As it’s now the New Year and I’m no longer at the King John, I’m going to attempt to combine my time there into a massively shortened version, as to not lose your interest. I’ll pick out key memories and lessons learnt and if nothing else I can look back on these, and take forward all my learnings for when I own my business.
I’m one of those all or nothing people and when I commit to something, I tend to give everything to it so I packed my bags and chose the option of living by the pub even though it was only a 16 mile drive home. It might sound ridiculous but the first biggest difference I noticed when I started work at the King John in Tollard Royal, was the mobile coverage! There was none of it! Coming from a company where everything was 4G orientated and which claimed that it’d provide 98% indoor and outdoor coverage by 2016, to a village where mobile coverage was almost laughed at, was quite a shock to the system! So luckily, sure signals were invented and you can rely on WIFI. It also made me clearly see how reliant on my mobile I am, pretty sad really. The academics call this reliance on mobiles nomophobic I believe.
My first day
My first day was interesting because the KJ had suffered a power cut due to the storm (100mph winds) so we could only open for lunch-time service. This was quite a blow as it meant that the shooting party (aka the ones with the money) cancelled but apparently this type of thing gets covered as part of the business insurance.
The King John has so far exceeded all of my expectations. It’s nice to work somewhere where everyone is so enthusiastic and proud of the food they’re serving and it’s even nicer working with such hard working staff. But then, it’s quite easy to be passionate because the place is near perfection. I feel like Cameron Diaz in the holiday – as there’s no signal in the village and it is so quiet and serene. You can’t help but feel relaxed. The food is all local, with much of the produce being sourced from the Rushmoor estate or Guy Ritchie’s land. The menu changes daily, with the chefs printing out new lunch and dinner menus every day – showing that the produce is the freshest that it can possibly be.
I love being somewhere where I’m 100% proud off, everything in the kitchen is prepared with top quality ingredients and no corners are cut. The food all looks delicious and I’ve already got to try a lot of it and the chefs are definitely the nicest chefs I’ve ever worked with – and I’ve told them this, much to their delight! They don’t shout, they feed us (sometimes a lot of rubbish, which I like to call gruel and they sing ‘feed the birds’ – the best one being – fries, barley wheat risotto, parsnips covered in béchamel sauce – but when you’re that hungry, you’ll eat anything!) I’m just trying to resist the bread! So far I’ve tried:
- Jerusalem artichoke soup (my favourite, but needed a drizzle of truffle oil)
- Shin beef with mona mash (I think I prefer lamb shank)
- Bouillabaise (incredible)
- Smoked partridge (okay)
- Truffled eggs on toast (mmm – the truffle is sourced from the estate, but then again anything with truffle in it is going to taste good to me!) It is a little salty though…
- Griottine clafoutis (cherries soaked in rum baked in a light sponge) – possibly the worst thing I’ve tried, but still yum!
- Blue cheese fries – simply delicious
- Lemon posset – standard
- Chocolate and grand marnier terrine – so rich
- Apple donuts – okay, a little wet inside for my liking but look so impressive that I recommend them!
- Roast – delicious
- Pumpkin squash soup – I possibly make better!
So as you can see, I’ve had a pretty great first week of trying things! It means I don’t really look forward to food on my days off though as I’m eating yummy tit-bits all the time and so all I want is cereal or bland food!
Tuesday 12th November 2013
Week 2 at the KJ completed and oh wow, am I shattered! To be completely honest, I’m not in the greatest moods this morning – I feel absolutely shattered after five intense days working. We had 3 nights of shoot parties (meaning bedtime is not likely). It’s like a different world though – I don’t think I’ve learnt a great deal this week, other than restaurant world is tough and you can’t complain as everyone is doing the same hours.
One of the shoot parties bought this ginormous bottle of rioja – totalling nearly 40 normal sized bottles of wine. Safe to say, everyone in the restaurant (including staff) were happy that night…
Food tried this week:
(hasn’t been so great as I had too much last week)
- Pear vol au vent with chocolate crème – okay but I’m not so keen on pastry
- Sourdough – good but not sour enough for me
- Dover sole – really nice, way meatier than you’d think
- The angus 28 day steak – really tasty!
- Jerusalem artichoke soup (but with carrot) – it tastes so creamy but apparently no cream in it, so pretty good!
Anyway, I’m now exhausted, legs killing – eyes half closed and not in the best moods because of the exhaustion, but I’ve lost half a stone and I KNOW this is the right move for me. I now have until Thursday 5.30pm off so that’ll be good for me to relax
Into my final week of my first month! It’s got a lot better now… I know what I’m expecting and I can now successfully lock up and cash up which is a step forward. I agreed with the owner that people on breakfast don’t do closes, and since then it’s been a lot more enjoyable. The Sunday shift especially – I worked 7.30am – 5pm but went to bed at midnight on the Saturday, as opposed to 2am the week before.
Things I’ve tried this week:
- Slow cooked lamb pie (so good, possibly the best thing I’ve tasted)
- Apple strudel (not the best to be honest)
- Pork roast (I prefer the beef)
- Seafood chowder (Hmm, I’m impartial towards it)
- Chocolate and orange grand marnier fudge (I preferred the sherry, despite this being my suggestion!)
Highlights
- Not being tired! Being able to cope with all the shifts! Maybe part of the break in needed?!
Wednesday 27th November. Tips – £85
Well I’ve now done a month at the King John and to be honest, don’t feel in any way ‘assistant manager’. I don’t feel like I’m anything more than a waitress and I definitely need to talk to someone about it otherwise I don’t think it’s going to improve.
Ben came to see me on Wednesday and we went to the KJ for lunch – it was good but they served the venison on new potatoes, which was quite odd to be honest.
Thursday night was fun – we had Beaujolais evening and we all had to dress up in stripy tops, berets and braces – we looked like French mimes. But it was great fun, the service was really good and we got some great compliments.
Foods tried
- Seabass with ceps and kale – bit too oily
- Rice pudding with honeycomb and chocolate sauce – weird mix
- Griottine fudge – yummy
- Thermidore sauce – mustard, wine, cream – very tasty
- Angus 28 day hung steak – so so good
- Mona mash (type of potato) – yummy, very creamy
- Poached pear clafoutis – very light sponge, pears make it quite watery though….
- Crème anglaise – too sweet
- Smoked mallard and chilli broth – I wouldn’t serve this, not at all substantial and way too spicy.
Highlights of the week
- Beaujolais evening – my family and Richard coming and enjoying it
- People liking my pizzeria idea
- Getting lots of free drinks!
Wednesday 4th December – Tips Unknown
It hasn’t been the greatest this week. It’s becoming more and more clear that I’m not learning anything and Sunday topped it all off when I was just ‘running’ food and ironed napkins for two hours. Unfortunately I’m starting to think I’m not right for this pub. I’ve been very confused over the last couple of days and wondering whether this is a slight waste of time. I’ll keep thinking….
Foods tried this week:
- Sea bass, kale and ceps – ceps are a massive wild mushroom (So yummy) – cooked with a bit too much oil so greasy
- Rice pudding – too thick and gloopy
- Pearl barley (accompaniment for venison) – nice, a little gritty but probably a good texture for venison.
- Ben’s sourdough – really yummy.
Tuesday 10th December – TIPS unknown
Week 6 and sadly I’ve decided to leave the KJ. It just wasn’t giving me what I needed and Saturday was just the final straw and I left Vodafone to learn what it took to be a manager, not a waitress. So goodbye King John. You were an interesting chapter and I loved everything- the food, wine, staff and village were awesome but I need that experience. So, onto my next venture in another ‘Village’, however, one with definite signal!