Exciting Opportunity: The search is on for a new Head Chef!

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As we get ourselves organized and ready for what promises to be yet another busy season in West Cornwall, we’re looking for aspirational people to become part of our foodie family.

We are recruiting for a Head Chef at The Tolcarne Inn to support the Chef Director, who works across our two sites. Experience in managing a team, purchasing, menu writing, health and safety is essential. Our dishes will be inspired by seasonal produce from the producers and suppliers with whom we have worked for many years. Predominantly we make everything from scratch in house; big flavours and relaxed dining are what we are all about.

As passionate hospitality providers, our aim is to put a smile on our guests faces. We can only do that if we have passionate, enthusiastic staff committed to providing the best quality dining experience.

Working in the hospitality industry can be a very rewarding career. As part of the team you will be encouraged to learn and develop your skills.

As Head Chef you will be expected to:

  • Lead by example, demonstrating the best level of quality in your work, and commitment to maintaining the high standards set.
  • Practice and demonstrate excellent stock control, ensuring minimal wastage and maximum efficiency.
  • Work with our Chef Director on menu ideas, keeping the menus fresh and in line with our ethos of seasonal, local and flavourful.
  • Ensure health and safety, and food safety standards, are maintained at the highest level at all times.
  • Guide junior members of the team to produce their best in a nurturing and encouraging way.
  • Ensure good communication with all members of the operation to ensure the best possible guest experience.

If you think this could be you and are interested in becoming part of our team, we’d love to hear from you.

We offer:

  • A salary of £30,000 to £35,000 dependent on experience.
  • Good work life balance with 40-45 hour working week.
  • Fantastic training opportunities, both in house and externally.
  • A share of generous gratuities.
  • 50% off food and drink at both our sites.
  • Onsite parking.
  • Employee of the month rewards.

If you fancy a new challenge this year working within an aspirational team in our beautiful West Cornwall setting, get in touch today. Email or Chef Owner direct on ben@tolcarneinn.co.uk to get the ball rolling.

About our two pubs in beautiful West Cornwall:

Our original pub is in Newlyn, The Tolcarne Inn. Here, as you might expect, we focus on the bounty of the sea. Offering the very best of the landings at Newlyn Fish Market or direct from the boats (we are licensed to buy direct from the fishermen themselves) this incredible seafood is paired with the freshest seasonal produce, predominantly direct from local growers. Owner Ben Tunnicliffe has been working closely with local farmers, and benefitting from the amazing produce grown throughout the year, for over 20 years here in West Penwith.

Our second pub joined the fold in 2020 and is a little more inland. The Packet Inn Smokehouse, as the name suggests, is where we cook with smoke over charcoal. Focusing on the same very best quality produce, here again seasonality is the watchword. However, at The Packet the setting lends itself towards a meaty menu and so – as well as fresh seafood and locally-grown fruit and veg – we work with premium meat producers like Primrose Herd and Homage to the Bovine.

Our Chef Director Matt Smith and Chef Owner Ben Tunnicliffe oversee both kitchens to guide the cooking in line with our ethos. Our aim is to provide genuine hospitality in the true sense of the word, in relaxed settings, with the highest standard of food and drink. In short, the kind of places we enjoy eating at ourselves with friends and family.

Further your career in 2022. Join our family of food-led pubs!

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We’re recruiting for our two well-regarded pubs, The Tolcarne Inn, Newlyn & The Packet Inn Smokehouse, Rosudgeon.

As we get ourselves organized and ready for what promises to be yet another busy season in West Cornwall, we’re looking for aspirational people to become part of our foodie family.

We’re always keen to hear from people with a passion for food and drink; we have kitchen or front of house, full and part-time positions available. Whether you’re a young person keen to train on the job, or an experienced chef looking for a senior position in a beautiful part of the world, we’d love to talk to you.

We have two sites.

One in Newlyn, The Tolcarne Inn. Here as you might expect, we focus on the bounty of the sea. Offering the very best of the landings at Newlyn Fish Market or direct from day boats (we are licensed to buy direct from the fishermen themselves) this incredible seafood is paired with the freshest seasonal produce, predominantly direct from local growers. Chef Owner Ben Tunnicliffe has been working closely with local farmers, and benefitting from the amazing produce grown throughout the year, for over 20 years here in West Penwith.

The second is a little more inland. At The Packet Inn Smokehouse, as the name suggests, we cook with smoke over charcoal. Focusing on the same very best quality produce, here again seasonality is the watchword. However, at The Packet the setting lends itself towards a meaty menu and so – as well as fresh seafood and locally-grown fruit and veg – we work with premium meat producers like Primrose Herd & Homage to the Bovine.

Our Chef Director Matt Smith and Owner Ben Tunnicliffe oversee both kitchens to guide the cooking in line with our ethos. Our aim is to provide genuine hospitality in the true sense of the word, in relaxed settings, with the highest standard of food and drink. In short the kind of places we enjoy eating at ourselves with friends and family.

We are currently particularly looking for:

Head Chef – The Tolcarne Inn

Food Prep Assistants

Commis Chefs

Chef de Partie

Assistant FOH Manager – The Packet Inn

Floor and Bar Staff

If you fancy a new challenge this year working with great ingredients and aspirational teams in our beautiful West Cornwall settings, get in touch today. Email our Chef Director Ben to get the ball rolling – ben@tolcarneinn.co.uk. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Lockdown meals for our community

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The Covid-19 outbreak in the spring of 2020 has had a devastating impact – claiming lives and livelihoods. The hospitality industry as a whole shut down back in March, and places like Cornwall were particularly badly hit as a result.

We faced some really difficult decisions during that time, but one very easy one. We were asked to help deliver a meal scheme to feed local residents in our community who were finding things particularly hard. We were immediately keen to get on board and so we put it to our team, asking them if they would give their time for free – they answered with a resounding ‘yes, when do we start!’

And so, we got to work. During lockdown we prepared and cooked almost 1,700 delicious and nutritious meals, free of charge, for a wide cross section of local people who have been struggling due to the prevailing conditions. Recipients have been referred by the Fishermen’s Mission, local schools and community groups. The service was organised by the Fishing Animateur team in Newlyn and supported by Seafood Cornwall Training Ltd. The cost of the ingredients was funded by grants from the Fishmongers’ Company and Seafarers UK.

Ben says: “I am very proud to have been able to offer the facilities at the Tolcarne to produce the meals for the vulnerable amongst the community, and even more proud of my staff who have voluntarily given their time to help those less fortunate than ourselves during these challenging times.”

Liz Wilkin from the Fishing Animateur team had these kind words for us: “The staff at the Tolcarne have spent the last three months providing delicious and healthy food for free, for up to 40 people four nights a week. They have done this simply to help the community through a difficult time and without regard to the extra work that this has generated for themselves. All of the staff have been magnificent and I, together with the recipients, would like to express our enormous thanks for their selfless service and hard work”.

The meals scheme has given us a positive focus, bought the team closer together, and helped us keep perspective during tough times – it’s an experience which will stay with us. And now, on to the next challenge (but more on that soon!)

We’re Back!

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We are very pleased to announce we will be reopening on Saturday 4th July.

During lockdown we have taken the opportunity to refresh our little Inn by the sea, as well as providing meals for some of the vulnerable people in our local community as a way of keeping our hand in and doing something meaningful during the crisis. It has been humbling to see the community come together to support each other, and we were happy to play a small part in that.

We’ve also been planning summer menus, so expect a feast when you return! We can’t wait to bring you the best seasonal delicacies from our local growers and fishermen – and to put much-needed orders their way after such a challenging period.

We would like to assure all our guests that we will be following government guidelines regarding social distancing, health and hygiene. We will be cleaning and sanitising regularly and hand sanitiser will be available to our guests. You can find more info on our opening plans below, but if you have any questions or concerns please get in touch.

We very much look forward to welcoming you back to the Tolcarne Inn as we embark on the new normal together.

  • We will be open Tuesday – Sunday, closed Mondays to begin with.
  • Tuesday – Saturday we will be serving lunch from 12.00-2.15 and dinner from 6.30-9.00.
  • On Sundays we will be running an extended lunch service 12-4 and closing in the evenings. There will be no Sunday Live Jazz Sessions for a while unfortunately.
  • Our terrace has had a refresh and will be open for alfresco dining. We’ll also be serving with a smaller capacity inside. In all areas social distancing will meet government guidelines in order to keep staff and guests safe.
  • We recommend that you book ahead, although we may be able to cater for walk-ins as long as we take contact details. We’ll confirm this shortly. Our online booking system will soon be up and running, but in the meantime please email enquiries@tolcarneinn.co.uk
  • We hope to be running a modest takeaway service too – more details on this soon.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Christmas Carol Workshops

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We are thrilled to announce a series of Christmas Carol Workshops here at The Tolcarne, with popular six-piece male group, Boilerhouse.

This is a great opportunity to do something fun, sociable and healthy (singing is very good for you!) in the run-up to Christmas – and get to know Cornwall’s heritage a little better too.

The informal workshops will run throughout November and December, building up to a concert here at the pub on the 19th December. There is no charge and no booking required, you are simply invited to come along, have fun and learn some little-known Cornish carols as well as some classics.

Song-sheets will be provided, and no previous experience is required!

You may like to come and eat with us beforehand, but you are equally welcome to just come along for a few drinks. The fires will be lit, so expect cosy evenings in good company.

Workshops dates are as follows (all 8-9.30pm):

12th November

19th November

26th November

10th December

17th December

19th December – Concert

Wine Supper Menu Released

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Our Winter Wine Suppers return next month – and the menu has just landed. Co-created by Ben & Matt, this has us very excited indeed…

Starting from the 4th, every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night throughout November, guests here at the Tolcarne can enjoy a great-value 3-course meal, with each course expertly matched with an accompanying wine. Thank you to Charles of Ellis Wharton Wines for doing such a great job once again this year.

To book give us a call as usual, but be quick – these nights are great value and tables fill up quickly!

Take a look at the menu here.

 

 

Meet Our New Head Chef

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We are thrilled to introduce our new Head Chef, Matt Smith.

Matt was recruited by Ben to work alongside him here at The Tolcarne Inn. Matt joined the team at the start of the summer and has now taken day-to-day operational charge, working with Ben to develop menus and take our food offering to the next level.

Ben said: “I was really pleased to be able to bring Matt on board, having worked with him in the past. Not only is he a reliable pair of hands to help us maintain the highest levels of quality and consistency, he is also extremely creative and forward-thinking, and we’ve already implemented some of his development ideas.”

Ben and Matt worked together during the launch of The Scarlet Hotel in Mawgan Porth in 2009; they found they had very similar approaches to food and have kept in touch ever since.

In the interim Matt was Head Chef at both The Gurnard’s Head in Zennor and The Old Coastguard in Mousehole – both award-winning dining establishments with national reputations.

Matt explained why The Tolcarne Inn is such a natural fit for him: “Ben and I think in the same way about food, especially how to construct dishes. Simple dishes, which highlight excellent ingredients – this is the best description of how we both like to cook.”

Matt and Ben also agree that the casual pub setting is the perfect vehicle for their food, as Ben explains: “Good food in relaxed surroundings is always enjoyable. Fine-dining has its place, but the humble pub is where myself and my food are most at home!”

At Matt’s instigation we trialled a ‘small plates’ menu this summer, with great success. The menu, which is now a permanent fixture, encourages diners to try a selection of smaller dishes starting at around £5, and to build their own seafood feast.

Next on the horizon is the return of our popular Winter Warmer Wine Suppers, which run throughout November, and a turkey-free Christmas Menu for groups of six or more which will be available during December.

Summer At The Tolcarne: Your Ultimate Seafood Lunch Awaits!

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This summer we’ve decided to mix things up a little here at The Tolcarne, changing our lunch menu to a ‘small plates’ format to help you really embrace the joy of dining on Cornish seafood in the sunshine.

We’ve done this for two reasons. The first is that, like you, when we see a good menu we want to try everything. Choosing at the most one starter, one main, and one dessert (if you can manage that at lunchtime) just doesn’t quite cut it when there is an array of delicious options on offer…

The second is that, with our new day boat license, we now have scope to serve a greater variety of fresh seafood than ever before. While we’re still working with our fab fish supplier Stevensons, we will increasingly be sourcing small catches direct from day boat fishermen as they return from their short trips along the coast. At the moment we’re working closely with a fisherman whose main haul is lobster – as you can imagine our kitchen team have been enjoying creating dishes with this bounty!

With the most diverse fish market in the UK on our doorstep, and scope to buy from day boats, our blackboard menu is always evolving according to market availability and landings, so we can truly showcase the catch of the day.

We hope that by offering small plates it will encourage you to order a selection, try something new, and visit us time and again during what we hope will be a beautiful summer for dining alfresco.

The Tolcarne Inn becomes direct buyer of fish

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We have been granted a license to buy the daily catch direct from fishing vessels, making The Tolcarne Inn in Newlyn one of a handful of restaurants in Cornwall with this license.

The ‘Certificate of Designation as a Buyer of First Sale Fish’, issued by the Marine Management Organisation, allows Ben and the team to source seafood straight from day boat fishermen; these small vessels go in and out with the tides, fish immediately offshore, and use traditional and sustainable fishing techniques to catch their low-impact quotas.

Ben explained: “We work with a fantastic fish merchant in Stevenson Newlyn and that’s not going to change, but because we operate a daily-changing menu we have the opportunity to be more responsive and take small amounts straight off the boat – just hours after it has been caught.”

The day boats are a great source of sustainably-caught fish, and the fishermen we work with know that we’re happy to cook a wide variety of species. It means a lot more cleaning and filleting in-house, which is really positive as it means young chefs are perfecting those important skills.

Sheltering behind the sea wall in Newlyn, The Tolcarne Inn is just a few hundred metres from one of the busiest and most diverse fish markets in the UK; up to 53 different species can be landed in any one day.

Now Ben is taking his sourcing policy a step further and going straight to source, working directly with day boat fishermen to bring their catch to table.