We are very excited to unveil our first Club Chestnut magazine – a quarterly update packed full of news, exclusive benefits and competitions for our members.
To kick off here’s a warm welcome from our founder and CEO, Philip Turner.
If you have any thoughts or recommendations about Club Chestnut please get in touch – we love hearing from our guests! clubchestnut@chestnutgroup.co.uk
Look out for our new partner pages, with special offers and discounts from some of our favourite brands. Coming soon….
WE ARE OFTEN ASKED BY GUESTS ABOUT WHAT’S GOING ACROSS OUR PORTFOLIO OF PUBS, SO NOW YOU CAN HEAR IT HERE FIRST!
From community mornings to awards and special events, there is always lots going on at all of our pubs.
Community mornings are happening at; The Cricketers, The Packhorse, The Black Lion, The Carpenters Arms, The Globe, The Feathers, The Eight Bells and The Weeping Willow.
If coffee and cake doesn’t take your fancy – we have also introduced community breakfasts, quiz nights and wine and cheese evenings – talk to your local pub about what’s going on in your neck of the woods.
What Sundays are made for. All the fun of a family-style sharing roast, without the washing up!
Available at The Black Lion, The Rupert Brooke and The Packhorse Inn and at The Feathers you also have the additional fun of serving yourself!
Must be prebooked for a minimum of four people.
A debut game for Chestnut against Clavering Cricket Team – Great contributions from all who played, though narrowly losing the team played in great spirits and cemented the link further between the pub and the local community. The Chestnut team will go onto play Barrow and Stoke by Nayland in early Spring.
The Westleton Crown and The Packhorse, who have both received their AA Rosette Award for Culinary Excellence and The Ship.
The Carpenters Arms, who have won CAMRA’s most improved pub of the year.
The Cricketers who won best boutique stay in Essex and was finalist for best boutique stay in the UK, voted for by Muddy Stilettos readers.
The Globe and The Carpenters who have been nominated as ‘Best Places to Stay in the East,’ Sunday Times.
THERE ARE ALWAYS LOTS OF NEW PROJECTS IN THE PIPE-LINE AT CHESTNUT, HERE ARE A FEW FOR 2023 THAT WE ARE EXCITED TO SHARE WITH YOU…
This week we were delighted to add Arch House Rooms to our growing portfolio.
A short walk from The Globe, Arch House Rooms will provide an additional 10 bedrooms and a two bedroom self-contained cottage for guests staying in popular Wells-Next-The-Sea.
Have a look around or be one of the first to book your stay here. www.theglobeatwells.co.uk/arch-house-bedrooms.
The building work for The Weeping Willow 7 lodges is now fully underway. They should be ready to open by Easter and promise to be quite different from anything we have done before. Bookings are now open for any trail-blazers that fancy a Suffolk stay in the countryside www.theweepingwillow.co.uk
One of our most exciting redevelopments to date, The Maltings building work is due to start in the next few months. With views of the sea, a huge double-story kitchen and restaurant conversion and over 30 bedrooms, we can’t wait to get started!
If you haven’t visited us in January yet, pop down to your local Monday – Friday for 50% off food (up to £10pp) for Club Chestnut members.
EA Festival and Chestnut have collaborated to bring culture, music and arts to our pubs in a series of events. Last year we saw some sell-out events with speakers including Anya Hindmarch, Justine Picardi, Ben Timberlake and Justin Webb.
We will be adding further dates in 2023 and our Club Chestnut guests will be first to hear!
Following lots of great guest feedback, The Winter edition of In a Nutshell has now arrived in properties. Packed full of East Anglian stories and interviews, including things to see and do in the area, wildlife photography, property reviews and an interview with Ralph Fiennes.
If you haven’t had a chance to pick up a copy yet, you can view a digital version here; issuu.com/immags/docs/chestnut
Late last year we launched Chestmutts Instagram and website; the doggy destination for discovering Chestnut pubs through the eyes of our favourite furry friends. www.chestmutts.co.uk
Dogs and their owners are an important part of our guest mix, with almost 1000 dog stays in the last quarter, which was over 22% up on last year.
Over the last few months our Chestmutts pub has been out and about meeting lots of new dogs and their owners, from Suffolk Dog Day to Southwold Sausage dog walk, where there were over 2,326 dachshunds on Southwold beach– a world record!
STEVE ANGIER, OUR HEAD CHEF AT THE PACKHORSE INN HAS RUSTLED UP A DELICIOUS WINTER WARMING RECIPE OR YOU TO TRY AT HOME.
DINGLEY DELL PORK RECIPE with apple ketchup, sticky ribs, potato croquette and winter greens
INGREDIENTS;
Sticky sage and cider ribs Chard Apple ketchup Potato croquette Dingley Dell pork 1 pork belly – Tip; Ask the butcher to take the ribs off 1 onion 2 potatoes Bunch of Sage Garlic Lemon Ribs Cider Sage Onion Salt Garlic
Potato croquette 3 large potatoes 2 eggs 20 g parmesan Flour Breadcrumb Salt Apple ketchup 6 Apples 200g Sugar Vinegar Bunch of chard Salt
1. Place the belly in boiling water for 5 minutes, take out and dry with a cloth both sides then score the fat, rub in maldon sea salt, arrange onions sage garlic and a splash of cider on a roasting tray, put the belly on the tray and leave for an hour to dry. Set oven to 220 °C
2. While the belly is drying, cut ribs into portions, season with salt and pepper, pan fry until golden, then put in separate tray with 300ml of cider and 300ml of chicken stock, sage, garlic and onion. Cover with foil and braise in the oven with the pork belly
3. Put the belly and ribs in the oven for 50 minutes, turn the belly round after 25mins for even cooking
4. For the potato croquette; Peel and boil potatoes, leave till dry then mash. Add egg parmesan seasoning and a tbsp of flour, mix and roll into balls, then roll in flour, mixed egg and then breadcrumb, fry in pan with a little oil so golden all over
5. For the apple ketchup; Put the sugar in a pan and caramelise till light brown, then add chopped apples and vinegar, cook for ten minutes, then blend
6. Turn the oven down to 160 0c and add a small glass of cider to the belly tray then roast for 1 hour
7. Turn oven back up to 200 0c and cook belly till crackling is crispy, then take out and rest for 20 mins. Also take out the ribs, place on a plate and reduce the liquid when it starts to thicken add the ribs back this gives the glaze and our sauce
8. Blanch greens in salted boiling water for a couple of minutes drain season and serve
9. Place a dollop of apple ketchup,1 croquette, a large slice of belly, a couple of ribs from the liquor and pour some of the sauce on, put some greens on the plate and serve.
This Christmas, with the help of our generous guests, we set a target to raise £10,000 during the busy party season for East Anglia’s Children’s Hospices (EACH), who provide specialist care for children and young people with life threatening conditions.
As part of our Giving Tree fundraising we are committed to supporting local charities and Christmas felt like an especially poignant time to help those less fortunate.
EACH have hospices in three of the four counties where our pubs are situated and offer many different types of care for young people, as well as providing a safe and supportive environment for their families.
Thanks to our very generous guests, we have managed to raise over £9,500 for EACH. The money raised will help fund specialist nursing care, short breaks, wellbeing activities, therapies and counselling for those families that need it most.
EACH Events Fundraiser Hannah Forbester said, “We are thrilled and incredibly grateful for the support in the run-up to Christmas, as we rely on voluntary donations for the majority of our income.”
Before Christmas a number of our team embarked on an epic 500km cycle ride around all of our properties, in support of the Norfolk Community Foundation and to continue our important fundraising efforts for The Giving Tree.
This winter, more people than ever are struggling with energy bills, rising mortgage rates and the cost of their weekly shop. We wanted to act to help our local communities and, when the opportunity came up to support the Norfolk Community Foundation’s Nourishing Norfolk initiative, we jumped at the chance.
Nourishing Norfolk was established in 2021 and brings together groups both big and small who work at grassroots level to ensure communities have access to affordable, healthy food. Through its food hubs, Nourishing Norfolk helps to feed thousands of locals each week. Thanks to the efforts of everyone that took part in the ride and our sponsors, Birketts, Abbeygate Wealth Management and Adnams, we’ve been able to raise over £20,000 for our local communities to be able to access affordable, healthy food.
Our core team; From left to right Ian Kyle and Chris Matthews-King, Head Chef and Assistant Manager at The Three Blackbirds, Justin Newton, Regional Head Chef for The Crown Stoke by Nayland and Black Lion and Ben Foxcroft, Operations Manager.
EACH QUARTER WE WILL BE MEETING ONE OF OUR FABULOUS CLUB CHESTNUT MEMBERS.
For our first edition we chat to Deborah Hargreaves, who lives in Suffolk and is a Solicitor and Chief Operating Officer at Edmondson Hall Solicitors and Sports Lawyers in Newmarket, Suffolk. She joined Club Chestnut in 2020 and has now reached over 5,100 points.
WHICH IS YOUR FAVOURITE CHESTNUT PUB?
It has to be The Packhorse, as it’s just down the road from where I live. I feel very lucky to be able to call it my local! We use it regularly for both business lunches and more relaxed meals with family and friends.
We recently held our work Christmas party at The Packhorse. There were 34 of us and we had pre-dinner drinks in the snug outside and then sat down to some delicious food in the Club Room. We organised a brass band to play in the garden, which was a lovely touch and made the evening even more special.
My husband also attended The Highland Park Whisky evening for his birthday last year, which he thoroughly enjoyed and still talks about the croquettes!
I remember taking my parents and the children to The Packhorse before we went racing last year. We had a very special lunch before we left for Newmarket. The team really looked after us and catered well for both the children and my parents.
It was a really memorable occasion with great food and wine and brilliant, friendly service.
Deborah with colleagues Mark Edmondson and Mike Lambert at Edmondson Hall’s Christmas party at The Packhorse, Moulton, Suffolk
DO YOU HAVE A FAVOURITE WALK NEAR ONE OF OUR PUBS?
We often do the Three Churches walk, which starts just down the road from The Packhorse and is a circular 6 mile route. Of course we always manage to squeeze a restorative drink in at the end - for rehydration purposes of course!
DO YOU HAVE ANY SUGGESTIONS OF WHAT WE COULD BE DOING BETTER/MORE OF?
I really enjoy the events and special experiences – so may be look at introducing a cocktail evening with live music in the garden.
I would love to try The Carpenters Arms, as I have heard lots of good things about it and it isn’t too far away.
If you would like to feature in our next magazine, please contact marketing@chestnutgroup.co.uk
Chestnut is going green. We are on a mission to be more environmentally conscious in our daily operations and actively contribute to protecting the planet.
Our ESG Executive, Lily Maguire, has been conducting surveys of each property to see where we can make quick fixes to be more energy-efficient and climate conscious. Over the next few months we will be cracking down on our energy consumption, food waste and single use plastics.
The sustainability strategy is a work in progress, but will encompass all of our environmental projects and represent the specific steps we are taking to reduce our emissions and waste.
Going into the colder months we are committed to doing everything we can to reduce our energy consumption. Not only with the view to reduce our utility costs but to monitor our impact on the environment. When we take steps to reduce how much energy we use, power plants create less electricity and therefore can burn a lower amount of fossil fuels to meet this demand. Our guests can play their part too. If it is not in use – switch it off!
As one of our first eco initiatives we participated in the Great British Beach Clean Week. Our team headed down to scour the beach and woodland at Wells-Next-the-Sea, litter pickers in hand.
In just 2 hours they collected over 11.5kg of litter! From beer cans to crisp packets and even a kite caught in a tree, in total - 9 bags of rubbish were removed from the coastline and stopped from harming any wildlife.
We are hoping to make the Team Chestnut Beach Clean a regular event and would welcome any support. In an ideal world there will be no litter to collect, but until that is a reality Chestnut will do its bit to protect our wonderful environment.
WE’RE ON THE HUNT FOR SOME IMAGES OF OUR BEAUTIFUL REGION.
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WE WILL CHOOSE A WINNER AND AS A THANK YOU WILL RECEIVE A £50 CHESTNUT GIFT VOUCHER!
HERE ARE A FEW OF OUR FAVOURITES FOR SOME INSPIRATION....