All that jazz

For many months we have featured live jazz on Friday nights @ vaudreys. Our aim has been to provide background music that helps to set the athmosphere rather than a performance.

Generally this has been a very popular way to start the weekend.

However as our customer base has grown we have found that some people prefer to have a quiter Friday evening without distractions. This has created a bit of a dilemma as it is difficult to provide the full product to suit everyone. We have decided to compromise and provide live music every other Friday and see how this is received.

Last Friday, May 7th, we did not have live music and did not notice any particular reaction or change in bookings. This Friday we welcome back 'Two Darn Hot' and will be interested to see how this differs to last Friday. The following week we will be jazz free but Paul Malsom and Karen Lane are returning on Friday 28th May.

Please let us have your views as we do want to try to make sure that we listen to our customers and provide them with the product that you like best.

Thanks

Keith

Strictly the winners

Rockdale Strictly Come Dancing charity event Saturday 13th March- sponsored by Vaudreys

This was a truly ‘successful’ event in every sense of the word. Just about everybody arrived early in order to bag a good seat and the atmosphere was electric from the outset. It all looked spookily like the real Strictly set with a judges area on the left of the dance floor, spectator’s seats around all four sides of the room and even a big screen at the front so we could view clips of the dancers in rehearsal.

The event was a complete sell-out with an audience of some three hundred crowded in and eager with anticipation.

We were not disappointed! The couples came out in pairs to perform first a waltz and then a cha cha and all were beautifully costumed with gowns provided by The Italian Wardrobe in Tunbridge Wells. Although there were clearly nerves abounding it was amazing to see how well the couples were able to perform under pressure and how well trained they had obviously been.

After each pair of couples had danced they were subjected to the comments of the judges comprised, again a la Strictly formula of one lady and three men, one of whom bravely took on the mantle of delivering Craig Revell-Horwoodesque comments. Needless to say it was all delivered, and received in extremely good spirit and the heckling it generated from the audience only added to the authentic atmosphere.

The whole event was extremely professional in its preparation and delivery, the icing on the cake being performances from professional dancers John & Katherine Giannini who stunned the audience with their lively and energetic ballroom and Latin show dances.

The suspense was maintained until the very end when the winners were announced and it was revealed that two couples had drawn in first place therefore necessitating a dance-off.

The Rockdale cup was ultimately awarded to TJ and Paul Spurin who the judges deemed improved the most in the dance off. But their rivals Leah and Stuart Burges were not disappointed as they took away individual awards for the best waltz and the best cha cha cha. Third place was awarded to Val and Paul Riches.

An extremely entertaining evening which we are proud to have been associated with and we understand that it has generated over £5000 of much deserved funds for this very worthwhile local charity. Vaudreys are privileged to have been the sponsor.

Vaudreys sponsor Strictly Come Dancing

Strictly Come Dancing is one of those programmes that appeals to all ages and a wide range of different people. The format is simple and some like to see people stumble whilst others like to see them grow with confidence and ability and become stars in their own right.

When we were approached to become a sponsor my initial reaction was surprise. However we quickly came down to earth as this is a local event that is aiming to raise lots of money for charity and using the clever Strictly format as its base. The charity is the Rockdale Housing Association based in Sevenoaks. Rockdale was set up over 60 years ago with the aim of providing housing and care for older people in Sevenoaks. It was largely the result of the determination of one woman – Miss Beatrice Wilson – a gifted physiotherapist with a vision to improve the quality of older people’s lives in the town.

We were honoured to have been selected to help their cause and we have donated an extra prize for the winners of a meal for two in the restaurant. At the time when we first spoke they were concerned that they would sell enough tickets but with just under 2 weeks to go they are sold out and have a waiting list.

Since November, 14 intrepid couples have been put through their paces over as many weeks. Many long hours and hard work has been put in by them to reach the standard required to compete. Now they will line up for a once only competition evening at Walthamstow Hall school on Saturday 13th March. We wish them all good luck and that they enjoy their experience.

Professional dancers John & Katherine Giannini will be giving a dancing demonstration.I will blog again after the event and let everyone know what happened and who was the winner. Whoever it is, it will be the charity that will be the real winner. Let me know if you would like to donate to their cause.

Nominations

I have just been told that we have been asked for nominations and votes for the Good Food Guide and the F Word Best restaurant. Wow!! Seems that the word is spreading and that people are prepared to express their support for us for both of these prestigious awards. If you feel this way the links to vote for either or both of these are

www.which.co.uk/reviews/good-food-guide/feedback

and

www.fword.tv/nominate.aspx

You may need to copy these to your browser.

Thanks

March menu

One of the things that I look forward to each month is when Gilles presents his ideas for a new seasonal menu. He is very creative and manages to deliver something new and imaginative every month without in any way going over the top. We are really fortunate to have found a French head chef who as well as producing great meat and fish dishes is also very adept at vegetarian dishes. I don't think that there are many around who have his skills and passion.

Gilles trained at the Rousillon in London, and joined us from Marks Club, a prestigious dining club in Mayfair. This restaurant is part of the well respected Caprice Group that includes The Ivy and J Sheekey in its portfolio.

For the month of March we have such delights for starters as Grilled wood pigeon with a creamy carrot puree and mixed baby leaf salad and a Beetroot and green bean salad with feta cheese.Amongst the many mains Gilles has created an Early spring rump of lamb dish with crushed potatoes, minted peas and broad beans, plus Roasted fillet of Monkfish roll in Parma ham with new potatoes and broccoli, and for vegetarians Sweet pepper and sauteed spinach with roasted potatoes and tomato, crisp tofu and vinocotto.

Did I say that I look forward each month to seeing the menu. Well I should also have said that tasting it is even better!

Occasions or occasionally?

When we first opened we hit the ground running and quickly established a fairly constant weekly number of customers. Initially people visited us as couples and in small groups of 4 or 6. As our reputation grew and people realised that we could accommodate large parties, whilst maintaining the quality of food and service, the numbers have increased and we now receive bookings for parties of 30, 40 or even 100 people. These are often for special occasions such as birthdays, anniversaries, christenings and weddings. We have a lot of flexibility in how we can arrange tables both in the main restaurant and our function room and can easily manage very large parties. As the warmer weather arrives we also have the large terrace area which is very popular.

I just wanted to let everyone know that as well as visiting us for 'occasions' we also welcome seeing customers 'occasionally'. Indeed we have a large number of customers who visit us on a very regular basis. Our a la carte menu changes every month so that we can include ingredients and dishes that are fresh and in season. Additionally our fixed price menu changes twice a month to maintain variety. This menu is available every lunchtime, except Sunday, and each evening from Monday to Thursday from 6pm to 7.30pm. It is great value and only £18.50 so please call in and see us as occasionally as you like.

You are guaranteed to find something that will appeal to you. Many customers take a lot of time ordering their dishes, and often say that they are spoilt for choice and have difficulty deciding which dish to have at the time because they all look so good.

We also provide a great Sunday lunch menu and a special menu for our Junior guests more about that in another blog.

So whether you are looking for an ideal venue for your special occasion, or just want somewhere to relax and enjoy good food with great value, we hope that vaudreys will be your first choice and we look forward to welcoming you again and again.

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These are Dani's kind comments following the wedding breakfast of Dani and Steve Stockwell @ vaudreys on saturday 13th February 2010

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