Promoting Quex Park , Thanet and specially Margate at Kent 2020

Hi everybody.


Kent 2020 was an interesting experience. I am not an early bird. In fact sometimes I forget what the wee hours of the day looks like. Anyways this was a exceptionally early start. Nick Hewer the man from the TV series The Apprentice was our special guest of honour. His speech started with a comment on Margate and how the challenge of reviving our town was extremely difficult. The rest of his speech was the story of The Apprentice and Sir Alan Sugar. A few of the other speakers indulged in some more Margate bashing .I felt some how the isle of Thanet had the status of an unknown and uninhabitated island in the agenda of most speakers.Anyways, I believe any publicity is good publicity and Margate got a fair share of it! I was lucky enough to introduce myself to one of the speakers later on in the day. I said we are a michelin recommended restaurant and we serve fine food and draw people from all over the county. "So where are you based?" he asked. "We are in MARGATE sir" I said with mixed feelings of pride and humility.

Dev ,the Michelin dilemma and Thanet

Hi friends! The Indian Princess finally got recommended in the Michelin guide this year. However the excitement was shortlived as the initial jubilation was drowned in a series of events that followed. First it was rumors of The Indian Princess closing down followed by a follow up visit by an anonymous Michelin inspector who wasnt happy with the building and location of the restaurant. The final blow came as an enforcement by the local licensing authorities on the alcohol license. I had a taste of local bureaucracy neat on the rocks. Life all of a sudden turned very dramatic. I remember waking up one morning and thinking "Why is it so difficult? What is going to hit me today? My heart goes out to all the people who came out to stand by us during these turbulent times. I received help from unexpected corners. Genuine people and real friends who follow section 27 of "The Common sense Act". Thank you Mariette, Tim, Liam Louise and all other friends and well wishers in TDC. The story of The Indian Princess is getting more and more interesting as months go by. My determination to stay and serve customers in Margate is also getting stronger.

Winds of change

Hi

The storm is still not over but we can feel winds of change blowing now. This week started off with a bang! We had a full house on Monday and the restaurant was booked out till Thursday.It was a little taster of the great old times the business has seen here. But the weekend fell like a pack of cards. The wild and exotic festival was a success. We had fun creating the wonderful dishes and the local press backed us up with great coverage. Thank you to Tom Betts and the editorial team at Kent on Sunday. Should we keep selling a premium and expensive product in the current climate ? Will cutting into profits by reducing prices ensure volumes? I am always looking to find answers to these questions.My beloved Margate had a carnival today. I wonder if the town needs these events? Does it really help local businesses by bringing the right people into the town? Or do we need more serious events directed more towards families and a more mature audience? Two things seemed to have done bumper sales today...balloons and endless pints of beer in plastic tumblers.

Roe deer from Faygate

Hi
Roe deer is in season . A friend is a professional game stalker and brings us fresh Roe deer from the village of Faygate in West Sussex. The meat is quite subtle with a lamb like texture. It does not need strong acidic marinations to melt it down.The restaurant has received a series of positive press reviews in the past few weeks.So thank you to the newspapers and publications who have written about us.I am currently working on a menu with rare and exotic meats such as zebra ,ostrich and believe it or not python! CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between Governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. All meat offered can only come as part of this policy. This means that it is either farmed - usually for the skin and the meat is a by product, or under a hunting licence in order to keep the population under control so that the ecosystem is not harmed.

Wood pigeon as a starter!

My morning started with the hunt for a new starter as we had run out of silver pomfret in the restaurant. The tasty flat fish is difficult to source. Choices in fresh fish is poor at the moment due to the strong winds in the sea. Wood pigeon from Godmersham was the only option left. We marinated them in ginger and garlic then chargrilled the breasts on a slow flame . Fantastic! The loins of pork were resisting our efforts to melt them since the past few weeks. But thanks to molecular gastronomy, we are finally victorious! Acids in the fruit juice used to marinate them did the trick! I went to bed last night watching a part of "Apprentice". Sir Allan Sugar and his talk of business objectives and profits have had a drowsy effect on me. Isint it common sense?"A business is a profit oriented venture". But how many of us realise that?? In the mad rush to achieve perfection in our arts all sense of finance and profits are swept aside.