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Ferry House Inn scoops Taste of Kent Award 2018
Best Dining Pub/Bistro award for home-grown produce and top-quality food Nearly two decades of care and attention lavished onto the Ferry House Inn (FHI) have lead to the venue scooping one of the top food awards in the county. At a black-tie ceremony held at the Kent Showground in Detling, the pub was named ‘Best Dining Pub/Bistro’ in the Taste of Kent Awards. This is the second time the FHI has achieved the award with the first being in 2014. The Burden family bought the FHI in November 2000. Mavis Burden ran the business single-handed for the first 12 months; it was then the family were confident to invest into the FHI’s future, resulting in Alex joining forces with his Mum. Ten years later Mavis retired and handed the running over to Alex and his wife Victoria. They attended the event along with many of their team, who both Alex and Victoria say the credit for the award rightfully belongs. The FHI was one of over 100 pubs and bistros nominated by customers. Voting then whittled down the numbers to the three finalists which each received a visit from a mystery diner. The team attended the awards dinner quietly confident but knew the other two finalists were very worthy adversaries. “We were delighted when our name was called out and when we phoned the pub to let the team know, they went wild. It’s such a great accolade and thank you to the whole team for everything they do. Everyone here really is dedicated to making sure the Ferry House Inn delivers only the best service to its customers,” Alex said. “Everyone is very conscious that our success is down to a team effort. Everyone plays a part in offering the full dining experience.” A true destination venue, the pub which offers separate dining, banqueting, functions, weddings and accommodation, both bed & breakfast and self-catering, sits at the end of a three-and-a-half-mile-long lane that leads visitors through the heart of the island’s countryside to the 16th-century building. It sits near the estuary, offering visitors views of the water’s edge and over onto the mainland. “We have people come for lunch from as far a field as London,” Alex said. “I think the journey onto the island and through the countryside is all part of the experience,” he added. On opening the menu at the pub visitors will see not just the Head Chef’s name, Vitalijs Kaneps, but also the Head Gardner, Jane Rudd, something not common in food establishments. “We have developed our gardens over recent years and are proud that much of what we serve has been grown, literally, in our own back garden,” Victoria said. “Jane and her team form a vital part of the team here at the FHI and I think diners continue to get more and more interested in where their food comes from.” Just a few products found on the FHI menu that come from its gardens include: asparagus, tomatoes, kale, chilli, peppers, edible flowers, squashes and salads. Alex and Victoria plan to open the gardens to the public so they can see where their food comes from before enjoying it. “We’re not sure of any other venue in Kent that offers this opportunity on this scale,” Victoria said. The Burden family has dedicated years to improving the Inn and has no intention of stopping just yet. “When we took over, the property needed a lot of time and attention spent on it,” Alex said. “We had a vision, we knew what we wanted to do and spent a good few years making major changes. That work is on-going as we have many other plans in place that will see the service offering grow and grow,” he added. Despite the delivery of tasty and locally sourced food being foremost at the FHI, the team is currently working on the creation of a suite of accommodation. The new building, designed and built to resemble fisherman-style buildings that are in keeping with local and regional architecture, will see the current rooms grow by six with a number of redundant out buildings being demolished to make room for the construction. These will sit alongside the current five bed & breakfast rooms that are housed within the Inn and the self-catering accommodation, which sits, as the crow flies, just a few hundred yards from the Inn. The new accommodation will have disabled access, which the current rooms are not able to offer. The building will also house a meetings room, a new staff room, a purpose-built laundry facility, a new commercial kitchen to compliment the one within the Inn and a butchery area. From employing just two people 17 years ago, the FHI has grown to a staff of 50 with plans for around 20% growth in numbers once the new facilities are complete in the spring of 2019. All in all Alex, Victoria and the Ferry House Inn team have no intention of resting on their laurels and are looking forward to a bright future. |
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Taste of Kent Awards 2014
WINNER: Kent's Dining Pub of the Year 2014
As you may of heard, The Ferry House Inn was awarded Kent's Dining Pub of the Year 2014.
We would like to take the time to thank all those who voted for us to reach the top three, out of over 80 nominees, and also thank our wonderful team here at The Ferry House Inn.
You can read our blog post about the awards ceremony and visit The Taste of Kent website to view all the other winners.
As you may of heard, The Ferry House Inn was awarded Kent's Dining Pub of the Year 2014.
We would like to take the time to thank all those who voted for us to reach the top three, out of over 80 nominees, and also thank our wonderful team here at The Ferry House Inn.
You can read our blog post about the awards ceremony and visit The Taste of Kent website to view all the other winners.
The Times
| The Times - article Jan 2010 |
Jo and Ryan's Wedding on the 20th July 2013
Joanne and Ryan's wedding featured in Wedding Magazine last year.
A blog post on Rock My Wedding was also written about their special day, you can read it by following this link... Jo and Ryan's Wedding on Rock My Wedding.
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