The Vienna Philharmonic breathes optimism into the gloomy omens for 2012. The Castle at Taunton does the Waltz.

A very happy New Year from all the Team at Taunton’s Castle Hotel and BRAZZ!

Our good wishes are heartfelt even though pundits and politicians are telling us to expect another miserable year with increased doses of austerity to make us even more miserable.

Well, against the omens I’m feeling pretty buoyant and optimstic about 2012… Possibly because Louise and I always like to listen to the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra’s live concert from the Musikverein on New Year’s Day. With every TV and wireless in the house tuned to BBC2 and Radio 3, the music of the Strauss Family lifts the spirit and transforms our outlook on the world.

There are other reasons for all this optimism. We had a cracking good Christmas, serving over 150 lunches on Christmas Day in both BRAZZ, our town centre brasserie, and in the Castle’s elegant Dining Room. And last night’s New Year’s Eve party was another resounding success (“best ever”, said our happy revellers!) with Chef Jamie Raftery presenting a menu which would have had the Michelin Man showering his little stars all over our kitchen brigade.

Here’s what we ate! To start, a light goat’s cheese mousse with celery, apple and walnuts. This followed by poached Loch Duart salmon atop a small buttermilk pancake filled with leeks and dressed with a mustard emulsion and pickled red onions. The main was a slow-roast Creedy Carver duck with a red cabbage puree, caramelised pear, curly kale, and a honey and five-spice sauce. To finish, Jamie served up his sublime Somerset cider-apple mousse with the fruit’s jelly and sorbet… Magic!

But what of the future? 2012 will see the start of an exciting new chapter in the history of The Castle. In a week’s time, Marc Mac Closkey arrives to take up his appointment as our new General Manager. On the same day, contractors move in to demolish our crumbling outbuildings to make way for an enlarged carpark which will open up the views of both the hotel and our close neighbour, Taunton Castle, home to the magnificent Museum of Somerset… All part of the improvement and relandscaping of Castle Green.

And then there is our programme of special events. Our first wine seminar in February led by The Queen’s wine merchants, Corney & Barrow. And the continuation of our 35th Season of Musical Weekends. Just check our website at www.the-castle-hotel.com

Yes, with a spring in our toes, we are waltzing into 2012!

Kit Chapman, proprietor of The Castle at Taunton and author of My Archipelago.

In today’s world, the wife dictates her husband’s career path.

Once upon a time, ambitious managers determined their own careers. And where the manager went, the wife followed… willingly or not!

This has all changed. In today’s business world, the woman rules! If her husband receives an exciting job offer, a challenging post that makes perfect sense in the development of his career, he is obliged to seek his wife’s permission. And if she doesn’t fancy a move outside her comfort zone, the husband goes back to the prospective employer with a sheepish “sorry, can’t do”.

After twelve years of dedicated service as The Castle’s General Manager, Kevin McCarthy will be leaving us to establish his own financial consultancy business. My family and I wish him well. Meanwhile, over the past nine weeks, I have been searching for his successor and, subject to completing the contractual details, I believe we have found our man. (For the moment, his name remains confidential).

Of course, the appointment of a general manager or managing director is the most important any hotel proprietor makes. So the process has been long, hard and rigorous. My first flight of interviews – often running to  ninety minutes or two hours - were conducted either over the telephone or in London. Promising candidates were then checked out by further interviews with their referees. Only then did I draw up a short list of three to invite to Taunton to meet my fellow directors.

To my dismay, and in spite of their enthusiasm for the job, two of the three candidates withdrew because their wives did not fancy a move to Somerset! This left us with a choice of one! Not ideal, perhaps, but of all the interviews I had conducted, this candidate was my clear favourite. He just needed to persuade my Board colleagues, including my wife Louise!

To my great relief, he passed his two-day ordeal of interrogations with flying colours. Better still, his wife fell in love with Somerset!

Kit Chapman, proprietor of The Castle at Taunton and author of My Archipelago.

Kit Chapman takes a Blogista’s holiday!

My dear Subscribers, Readers and Visitors!

After nineteen months of submitting a regular blog, I have decided to pause for a while, take a break and think about a new book that keeps nagging at me.

But please don’t let this e-sabbatical stop you corresponding with me. I have enjoyed your comments and complaints, your insights and corrections.

Whatever else you do, keep abreast of news and events at The Castle and BRAZZ by logging onto our website. www.the-castle-hotel.com  

And for those of you who still haven’t bought my latest book, just read the reviews on Amazon. If you need a little more encouragement, go to www.myarchipelago.co.uk

Ave atque vale!

Kit Chapman, proprietor of The Castle at Taunton and author of My Archipelago

Liam Fox, then Oliver Letwin… Educated and clever. But devoid of common sense!

I have no interest in the relationship between Liam Fox, our ex-Defence Secretary, and his friend Adam Werritty. Indeed, I was an admirer of Dr Fox. But it beggars belief that he should feel free to engage Mr Werritty as an unofficial advisor and, in doing so, not compromise his credibility as a senior minister.

The case of Oliver Letwin, Minister of State at the Cabinet Office, is equally alarming. What does he think he is doing dumping official papers in bins in St James’s Park? My wife, ever cautious, gets cross with me if I dare to bin old bank statements, credit card slips and insurance policies! Hardly state papers, these innocuous documents are shredded or burned!

I just find it incredible that two clever, educated public figures could be so extraordinarily naive in this wicked world of ours. With simple errors of judgement like these, one can’t help questioning the competence of David Cameron’s government.

Over 25/27 November, The Castle at Taunton is hosting a Weekend of Politics & Politicians. Our speakers will include Martin Bell, John Gummer, Douglas Hurd, Michael Meacher, Chris Mullin and Clare Short. I wonder what they will make of all this?

Kit Chapman, proprietor of The Castle at Taunton and author of My Archipelago.

The Castle at Taunton launches its own “Great British Bake Off”!

Don’t we just love the BBC’s Great British Bake Off! Baking-mania is now sweeping through the country, a craze led by those two wonderful but unlikely pin-ups, Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood.

So, at The Castle and BRAZZ, Taunton’s favourite hotel and town-centre brasserie, we’ve decided to launch our own open competition, calling on all bakers - gifted amateurs as well as professionals - to register their interest with a written or emailed application to me.

The winning baker will be awarded a contract to supply cakes and pastries to both The Castle and BRAZZ for it’s morning coffee and afternoon tea services.

This is what you have to do. Your submission should be addressed to me, Kit Chapman, The Castle Hotel, Castle Green, Taunton, TA1 1NF or email me at chapman@the-castle-hotel.com

The application must contain the following information:

• A statement detailing your background, experience and credentials as a great baker of delicious cakes and pastries.
• A menu of items you think would wow visitors to The Castle or BRAZZ for morning coffee or afternoon tea.
• Your proposed prices.
• Delivery schedules. You need to demonstrate continuity of supply.

The deadline for submissions is Monday, 31st October, 2011.

Shortlisted applications will then be invited for an interview with me and Head Chef, Jamie Raftery. We would also invite you to offer samples of your cakes and pastries for tasting!

The winning baker will be announced in November.

So, get baking! And with Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood as the standard, let’s see your Battenbergs, Fruit tartlets, Brandy snaps, Chocolate roulades… and I’d love to see a Sachertorte as good any on offer in Vienna’s busy cafe society!

Kit Chapman, proprietor of The Castle at Taunton and author of My Archipelago.

Nigel Slater: Everyman’s philosopher cook talks “Spicy and Cool”

A postscript to my sceptical blog last week about the BBC’s foodie series Nigel Slater’s Simple Cooking.

While I remain unconvinced by our philosopher cook’s thesis on the pairing of meat and fish (“Surf n’ Turf”), his chosen taste combination this Friday evening - “Spicy and Cool” – was perfectly pitched and gastronomically coherent.

Third in the series, this programme showed Nigel at his most persuasive. Never prescriptive with his recipes and always encouraging his audience to be brave and creative, he gently explained the principle (and pleasure) of tempering spiced foods with ingredients to cool the heat. These might be anything from a crisp salad leaf to yoghurt, cream, pomegranates and cucumber, to coconut milk in the case of South East Asian dishes.

Most interesting for me was Nigel’s guest on the show, Tom ”Long Pepper” of Bristol, who demonstrated how well ground pepper works with strawberries, raspberries, peaches and other soft fruits.

I first came across this idea about thirty years ago at a Michelin 2-star eaterie in the South of France. To my initial alarm, a beautiful melon sorbet came with a sprinkling of milled black pepper. It transformed the fruit by heightening its flavour. For me at the time, it was a revelation.

Kit Chapman, proprietor of The Castle at Taunton and author of My Archipelago.

BBC TV Chef Nigel Slater promotes “Surf n’ Turf”. NOT on my menus, thank you!

To follow the polish and finesse of Simon Hopkinson’s The Good Cook in July and August, the BBC is now offering us the domestic earthiness of Nigel Slater’s Simple Cooking for the autumn.

These are two serious TV chefs who have won the nation’s hearts and two I admire more than most of the coves who beam radiantly off our screens.

So, as the nights draw in, our Friday evening gastro-viewing has Nigel telling us about foodie marriages made in heaven. Last week he gave us sweet and sour pairings. Yesterday evening we had him promoting “surf n’ turf”… the dire (American) moniker for matching fish and meat… most infamously for pitching lobster and steak onto one plate and leaving them to slug it out like two boxers in a ring. 

Take it from me: “Surf and Turf” doesn’t work. In fact, it’s usually pretty unpleasant. And Nigel knows it.

But that’s how his programme was billed and somehow he had to pacify his producers by coming up with half a dozen recipes that could be shoehorned into the theme - even if it meant stretching the concept to its outer limits with ingredients which had only the most notional associations with the pairing of fish and meat.

The result was six dishes of which four, possibly five, worked perfectly. The sixth - a complete aberration - came when Nigel went fishing in Weymouth with a trawlerman who cooked scallops and chorizo for him and the boat’s crew. Blasting the coarse and pungent spice of chorizo at a scallop is no way to appreciate the beauty and delicate sweetness of this heavenly bivalve.

“If anybody isn’t sure about surf and turf,” said Nigel, “this is what to give them… It’s absolutely gorgeous!”

Please, Nigel, tell me you were just being polite to your host!

Back in his kitchen, good sense and harmony resumed play. That is, in the sense that “the theme” of the show was put properly in its place. Crispy bacon bits topped a delicious mackerel and potato salad dressed with dill, capers and onion. Chopped anchovy was used to season the saucing in a meltingly sublime lamb shank. And because he needed something sweet, Nigel’s sea salt chocolate snaps with chopped nuts and crystallized rose petals succeeded in stretching surf n’ turf to oblivion!

The dubious fifth offering was his trout and parma ham. In my book, you neither need nor want the bacon. Just bake the fish – the butter, lemon juice and parsley will deliver a perfect dish to table.

At The Castle and on the BRAZZ menu, do not expect S&T! 

Kit Chapman, proprietor of The Castle at Taunton and author of My Archipelago.

An urgent call to the Chancellor of the Exchequer to slash VAT

Dear Chancellor,

I am the proprietor of The Castle at Taunton, a 44-bedroom hotel and restaurant which has been run by my family for over 60 years. Go to www.the-castle-hotel.com

You may be aware that my industry has mounted a united, rational and carefully presented campaign appealing for a reduction in the rate of VAT levied against the hospitality trade. The evidence for slashing your punitive 20% rate is compelling, so I shall not rehearse it here.

Instead, let me give you a grass-roots overview of the operating climate inside my business – a climate shared by many thousands of  other independent hoteliers and restaurateurs in the chilly provinces. (Not to be compared with the comfort of London where business remains relatively buoyant).

In three years our VAT-earning top line income has shrunk by over £400,000. PAYE employees have been cut ruthlessly - a further loss to the Exchequer. On top of the VAT hike to 20%, last April you raised employers’ NI by 1%. The effect was to wipe £10,000 off our bottom line - cash badly needed to employ a local firm to undertake various overdue repairs and renewals in the hotel.

Meanwhile, our operating costs rise inexorably: insurance, business rates, food, heat, light and power. We cannot match these increases with price rises. Our customers are being squeezed as hard as we are.

The great buzz-word of the moment is “GROWTH”. From Washington to London (and Liverpool at the Labour Party conference), to Berlin and Frankfurt, we are suddenly hearing this great hymn to “GROWTH”. Isn’t it blindingly obvious that the troubled economies of Europe and America, and our debt crisis at home will never be resolved without stimulating demand - ”GROWTH”?

Chancellor, I appeal to you to consider the arguments. The Prime Minister was in New York last week campaigning to put the “GREAT” back into Britain… including Britain’s tourism industry.

Now give us the means to do it. VAT at 20% is unsustainable and makes us uncompetitive with Europe.

Kit Chapman, proprietor of The Castle at Taunton and author of My Archipelago.

From Kerry to Dublin: Irish hospitality and the All-Ireland Football final

Tralee is a small Norman town in County Kerry, or the “Kingdom” as locals prefer to call this lost and ancient province in the deep south-west of Ireland.

We checked into Tralee’s Grand Hotel on Thursday evening in a state of bewilderment having found the town garishly draped in green and yellow colours. Shops, bars, cafes, all hung with flags, banners and bunting. And a quick check of the Grand’s bar revealed an extra dose of green and yellow decoration.

“Ah!” said our jolly receptionist. “It’s the big one. Kerry play Dublin in the football final on Sunday”.

Louise and I had travelled to Tralee to celebrate the wedding of a favourite godson – a full nuptial mass in the town’s magnificent St. John’s Church, then a party to beat all parties (only the Irish know how!) at the baronial Ballyseede Castle.

But the people of Kerry were gripped by sporting fever, and it wasn’t just the All-Ireland Football final. On Saturday morning, when we came down to breakfast, we were overwhelmed by the cheers coming from the bar. Most of Tralee had gathered in their favourite watering hole to watch Ireland defeat Australia in the Rugby World Cup.

Our plan was to spend the day exploring the region – the Dingle peninsula and the Ring of Kerry. But we had been warned that the County en masse would be heading for Croke Park over the weekend, choking the roads to Dublin. As we had a flight to catch on Sunday at exactly the time the big match was scheduled to kick off, we decided to check out early and find a hotel closer to the airport.

So, yesterday afternoon we found our way to Carton House, a golfer’s paradise near Maynooth in County Kildare and a short hop away from Dublin Airport. We thought we’d made a wise escape. Well, not exactly. As we checked in, a smart coach pulled in bearing the Kerry football team and their entourage!

Over the years, Louise and I have made a handful of trips to this beautiful country – a land always full of surprises. This visit was no exception. It is the character of the Irish people that provides the magic. They are, perhaps, the most hospitable people in the world. The plumbing in their hotels may not always be perfect, but they are warm and welcoming and funny. This is a nation that enjoys life and wants to share the pleasure with you.

I like to think that these core values are what you will find at our hotel in England, The Castle at Taunton. After all, our General Manager is an Irishman!

Kit Chapman, proprietor of The Castle at Taunton and author of My Archipelago.

“Bring back the Drachma and be happy!” A Greek taxi driver’s answer to the Eurozone crisis.

Like rabbits caught in the beam of a headlight, we are all numbed by the turmoil of financial markets and the deepening crisis inside the Eurozone. We all nurse an uncomfortable sense of fear, unsure of what the threat to our livelihoods is likely to be.

Worse, our leaders are as dazzled and confused as the rest of us. Angela Merkel’s political capital in Germany has been diminished by another election defeat as she tries to persuade her reluctant people to fork out more of their taxes to bail out Greece and some of the other southern European states.

In Italy, Silvio Berlusconi looks as if he may default on his deficit reduction programme as his country is paralysed by a general strike. And in Greece, the arch-villain of this mess and the nation which cooked the books to win its entry ticket into the Eurozone, the government continues to argue with the International Monetary Fund.

Meanwhile, outside the Eurozone, the British government (speaking with forked tongue!) is promoting the idea of total economic union, or to put it bluntly, that the Euro-nations move towards the formation of a federalized state - a “United States of Europe”.

For Greece, this kind of scenario means the country would become a small province inside a greater-Germany. Given Greece’s tortured history of foreign occupation, its fierce national pride and its independent will, the very idea of outside control is anathema. There are already outspoken fears among ordinary Greeks of civil unrest, even civil war.

A few days ago, my wife and I travelled as passengers in the cab of an Athenian taxi driver. With a captive audience of two northern Europeans, he needed no prompting to launch his private manifesto, and in doing so, he was speaking for his fellow-Greeks.

Constantinos was round, proud and passionate. Like all Greek taxi drivers, he drove like a lunatic – often taking his hands off the steering wheel to answer his mobile phone or to gesticulate wildly in his determination to make sure we had grasped his point of view.

We passed a large ancient olive grove. “Ah!” he said, taking his eyes off the road to face us. “Delicious Greek olive oil! The best in the world!”

“In Europe – you in Germany and in England – your economy strong. You plenty of money… big houses… po po po! But you have stress. Big stress. Here, in my country, we smile. We are happy.”

By now, Constantinos was in full cry. “The Euro”, he said, “it ruined everything. Ruined our economy. Now we are poor. Before we had the Drachma. We had plenty money, plenty tourists. We happy. My English no good. But this is my philosophy.”

For millions of Greeks, the prospect of a devalued currency they can call their own and a country that is sovereign means so much more than having to bow to the will of the IMF, Germany or any other foreign body.

But a return to the Drachma would also shake, even destroy, the foundations of the whole European project.

Kit Chapman, author of My Archipelago and proprietor of The Castle at Taunton.