Everyone thinks they have it in them to open a pub or restaurant, but few have the opportunity or courage to test that dream. Revamping La Bastille is Mark Taft’s first forage into the world of hospitality in an effort to reignite a love for his job, which was slowly lost over the last 30 something years in finance. He harks back to a day when things were better, simpler, when building relationships mattered and wondered what would happen if he applied this philosophy to his own establishment?

Years of working in a sales environment has taught Mark the importance of putting the customer first, a concept which he found had become lost in finance with increasing regulation, but where in an industry like hospitality that hails the customer as king, can be put to good use. New to the restaurant business, Mark adopts the same approach to La Bastille as he has done throughout his banking and investment career which is simply “give the people what they want!”

From looking at the popularity of independent gastropubs and the craft beer market in the UK, Mark saw a gap in Jersey on which he could makes his stamp. He believes what people want is a brasserie stripped back to what it truly should be; a place where you feel at ease with simple, delicious food coupled with a selection of unique and remarkable beverages. He envisages a bar where “everybody knows your name,” where he can build an empire upon getting to know his customers’ wants and need and delivering these.

You’d be wrong to discount Mark as just an enthusiastic dreamer. What he lacks in culinary experience he more than makes up for behind the bar, where his true passion lies. Having established a wine business in parallel to his finance career selling the revered Rothschild brand, opening a brasserie seemed like a natural progression, giving him a platform on which to expand. Early on Mark made the decision to only work with good brands or good products and it is staying true to this testament which he believes will make his goals a reality. “Success is dependent on your product and we’ve hit it right here at La Bastille with quality, local, seasonal produce at reasonable prices.”

Always the risk taker, Mark has big plans in mind. Expanding the premises of La Bastille to include a gin/cocktail bar and a real ales/craft beer haunt with visions of rolling out the model to include a further venue in the near future. Despite the long hours the venture demands, Mark is enjoying the freedom of being his own boss, finding the change hugely rewarding. “You just don’t get the instant rapport and gratification that this job gives anywhere else,” he explains as we scroll through the emails of praise and rave reviews he has already received.

Taking on La Bastille has been a steep learning curve and anything but simple, but the back to basics business model appears to be working in his favour. After years of slogging the hard sell in finance, it looks like Mark may have stumbled upon a concept that will sell itself. The proof, as they say, is in the pint glass.

The Boat House Group is undergoing some exciting changes. We sat down with the managing director James Lane who has who recently returned his focus to The Boat House Group in Jersey after spending the last 14 years overseeing the family operations in North America and the Caribbean. Here he discusses what guests can expect from a visit to one of the groups four restaurants, The Tree House in St Brelade.

Firstly, what brought your focus back to Jersey James?

My father has lived in Jersey for 30 years building the Boat House Group and wanted to take a step back and slow down. Although I have been commuting backwards and forwards running the international operations, I have always loved the island. Having recently gotten married it is the perfect place for my wife to be closer to family in the UK, and for me to now focus fully on The Boat House Group.

What is it about the island that you particularly love?

Jersey has so much to offer, but I particularly admire the diversity and creativity of the people living here. From a foodie perspective, the abundance of fresh produce is really exciting and I’m hoping to be able to showcase this in the menus we are producing and the food we offer across the Group. I hope to do Jersey proud.

Can you tell us about the Tree House?

The Tree House offers guests simple, wholesome dishes for the whole family. We pride ourselves on catering to families on the island by providing a great kids menu as well as both indoor and outdoor play areas. Equally, the conservatory provides the perfect setting for couples and in summer the large sun terrace is the perfect place to enjoy a few glasses of something cold with friends.

What is your favourite dish on The Tree House menu?

To be honest it depends on my mood. I love our pizzas made in the wood-burning oven, my favourite being the Bianca Neve. Having said that the half a rotisserie chicken is to die for, especially with the sweet potato fries. We have also recently started making our own fresh pasta and our head chef Alex recently asked me to try his seafood linguine which was the best I’ve ever tasted.

As managing director of The Boat House Group, what would you say is your greatest strength?

Without a doubt my greatest strength lies in the dedication, hard work and passion of my team. We have such a diverse team from all corners of the world who all bring their own personal touches and experiences to the guest experience. We have recently welcomed Rowen Elmes as operations manager who is currently pulling a great team together in each of our restaurants. Rowen has also worked in various locations around the world I am greatly looking forward to drawing upon his expertise and that of our team, to be able to consistently endeavour to exceed our guests expectations.

The Tree House Restaurant,

La Marquanderie Hill, St Brelade

T: 741177

Lunch and Dinner served daily (closed Monday)

Extensive parking onsite

Functions Welcomed

People will often use the word legendary to describe something that doesn’t always warrant such a bold claim but in this case, the ‘legendary Friday Night Seafood Buffet’, brought to you by the Pomme d’Or, deserves the accolade.

Not one to shy away from the opportunity to sit down at a table in the company of a good friend I jumped at the chance to head along to the Harbour Room on a Friday night to see what the seafood buffet was all about, and we were not disappointed.  My friend and I arrived hungry, as instructed, and were seated on a lovely table in the upstairs dining room with a view towards St Helier Marina. This is obviously a very popular pastime for many on a Friday night as the large restaurant was already filling up with locals and visitors alike, ready to dive into the feast that was laid before us.

Once we were settled in with a lovely crisp, cold glass of white wine, chosen from the excellent wine list, we were offered a starter of soup if we wanted or invited to head straight for the buffet selection of cold starters, which is what we did.

With plates in hand we were greeted by an array of freshly caught Jersey oysters, a choice of zesty accompaniments, a tower of gambas and king prawns, beautifully dressed whole salmon and slithers of salmon sashimi, a massive selection of fish terrines, fresh fillets and local shellfish, including whelks, crab claws and more prawns! But fear not those adverse to marine delights, the buffet isn’t just geared up to cater for fish lovers, although obviously, that’s the main aim, there were a plethora of cold meats, terrines, and salads which would keep even the most carnivorous happy. For £32.50 per person, the choice is absolutely amazing

So whilst you could, of course, gorge yourself on just the starter section of the buffet it doesn’t stop there.  Next up is a series of different hot dishes which change weekly but combine a great mix of traditional and more exotic meat and fish dishes, served alongside a variety of different vegetable side dishes.

To follow the glorious fishy feast, the chefs lay out an extremely tempting cheese board and a very enticing variety of desserts, all of which we managed to try and were delightful.  Finally beaten we were offered coffee and Port to finish our dinner but to be honest neither one of us could not even consider the consumption of a wafer thin mint at this stage as we were full to the gills and very happy about it too.

The all-you-can-eat format for the evening is both remarkably dangerous and absolutely glorious, with fellow diners opting for five, six, even seven portions!  If you’ve never been to experience a fishy Friday night at the Pomme d’Or we recommend you get yourself and your friends or loved one booked in as soon as you can, and go hungry!

Pomme d’Or Hotel, Liberation Square
St Helier
T: 01534 880110

Choosing EAT as our theme this month celebrated the launch of ‘Appetite’ our annual foodie magazine. Not ones to let an opportunity to eat something delicious pass us by,  we challenged a batch of Genuine Jersey bakers to bake us a bespoke ‘g’ out of ingredients of their choosing.  Sadly there weren’t as many cakes as we’d hoped but there were four fantastic and equally as tasty creations presented to us, all of which we thoroughly enjoyed eating after we’d photographed them!

Cookie Crew

Mel Le Tarouilly is the founder of Cookie Crew, an artisan cookie and cake producer based in St Ouen.  With a passion for baking and a flair for arts and crafts, Cookie Crew has provided an excellent way to combine her talents.  All of the cookies and cakes are prepared, baked to order, and iced in Mel’s lovely kitchen in St Ouen.

What did you do?

The nice thing about working with gingerbread is that it is very adaptable, which is why I chose it to make the Gallery ‘g’. The delicious gingerbread ‘g’ was made using only the finest ingredients – locally produced eggs and Jersey butter, of course, plus flour, spices, sugar and luscious sticky golden syrup!  Once the dough was chilled and rested, I rolled it and carefully hand cut it to shape.  It was then baked and decorated with royal icing in a traditional filigree pattern.

www.cookiecrewjersey.co.uk

Island’s Choice Bakery

Joe Pinzari is the founder of Island’s Choice Bakery, a wholesale supplier of artisan bakery and cake products based in First Tower.  His talented team of 25 make, bake, pack and deliver products made from scratch to supermarkets, hotels, corner shops and catering businesses Island w.

What did you do?

Making products from scratch allows us to be versatile to meet customer needs.  I left it to the manager of the bread baked products to decide how he would like to make the “g”.  Given the Easter season, he thought it appropriate to choose the Hot Cross Bun.  It was key to have the vision of the end result, using the experience and skills needed to ensure the right amount of the best ingredients are measured, knowing how long it would be proved and the end result once baked.  Each part of the “g” needed to be precisely placed to ensure they are all joined up.  He really enjoyed the challenge and looks forward to more challenges in the future.

You can find Island’s Choice Bakery on Facebook “Island’s Choice Bakery”

Holme Grown

Holme Grown Country Store brings the freshest breads, cakes and patisserie to their customers online and in their store in Grouville. Choose from all your favourite breads – rolls, loaves, baguettes and ciabattas all baked fresh every day. Why not spoil yourself with their perfect patisserie and cake range with their exclusive handmade cake selection only available at Holme Grown.

What did you do?

Our ‘g’ was baked in our new bakery production kitchen by Peter de Guelle our master baker.  He hand shaped the dough and then set it to proof before baking it to get the glorious finish.  Anyone who’s worked with dough will know it can be a little unpredictable in the proofing process so it wasn’t easy to get the perfect likeness we achieved.  Peter is an early riser starting production at one in the morning while everyone else is asleep. His team of three come in a little later at four, so that the shelves are stocked ready for customers arriving at 7.30am.  He can turn his hand to making many things from bread, you’d be surprised at what he can produce!

www.holmegrown.com       

FLOUR

Flour is the brainchild of Cordon Bleu trained Kirstie Taylor.  From her little shop in the Central Market she produces beautiful and tasty: cupcakes, celebration cakes and miniature bakes.  She also offers a bespoke ordering service in case you’re looking for something in particular, including enormous letters!

What did you do?

Using my own personal sponge cake mixture, to which I can add a variety of different flavours, I cooked four different sized circular cakes to make the top and bottom of the ‘g’.  I then drew out the shape to scale on parchment paper and sandwiched each layer together with icing to level the cakes off.  I cut by hand the shape I wanted, using the central pieces to make the extra bits of the ‘g’ and shaped the sides to make sure I got the right shape and joined the elements together with icing.  I then use an angled palette knife to cover the cake completely in a thin layer of blush pink icing, once covered I removed the excess icing to leave a semi-naked cake. I finished it off with icing shells, handmade macarons, sugared pearls and fresh flowers.

www.flourpatisserie.co.uk