bar. They play from 9pm (ish) and play some swinging jazz music! There are still some tables left for Friday night if you want to dine while they play but if you fancy just coming for a drink and soaking up the beats then come down for a drink! I cant wait to hear them again. They haven't played since before Christmas as they all disappear to university during term time. It will be great to see them back in the place they played their first gig together as a quartet!

This week sees the beginning of 'Holmfirth Film Festival'. This basically means a wide variety of films will be showcased across different venues in Holmfirth. On Friday 24th May 2013 we have teamed up with the Holmfirth Picturedrome in providing 'Ladies Who Lunch'. This is a special ticketed event that offers a meal at Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar followed by a film being showcased at the Picturedrome. Tickets cost £14.50 and are available from Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar and the Holmfirth Tourist Information Centre. There are some tickets left but they are diminishing very quickly, so if you are interested get in touch ASAP! (01484 689003)

This year's 'Ladies Who Lunch' film is the 'Silver Linings Playbook' starring Bradley Cooper. I can almost hear the girls screaming as I write!

 

Watch the trailer!

Well thats it for this week hopefully I will see you all during the coming weekend. And we shall all continue to pray for sunshine!

See you soon,

Tom Binns
Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar Owner

Long, but brilliant weekend!

Hi all...

This weekend was my third experience of Holmfirth Folk Festival, since taking over Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar. Friday night saw Steph Stephenson and Matt Bentley take to our cellar bar stage. They played to our diners and drinkers in to the early hours. On Saturday Stuart Bray wowed the packed out cellar with his energy and a great sing'along was had by all. It capped off what had been an action packed weekend!

This week sees the return of resident pianist 'James Hey'. He plays from 9pm in the restaurant!

Folk festival is a fantastic opportunity for me to meet lots of new people and get a survey of opion on a whole host of things with in regards to the restaurant. During this weekend a brand new menu was launched for the summer months. The feedback on the new menu was fantastic with dishes such as Spanish ribs and Shoulder of Lamb going down a storm. For recipe informoation contact us direct: info@lescaveauxholmfirth.co.uk

It is one thing I know Head Chef Sean Creamer is very passionate about and that is producing fresh food with new ideas as often as possible. At no time will our menu become stale as he is constantly searching for, and developing his own freshest Tapas recipes. This makes our menu sexy, yet very accessible to all customers. As for our 'Fresh Fish Board' this weekend couldn't have gone any better! We had practically sold every bit of fish in the restaurant by the end of Saturday night which is testament to the quality of what Sean and his team produce!

With summer almost upon us don't waste any time in getting down to Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar. Sunday to Thursday currently sees an offer of 'Any 5 dishes of Tapas for just £25.00', an offer not to be missed. And why not make it a social gathering? Get some friends together and come and get a taste for our wonderful dining experience!

Book Online Now

Hope to see you soon,

Tom Binns
 Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar
01484 689003

Festival of Folk 2013

This week sees the annual Folk Festival 2013 come to town. Folk lovers from all over will congress in Holmfirth to see musicians play and eat and drink in to the early hours. The Folk Festival creates a fantastic, vibrant atmosphere throughout the town and its businesses.

At Les Caveaux Folk Festival kicks-off this Friday, when we welcome back Steph Stephenson to the cellar bar to sing live around 9:30pm. Steph Stephenson is a singer, songwriter based in nearby Newmill. This will be Steph's 5th time at Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar.

Steph performs a mixture of her own songs and also some covers. Her tone and style is described as 'a  contemporary take on folk music' and was described earlier this year as: "a real local talent!"


You can follow Steph Stephenson's progress on Twitter : @stephstephenson

On Saturday the Folk Festival gets in to full swing. With parades on the streets of Holmfirth and families and friends filling the streets you will be able to fill your stomach or quench your thirst at Les Caveax. Our BBQ will be fired up, with Morroccan Sausages ready to go in the hope we get some sunshine?! The Cellar Bar will be open from 1pm serving our wide selection of World Beer including our Spanish draught Lager Mahou.

Saturday night is also going to showcase another brilliant, young local talent. 20 year old Stuart Bray will take centre stage from around 9:30pm. Stuart is a singer/guitarist who  is a true entertainer and will undoubtedly have the whole cellar bar singing and dancing to his every word! His style is contemporary 'folky' style, but he will sing covers ranging from the 70's right through to current chart music.   

In truth I am really looking forward to Folk Festival 2013 and all that it brings. It promises to be busy and if the atmosphere within the restaurant is even half what it was last year then it will be a quality weekend for each and every customer! I hope to see all of you over the weekend hope you'll join us for a drink or maybe even treat yourself to some of our top quality tapas.

Remember to keep in touch with us by visiting: www.lescaveauxholmfirth.co.uk
Follow us @lescaveaux
or visit: www.facebook.com/lescaveauxholmfirth

Kind regards all,

Tom Binns
Les Caveaux

   
 

Post Number 1!

Post Number1.

Let me Introduce myself... I am Tom Binns, 25-year-old owner of Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar, located in the heart of Holmfirth, Huddersfield. Holmfirth is a quirky town and represents everything wonderful about West Yorkshire. It is most famous for 'The Last of The Summer Wine' a television programme now shown all over the world.

Les Caveaux Tapas & Wine Bar is a restaurant offering a contemporary take on traditional Spanish/Mediterranean Tapas. We offer a wide range of meat, fish and vegetarian dishes that change on a monthly basis, so to keep up with trends and seasonality.

The restaurant boasts two separate dining areas. The first is in the upstairs of the restaurant. This features wonderful panoramic views across the ever so scenic Holmfirth town centre. The second dining room is an authentic cellar bar. It has a traditional stone floor and gives off a very Spanish Tapas bar feel. Both dining areas offer a wonderful atmosphere whether your having a romantic evening for two or in a larger party. Tapas is a fantastic way to dine and lends itself perfectly to social gatherings as sharing food and drink in the traditional Spanish way offers great topic for discussion!

I aim to blog at least once a week, each post offering a new insight in to the world of my business!