It’s been a while (sorry!) since we last posted on the website and I feel terrible we’ve let it slip, it’s not like nothings been happening! On the contrary, it’s been hectic! We’re actually looking for a web designer to help us move the site forward and have not had much luck so far.

However with our recent visit from 3 Michelin starred Chef Marco Pierre White, I wanted to update the pages with a couple of pictures and a wee message from me to say just what an amazing chap he is… I was actually just a little bit smitten and a in a whole lot of awe! During the four hours he spent in Hornblower’s he was an absolute gentleman, generous with his time and attention and sincere with his comments and advice.

I’ve no idea what will happen when his new show, Kitchen Wars, on channel 5 comes out in June, I just hope they edit me A LOT, as I’m sure I spoke a lot of nonsense, grinned inanely throughout and went to mush when he called me charming!

To think that one of my hero’s has taken the time to visit our little village, meet the locals and dine  on Alex’s food in our restaurant…AND say it was the best haddock & chips he’s had in over 30 years is just amazing. It is a fabulous memory to have for our 1st year in business anniversary. I hope Marco comes back one day, maybe he’ll get the Hornblower’s addiction like so many of our loyal customers, whom he referred to as “your Michelin stars!” how right he is!

It’s our first Christmas at Hornblower’s, who’d have thought it!

This time last year our dreams were close to becoming a reality and now it’s time to celebrate our first Christmas in Gourdon.

If you want to have your own Christmas celebration at Hornblower’s we’ve put together a fantastic group Christmas menu for you to enjoy with friends and colleagues.

The Xmas menu will be available from Monday 28th November until Wednesday 21st December for groups of 10 or more, by reservation and pre-order only.

Please contact Ruth on 01561 360 111 ruth@horn-blowers.com

Xmas 2011 menu

I know this will be controversial, but in my opinion Seagulls get a bad press. It seems no one has a good thing to say about them…scavengers, pests, aggressive, pain in the back side..blah blah blah…well, I find them quite intriguing, intelligent, cunning  and funny. Ok I admit they make a mess and I’m the first to have a moan when one has “bombed” my freshly cleaned windows. But on the whole I have a real soft spot for them and I love the fishermen’s story that seagulls are fishermen who have died and returned to their harbour.

At the moment there are a few gulls around the harbour with particular features which make them stand out. One fully grown one-legged gull is as fierce and brave as any. I watched as he plucked a crab from the harbour and pecked the shell to reveal the succulent meat, devouring it whilst fending off other gulls after the same meal.

Another gull about a year old (still with some browny feathers) has already damaged one of his legs but loves to sit on people’s car roofs outside the chip shop.He’s not fussy and will sit on Range Rovers, Audi’s,  Jags and Porsches alike.

I saw another gull devour a whole dab the other day, quite impressive.

Yes, there are prettier, rarer and more interesting  birds to look out for around the area but I’m fond of the seagulls, enjoy hearing their calls and make me smile when  they perch on top of the street lamps, maybe keeping a watchful eye on the fishermen out at sea.

The past couple of weeks has seen an opportunity to try a few new things, namely HUGE pork sausages which bring a smile to everyone’s faces and taste fantastic,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

the freshest Mackerel baps…delicious deep fried in Alex’s yummy batter, sandwiched in a softie with a slathering of tartare sauce,

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

really tasty homemade herby Scotch Eggs for eating either hot or cold,

 

 

and our new oven and hence finally some home baking, ah! cupcakes!! How I have missed your prettiness!

So, we finally got half of the Hornblower’s team together, not easy on a Saturday morning, to take some cute photos of them in their new uniforms.

We’re all loving the stripy tops, the embroidered aprons and despite some comments that they look like convicts (thanks, helpful pub regulars) they love the look, which just happens to be bang on trend,(thanks H&M!)

Before my battery died, the clouds came over and we opened up to customers  Sean (who’d been working since 8am) Natalie, Mitchell, Kellsey, Gemma, Faye, Jeema, Lauren and Krysta cut a few poses and I have to say did us proud! Well done guys!

And for the rest of the team, we’ll be getting you all together soon!

It’s been a great week for catching up with friends and family and it’s really touched us. Over the weekend we had our very first visitors, Alex’s Mum  and Dad. It was lovely to welcome them to our new home and to finally introduce them to Hornblowers. We had a busy Bank Holiday weekend ahead of us so we didn’t have too much time off to show them around the area. But thanks to Mum and Dad, who happily stepped in as tour guides to entertain Paul and Elaine,  we got on with some hard work and they enjoyed a glorious weekend touring Royal Deeside…they had so much fun they decided to stay out overnight with Mum and Dad, wine and whisky played some part in that decision!

A school reunion had been organised by one of my class mates to coincide with Laura’s visit home from New Zealand and I was really gutted to miss it, but what with running a business and the in-laws visiting I just couldn’t make it. I was utterly delighted that Darlene, Chris, Laura, Laura’s Mum and friend Margaret pitched up with wine, flowers and an appetite for fish & chips! As they were happy to linger the afternoon, we had a chance to chat and catch up. It really made my day as I’ve been following Laura’s wonderful blog of her stories of life with husband Lloyd on our wee farm in New Zealand. We are both massive fans of Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall and it seems Laura has succeeded in a similar lifestyle with her own farm and even Highland Coos!

Yesterday, when I was just wondering if everyone had decided to stay outdoors in the sun, in walked two ladies for lunch,one of whom was my babysitter Janet, from many years ago!! What a wonderful surprise! And today another friend from school days, Marnie and her two gorgeous daughters, Mia and Nessa visiting from Belfast, popped in for lunch and a chat. All agreed the fish and chips were great, but the chocolate fudge cake won the day!

It’s been a lovely week, the sun has shone every day, many regulars have been in and we’re ready for the visitors over the weekend!

The sun has certainly been shining on us over the past two weeks since we officially took over at Hornblowers, literally glorious weather but also fantastic feedback from our customers and despite our sore feet, aching limbs and tiredness we’re buzzing as  we make our way to The Harbour Bar of an evening, handy it’s right next door!

Our routine is coming along, with great support from our team,  but as the days get longer and the visitors start to frequent the area it’s all hands on deck and we barely have a minute to think as we get on with the daily tasks before opening. This week sees the start of our summer opening times and we’re looking forward to seeing our new advert in the summer schedule free magazine for the whole area.

Last Friday we watched Harriet Hitch being launched into Gourdon harbour, it was exciting to see a fishing boat we’d watched being refurbished over the last few weeks being steadily launched onto the incoming tide.

And to top off a super day it was great to have our regulars come for dinner and to welcome back some first timers from earlier in the week!

Chip Queen and Batter King are nearly at the end of our “trial” period and take over at Hornblower’s officially on Friday. Another couple of busy weeks have flown by and with a few days of working on our own under our belts without any major mishap ensuing we’re feeling confident for our weekend ahead. It is of course Mother’s Day on Sunday so we’re preparing for a busy one and have a special treat for any Mother’s coming in for lunch (no, Take That are not dropping by)

We were fortunate enough to have a final weekend treat last Friday when we were invited to join the Captain of HMS Edinburgh for a cocktail party and tour whilst the Type 42 Destroyer was docked in Leith.  Commander Paul Russell, who is married to my cousin, Gillian, hosted a wonderful party and the tour of the war ship was amazing. Once the official party was over we headed back to the Captains quarters to relax a bit before heading to Malmaison for dinner.  It was great to see Gillian and Paul and to be invited to join them during some of their own precious time together.

The science of the potato becomes ever more intruiging and I was really looking forward to meeting our potato merchant this afternoon to discuss varieties, seasons and price. It seems the humble spud is a complex and wonderful thing and I find the subject quite fascinating! I forsee some experiments and taste tests  to come.

Just as the potato meeting finished,  HMS Edinburgh sailed by Gourdon harbour only 1/2 a mile out and saluted us with a horn blow…how appropriate! To see the warship so close to shore was  amazing and it was so lovely of Paul to make the effort! The view from our restaurant was perfect, although we did run down to the harbour wall to wave frantically!

We’re coming up for air after the last three weeks of life change, new routine, chippie training and settling in. And happy to report all the above has gone  to plan.

Our house is lovely and cosy and we’ve managed to get things organised really quickly – so glad I married a DIY savvy man! We have a huge field across from our house which we’ve watched the farmer plough in readiness for planting and behind us is the Howe of the Mearns, hills and valleys stretching to Laurencekirk, my Mum’s home town.

 

 

 

After a week of full-on “on the job” training at Hornblower’s, we spent three days last week at the National Federation of Fish Fryers (NFFF) in Leeds, where we took the three-day course. Arthur, the President of the NFFF – an  lovely bloke, led the training with about 5 other experienced and knowledgeable Fryers taking some practical sessions and course work. Alex and I really enjoyed the experience and meeting everyone. The stories and knowledge were invaluable. I had no idea there was so much science in a tattie!

So, with less that two weeks till we take over on the 1st April our preparation is well under way, our techniques are being perfected and there is absolutely no doubting the quality of the product we have to sell!

And have arrived safely in Inverbervie!  I can only praise Shore Porters Society for their guys Colin, Steve and Dave who helped us move and kept us sane amidst the chaos of  removal day. I barely noticed our house being packaged and stacked in the back of their haulage van and by 6pm they were on the road with all our worldly possessions.

We had one last evening hosted by Elaine and Paul to say goodbye to our London family and enjoyed a lovely get together at a favourite Italian restaurant in Watford. So despite missing our 5am alarm call the next morning, we were on the road and on our way in fairly good time and made it to Aberdeen by tea time.

Our removal guys were waiting for us when we arrived in Inverbervie the next morning and got to work unloading box after box after box. By 2pm they have reassembled all the furniture, unloaded all the boxes and were ready to move onto the next job  ( for one of them that meant a trip across to Dublin to pick up 400 boxes of medical books for auction in Edinburgh!) Alex and I surveyed the job before us and got to work unpacking the boxes, at first a fun and exhilarating task, but after a couple of hours and the packaging paper mounting around us it became pretty tiresome!

We had a well earned supper, sat back and thought of the last week : our leaving do at The Cut, Alex’s last day at work, saying goodbye to our neighbours, friends and relatives and our drive to our new home. Good grief! We’ve done it!