An insight into the restaurant on a monthly basis
Message from the Manager, Sam Hayes.
November & Autumn has arrived in force and after a buzzing October with Aldeburgh food festival events from our Game Dinner & Progressive Supper to half term towards the end of the month the restaurant, town & coastal area has been on top form.
It s great to see the seasonality of a menu change from salad & summer dishes to more autumnal fare from partridge & venison coming on to the menu and the ever changing fish that is caught off the coast of Suffolk & Norfolk which is brought to the table.
Although I love Summer and the buzz sometimes there is nothing better to be enjoyed than a warming lamb casserole with a great glass of red wine on a cold night whilst dinning at the Lighthouse so please come and say hi to the team and enjoy some wonderful food cooked and served by the brigade.
There are also plenty of events coming up in Aldeburgh this November so have a look at our home page for full listings and don’t forget it is still not to late to book your Christmas party with us through-out December from the 1st to 24th with an excellent two or three course party menu available from £20 per person. Further details of our Christmas menu can be found here.
I wish everyone a busy November so please pop in and say hi to us at the Lighthouse if passing.
The People of the Lighthouse
The next installment of The People of the Lighthouse interviews Jack, a new addition to the kitchen over the summer season. Learning his trade as an understudy to Head Chef, Guy Welsh, as well as attending college to get qualified.
Hey Jack, first off, tell us a bit about yourself
Good afternoon, to sum me up, I’m 20 years old, a huge sports fan and even bigger foodie. I was born and initially raised in Croydon, South London before moving to Suffolk at a young age with my parents and have been a local lad ever since. I took a year away from England and travelled to Australia in 2012, doing various jobs while enjoying the culture and meeting new people. It really has been the best experience of my life so far.
How long have you worked at the Lighthouse for?
I joined the Lighthouse at the Beginning of August this year after hearing about a position opening up. I was truly chucked into the deep end with it being in the middle of the summer season. Luckily I have been able to continue my NVQ qualification which I started at a previous job.
So you’re at college, learning the theory side of it all? How’s that going? What qualification will you be coming out with in end?
Yeah only now and again though, most of it is through distance learning. Not so much theory of cookery as it mostly concentrates on Health and Safety in the work place and ensuring your kitchen is within guidelines by the proper agencies, still enjoyable though. As of a month’s time I will be trained as a NVQ level 3 chef in professional cookery.
How does that work with working at the Lighthouse too?
They’ve been really good since I joined, allowing me to have the days off I’ve needed to go to college, I never need many days off so I’m not gone for long. Once I’m qualified I’ll continue to work at the Lighthouse as long as they’ll have me, or until I’m ready to venture off into the big wide world.
Ah good, nice to see you’re enjoying it. How are you finding working in the kitchen here?
Working in the kitchen here at the Lighthouse is a completely new and refreshing experience for me. I have previous involvement of working in a kitchen but the amount of people we served were a lot less compared to what we do here; it’s been a steep but great learning curve.
Learning lots by the sound of it. What’s the atmosphere like with the boys in the kitchen on a busy evening shift over the summer?
The atmosphere in the kitchen on a busy shift is brilliant; it all works like clockwork with everybody knowing what they need to do and getting on with it. The kitchen at the Lighthouse isn’t overly big so you need to be in sync with everyone to know when you can move around and when to stay to make sure you’re not getting in anybody’s way.
What about a quiet shift?
I’m still to experience these so called ‘quiet shifts’, we’ve felt pretty busy every shift I’ve done so it’s still busy. I feel like when it is a bit quieter I’ll be able to be taught more about the works of the kitchen and proper practices.
What’s your favourite part of the job?
The general satisfaction of cooking for a large amount of covers each day is a great feeling. It truly is a pleasure to know that many people compliment the high standard of food that leaves the kitchen.
What is it like being an understudy to the Head Chef Guy?
In one word, great! He loves what he does and it shows in his food, I’ve already learnt a lot from him after only a few months and will continue to in the future. Though, I am also learning a lot from everyone in the kitchen, they’ve all got their individual approaches with tips and tricks which I adopt myself.
Sounds good! What are you plans for the future?
Well as I’ve previously said, I qualify in December but am far from learning all I need to know, so I will be staying at the Lighthouse. My ideal job would be a mix of working in the kitchen and also the front of house as that’s where I started off and enjoyed it a lot. Overall I wish to develop my skills even further and who knows, maybe one day own and run a restaurant of my own.
Ah looks like a busy couple of years ahead, thanks for the interview Jack, good luck!
Not a problem, it was a pleasure!
There we have it, life at the Lighthouse being an understudy, we look forward to welcoming you all over the course of the rest of the year.