OXO Weekend Success for Hawkhurst
The Oxo weekend at Hawkhurst last Saturday and Sunday was a fantastic success said the event’s organiser Bruce Cova. Around 2,000 people visited Saint Ronan’s School, originally the home of the Gunther family who were responsible for the creation of the OXO cube, to see the house, the exhibition of OXO memorabilia and walk the local woods and farm land. Many visitors also visited Sandhurst Vineyards to see the hops and vineyards there.
TV and celebrity chef Richard Phillips, of Thackeray’s and Chapel Down fame, designed a four course meal, for the evening gala dinner comprising 95% of local produce. “We cannot thank him enough for so freely giving us his time”, said Bruce Cova, Chair of the Hawkhurst Community Partnership. In true TV chef style Richard demonstrated the preparation, cooking and presentation of the meal. His kitchen, a trailer loaned by the NFU, was kitted out by Martins of Hawkhurst. The presentation was watched in awe by dinner guests as they supped Carr Taylor’s locally produced sparkling wine and realised, some for the first time, that their meal this evening was to be cooked by the School’s day to day catering team.
Guests, including three grandchildren of the original Gunther family, and ex-Directors of OXO, gave Saint Ronan's School chef Laura Boynton and her team a standing ovation at the end of the meal, served in the School’s amazing ballroom..
As one quest commented “We ate at the Dorchester last week and this was infinitely better”. If there was a Michelin star for schools Laura and her team, employees of the school contract caterers, Holroyd Howe, would have won it for Saint Ronan’s on Saturday night.
“One can only describe the event as spectacular” said Bruce. “The staff were magnificent. They were set an amazing challenge and not only rose to it but beat all expectations. During planning I had challenged them to not only produce a meal as good as Richard’s but to better it. The standing ovation said it all. A big thank you also goes to the many sponsors of the event who made the whole weekend possible.”
The Market on the Moor on Sunday received over 2500 visitors and trade was so brisk that many traders had to send back additional produce within hours of opening. One trader selling cherries told me that they just couldn’t pick fast enough to keep up with her demand. Another who had left by lunch time comment that he had sold three times what he expected. Queues to the ice cream stand and the two local butchers, one spit roasting beef and the other burgers and sausages, never diminished.
Bruce said “This was a huge success for Hawkhurst by any standard. We had 4500 people visit us over the two days, we catered for many of these on the two days and provided a magnificent dinner for 120 on Saturday evening. The fact that I have not received one complaint only praise and thanks to all those involved for the organisation says a lot. That visitors, dinners and traders have all asked for us to do it again just speaks for itself.”
For those who would like to know more about Hawkhurst and its many attractions www.visithawkhurst.org.uk or just Google Hawkhurst, we are top of the page. Everything you need to know is there.
Bruce Cova Hawkhurst Community Partnership
01580 754457 or 07860 777744
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