Michele and Ava Newton took on the business of the much-loved Gurnard Press in Worsley Road, Gurnard. It is a family-run business that values hospitality! Michele has experience in the food industry as a chef, food safety advisor, restaurant owner, nutritionist, and trainer. She also runs the Four Seasons Cookery Academy. Ava is a chef, and her other skills are as a trainer for hospitality, customer service, cooking workshops, plus an event organizer/manager. She also holds a personal license.
During our conversation, the grandmother and granddaughter have a strong bond with each other. Their skills complement each other perfectly, and they have planned a menu that appeals to both adults and children. The Gurnard Press Bistro has received positive feedback in the first few months since its reopening! Ava and Michele aim to continue with the previous owners, the Clark family's ethos, for the Gurnard Press. They talk about respecting the ethos the Press had before, as you will hear Michele viewed the Press as her local cafe.
Many locals who previously viewed the Press as their go-to spot have responded positively to the food and service provided by this dynamic team. Michele and Ava's hard work and creativity will continue to bring them more positive feedback from new and old customers. The Gurnard Press Bistro is in talented hands!
Family is essential to them both, as evidenced by their shared choice of music.
This is the Voice only episode. You will hear the whole of every track if you have a Spotify Premium account. If not, you will hear 30 seconds of each track.
You can subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast provider, just search for FoodandMusicIOW. It's available from Spotify, Amazon, Google, and Apple, plus a few more!
To find out more about me, go to The Island Chef Links
Thank you for listening!
Eat Street IOW! In this episode, I talk to Laurel and Alex Wibberley, who are a dynamic team with a business that has attracted a growing following here on the Isle of Wight! They share the work and the loads equally. Alex is the chef, who worked on the Cunard ships until the pandemic. Laurel is multi-talented, doing the finance and website for the Eat Street IOW! They also use social media extremely well! Now securely installed in their new HQ on the edge of Cowes, they are establishing a great reputation for the food and service they offer their clients.
Teamwork, community minded, with goals for sustainability and zero waste, they have set high standards for what they do and how they do business! The website EatStreetIOW is all about the business, lots of food pictures, menus and so on. Also, a blog with lot that talks about what they do, how they do it and other personal issues such as mental health and wellbeing. As you will learn,this is an important issue to them both. Their relationship began with the COVID lockdowns. Starting the business in COVID, they worked together, and formed a strong partnership that is the foundation of Eat Street IOW.
The Burnt Chef Project is a part of their ethos and how they work. Here they talk about how they use the new HQ and as support the project. They also talk about their new plans for the summer, and into the autumn! If you check the website, they have innovated again and have a new service on offer! They never stop!
Their choice of music is personal and reflects the care that they have for each other and what they do. I hope you enjoy this episode and getting to know both Laurel and Alex. I wish them all the success for the future and seeing more successful client events on social media!
This is the Voice episode.
You can subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast provider, just search for FoodandMusicIOW. It's available from Spotify, Amazon, Google, and Apple, plus a few more!
Find out more about me, got to The Island Chef Links
Thank you for listening!
This is a special episode of the podcast which is bringing the exciting news of the first Great Wight Bite Festival! This is taking place on the 9/10 September 2023 at Northwood House in Cowes! I was so excited when I heard about this festival earlier this year. So I contacted Richard to find out more about the plans. I have watched as the festival has come together. That it is only weeks away now, I am getting so excited!
The idea of a festival celebrating the food, drink, chefs, restaurants and the range of hospitality here on the island is so exciting. In my chat with Richard Nowell, he talks about festivals he runs and why the Great Wight Bite is important. Covering all the exciting things planned and the sponsors, chefs, producers and so on. This is a festival you don't want to miss!
Please check the website, The Great Wight Bite for all the information and to buy tickets. The great news is they are not expensive. As you will hear, Richard and his team have planned for a wide range of food to be on offer, so that you can try several cuisines during your visit!
Also check social media Facebook, Instagram for updates and news about the weekend. @greatwightbite on both, I believe.
This is the Music and Voice episode.
You can subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast provider, just search for FoodandMusicIOW. It's available from Spotify, Amazon, Google, and Apple, plus a few more!
Find out more about me, got to The Island Chef Links
Thank you for listening!
Welcome to this latest episode of my Food and music IOW podcast! This episode is about bread and baking, as I chat with Sarah and David Redrup. Sister and brother who work as part of a truly family business that was founded in 1997 in Ryde.
The baking HQ is in what was an old working mill in the centre of Ryde. The family took on the café and a small part of the building that backs on to the Victoria Road carpark. Over the years, they expanded into the larger building that has three floors! With the old wooden stairs and beams, there is also a collection of vintage milling machinery to be found under the stairs.
Founded when the family moved back to the island, the rise of Grace’s Bakery was instantaneous and has not stopped! You will find a Redrup is involved in most parts of the business, from baking, new product development, the café, marketing, and community projects. Multi-talented these Redrups!
Our conversation ranged from why the bakery was founded on the Isle of Wight, its expansion, and ways in which the business has developed over the last 26 years. I found it fascinating, and I hope you will too.
They believe in working with the communities they serve and have several projects ongoing. You will find one of their shops in several places around the island. You can always get the Isle of Wight doughnut, and others, a hot drink made from island produced tea/coffee and other products. People love everything the bakery offers!
You can find out more about Grace’s Bakery by going to the website Grace’s Bakery.
The next episode is all about Eat Street IOW. Alex and Laurel run a popular and exciting catering business that has enjoyed tremendous success in the last couple of years!
This is the voice only version of the podcast.
Please subscribe to the podcast, through your favourite podcast service, Spotify, Amazon, Google, Apple, and others!
You can also follow the podcast, my websites, social media, and my newsletter on the following link.
Thank you so much for listening!
Here is the fourth episode: it is about the Adgestone Vineyard! Run by Russ and Philippa Broughton, who took on the vineyard around ten or so years ago. The vineyard sits on a south facing slope in the rolling countryside in Brading. You reach the vineyard via a narrow single track road that runs along the base of the hill. From the main building on the site, there are commanding views of the island and the channel!
The vineyard came to the attention of the island and the rest of the UK earlier this year. In the Channel 5 programme, Isle of Wight Jewel of the South the vineyard had a featuring role. I had not seen the series when I contacted Russ and Philippa to do an episode of the podcast. I made up for that by watching the episode that featured them a night or two before meeting them. It was great to "meet" them virtually before recording our conversation!
It was an early sunny spring day when I arrived at the vineyard, and the view of the channel was stunning. I could see that the vineyard has a lot to offer from the shop, the bar, and the kitchen. I did not realise how much work is involved there during not only the summer but the entire year round. It is a full on project!
We sat around the table in the house and talked about life working in the vineyard. It was good of them to take the time, especially as they were getting ready to open to the public the following day. And as it always happens, there was an equipment issue that day as well which they were trying to sort out to prepare for opening!
Their enthusiasm, dedication, and enjoyment of what they have created and do at the vineyard is clear! They have faced challenges, made mistakes, but have always created solutions and taken advantage of things that have happened! Their appetite for hard work is obvious, when you consider how many vines they planted in the previous year!
The conversation with Philippa and Russ changed my preconceptions about winemaking. I have huge respect for what they do!
I hope you learn something new from the episode and enjoy the conversation!
You can find out more about the Adgestone Vineyard, by going to the website – Adgestone Vineyard
The next episode will be with Sarah Redrup and David Redrup of Grace’s Bakery, a family business based in Ryde, doing great things with bread, cakes, and treats!
This is the voice only version of the podcast.
Please subscribe to the podcast, through your favourite podcast service, Spotify, Amazon, Google, Apple, and others!
You can also follow the podcast, websites, social media and newsletter on the following link.
Thank you so much for listening!
A huge welcome to the third episode of the Food and Music IoW podcast! This episode is about a business with so much to offer the discerning cake lover and great freshly prepared homemade food! With fresh coffee and teas, plus milkshakes, beer and wine. What more could you want? Plus the view is amazing, so there is something for everyone!
Claire and Liam Eede took on the Blueberry Cafe in Shanklin, in 2017. This conversation covers why they bought it, building a team and a wonderful hospitality business. Built on good recipes and homemade food, the cafe overlooks the channel; it is the most magnificent vista, and the cafe has a great vibe about it!! Claire has developed a wide range of over 150 different recipes for cake plus a wider menu the cafe offers so much to its customers. The first year was all about the family getting to running the business, including Mum and Dad! The cafe was a well-known spot for a good cup of tea and cake, but Claire and Liam have made the business their own, weathering the difficulties of the first year of running the cafe. Adjusting to the pandemic and all that has ensued since then, they have built the business in to a thriving and popular venue! So much so that they recently won a Gold award in the 2022 Isle of Wight Awards run by Red Funnel Ferries.
Growing the team in the kitchen and the front of house team, they have found a formula that works for them as the management team. They used the Covid time to be creative in how they met and served their customers' needs, keeping them safe, and the customers are loyal to the cafe. The formula or recipe that they have for the cafe is working, and to listening to them, you would want to go there or maybe even work for them!
You can find out more about Blueberrys Cafe by going to the website - Blueberrys Cafe
This is the voice only version.
The next episode will be with Russ and Philippa Broughton, who took on the challenges the Adgestone Vineyard offered!
Please subscribe to the podcast, through your favourite podcast service, Spotify, Amazon, Google, Apple and others!
You can also follow the podcast on the following. I put articles in my newsletter, pictures, videos on YouTube and recipes up on the social media that run alongside the podcast.
Facebook at FoodandMusicIOW
My newsletter - A View From The Kitchen
My YouTube channel - @foodandmusiciow
My Website - Paul Bellchambers
Thank you so much for listening!
I found the Isle of Wight Meat Company when I was looking for a meat supplier. Located nearby at Cheverton Farm, Shorwell, the farm rears beef, sheep and pigs. With a new butchery, cold store and ageing rooms, they have a modern and safe facility. Customers can buy directly online from them and collect their order. For other clients such as restaurants, hotels and so on they will deliver orders as needed.
When I contacted Rikki at the IOW Meat Company, went to meet him, and swiftly bundled into a 4x4 truck for a 30-minute tour of the farm! The views from the top fields of the island and beyond were wonderful. Then back to tour the butchery and other parts of the farm. A great way to be introduced to the business and what it does.
This episode is with the owner, Andrew Hodgson. He has farming written all the way through him, so he says. I wanted to get an idea of how the business came about and how it has grown. I had not met Andrew before, and he has a passion for the business he has built, keeping it going, especially in these challenging economic times! I also wanted to know about how they can track every part of the meat from field to plate! It is a fascinating part of the entire business of raising meat, selling it to retailers and customers! Enjoy listening to him and his selection of music! You can learn more at the website
https://www.isleofwightmeat.co.uk
The next episode will be Blueberrys Cafe in Shanklin, a much loved family run cafe, with an amazing range of cakes to enjoy!
Please subscribe to the podcast, through your favourite podcast service, Spotify, Amazon, Google, Apple and others!
You can also follow the podcast on the following. I put articles, pictures, videos and recipes up on these that run alongside the podcast.
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/foodandmusiciow/
My newsletter at https://aviewfromthekitchen.substack.com/.
My YouTube channel - https://www.youtube.com/@foodandmusiciow
My Website - paulbellchambers.com
Thank you so much for listening!
The Water Mill at Calbourne.
This is the only working water mill on the Isle of Wight! Sally Chaucer is the custodian and owner, along with her children. They have a historic site and technology which is still producing flour. The history spans two millennia and is a vital part of the collective history of the Isle of Wight. The care and dedication that Sally takes with the mill and all the things they do there is wonderful. I think that comes across in the conversation we had. Her choice of music is also a powerful reflection of the past, present and what the future of the Water Mill can be.
The technology that is maintained and working at the Water mill is over 150 years old and holds a fascination for anyone interested in engineering but also food, as flour is a staple that we rely on for bread, cakes and so on. Having this wonderful site on the doorstep is great, but if you visit the Isle of Wight, it is a place that you must visit to learn about the history and the flour milling that happened on the site for decades!
This is the version without the music available.
Welcome to the Food and Music IOW Podcast!
The first trailer episode introduces the podcast. This is a food and drink podcast which is the conversations with producers of food and drink produce, chefs and so on. In fact, any place where food and drink is prepared, cooked, served, plus some recipes for you to try. The settling is the Isle of Wight which boasts beautiful beaches, countryside, wildlife and so much more. I hope the podcast will inspire you about food and drink, also about the Isle of Wight. I am a chef, catering for clients here on the island, holiday makers and locals. Sourcing local food is important to me and as I found out when I started looking for ingredients, the range of producers here is second to none anywhere in the UK. I enjoy finding producers whose product is fresh, and high quality. Ideally, the bulk of what I prepare comes from island producers. The hospitality sector here uses as much locally sourced ingredients as it can. As you will hear through the conversations with producers, chefs hotels, restaurants, cafes, pubs and so on.
I founded the Wallingford Food Festival in 2011 to highlight local food and drink. The podcast is much like the food festival as a project and it represents the passion I have for local food and drink. It is my way of celebrating the local food, drink and hospitality heroes on the Isle of Wight! I hope you will subscribe to the podcast and follow the FoodandMusicIOW Facebook page.
I am using Spotify to produce the Music and Voice version of the podcast. This includes 30 seconds of the music if you do not have a Spotify Premium account. If you do, then you will hear the whole tracks used.
You can learn more about me at theislandchef.co.uk .
