Top Rankin's ready
It's 11am and Shaun Rankin, head chef at the Club Hotel & Spa, is, in his words, trying to get his head together. He's been out of the kitchen for nearly a week, first dashing over to the Cateys bash in London, where he scooped the 2005 Menu of the Year award for the hotel's Michelin-starred Bohemia restaurant, before flying off to Finland for a fishing competition.
Now back in Jersey, he's busy juggling the running of Bohemia's kitchen with finalising the menus and planning the Club Hotel & Spa's second restaurant, due to open in three weeks' time.
Although Bohemia sits on the ground floor, owner Lawrence Huggler felt the 46-bedroom hotel needed a second F&B offer. "Bohemia only sits 40 and we're now taking bookings four weeks ahead," he explains. "There was a worry that guests arriving at the hotel late on a Friday night wouldn't be able to get a table. Now, if Bohemia's too busy, we won't lose local trade either as people can have a meal upstairs."
Aimed mainly at hotel guests, the 56-seat Club restaurant will offer a lighter, less formal option than the fine-dining Bohemia.
"There has to be a clear difference, otherwise it won't work," explains Rankin. "The Club restaurant is going to be more of a café-style operation where people can just relax and the food will be quite homely. Or, if anyone wants to just pop in for a dessert or a glass of wine, that's fine too," he adds.
Huggler hopes to capture the bulk of his weekend guests' eating-out spend by adding the Club restaurant. "If people are with us for three nights, we want them to eat with us for two," he says. "Bohemia will probably be the Friday or Saturday night choice, but people can have a lighter meal during the day or when they first arrive. And it means we'll be able to cope with Bohemia's overflow rather than lose trade."
There are also certain cost savings to be made in running two F&B operations, he says. "Wine sales can be moved more quickly and we can be more efficient with stock."
Open seven days a week and serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, the restaurant will also cater for spa guests popping in for a snack and people using the hotel's meeting facilities. Rankin also plans to run room service and private functions from the separate Club galley kitchen, connected to the main Bohemia kitchen by a staircase so staff can move easily between them.
Dishes are still being fine-tuned, but Rankin is creating a seasonally changing menu with food a little simpler, and cheaper, than Bohemia's. He will be offering side dishes like "sloppy" mash and hand-cooked frites, as well as salads, smoothies and juices for the lunchtime and spa crowd. Moules and frites is expected to be one of the best-selling mains - Rankin has even tracked down a local sheet metal firm to design a special stainless-steel cone to serve the frites in.
Inside the restaurant, a glass roof and French doors opening out on to the outdoor pool area give the room a light and airy feel, while the restaurant's split-level design has created three distinct seating areas for maximum privacy. "It's not a particularly big room, but we wanted a layout that means people coming in from the spa won't be overlooked by, say, a group having a business lunch," Huggler explains.
Rankin, who's currently recruiting, hoping to add five to his 10-strong brigade, is aiming to run the two kitchens as one big team with staff working in both Bohemia and the Club.
Sample menu
Seared yellowfin tuna with sweet onion quiche, rocket and aïoli
Grilled boudin noir with apple pavé, celeriac cream and local watercress
Half Jersey lobster with asparagus and Jersey Royals
Foie gras parfait with orange chutney and toasted brioche
Adopted business
Caterer has "adopted" four hospitality businesses, which will be visited in rotation every four weeks. There are: the Cube & Star, Hoxton Square, London; the Club Hotel & Spa, St Helier, Jersey; the Red Lion, Stoke; and the Mason's Arms in north Devon
