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Whether you are just visiting Guernsey or have decided to come and live here you will certainly be spoilt for choice when it comes to eating out! If you are looking for a quick bite to eat or a gourmet meal you will find something to suit you. Should you have a liking for Italian, Indian, Thai, Chinese, Greek or French food it is on offer or, if your preference is for good old British fare, you won’t be disappointed. Of course, being an island with an abundance of seafood on our doorstep there are plenty of restaurants and cafés offering fresh crab, mussels, lobster, prawns, scallops and a whole myriad of varieties of fish. So if you want anything from an elaborate Fruits de Mer to a simple crab sandwich you will find it. Our island heritage also means that there are certain foods which are peculiar to us. Guernsey Gâche (pronounced ‘Gosh’) is the island’s favourite fruit loaf, usually served with rich golden Guernsey butter, available to take home and enjoy or to be eaten with a pot of tea at a beachside café. Why not try Bean Jar – a slow cooking bean broth with meat which is still widely enjoyed today but was much in evidence in earlier years when life was harder and money was tight. It was cheap to prepare, went a long way (it could be watered down and reheated time and time again) and could be cooked by taking it to your local baker who, for a few pennies, would put it into his ovens overnight (along with those of many other people from the neighbourhood) from where it could be collected piping hot the next morning. Gâche Melee is another local favourite – a delicious apple cake made with suet, sugar and apples (another inexpensive meal when made when apples are at their most plentiful) – perfect comfort food served with Guernsey cream or custard! Ormers are another local delicacy, a species of shellfish still gathered from the shore at low tides at certain times of the year – not as plentiful as they used to be and not to everyone’s taste but offer them to an old ‘Guern’ and you’ll see him salivating! Of course, we mustn’t forget something liquid to wash all this excellent food. Guernsey brews its own ales, produces its own cider and has more than a few very good wine suppliers who host regular wine tastings and will keep you amply stocked throughout the year. By no means peculiar to Guernsey, but perhaps unusual to those who are not used to the seaside, is the beach kiosk. They sell items as diverse as newspapers, beach hats, flip flops, rubber balls, buckets and spades whilst in some cases hiring out deckchairs and windbreaks as well. You might be surprised to note that they can also be a great place to find good food. Many have gone past the point of just selling ice creams, soft drinks and bags of crisps and will vie with one another to provide the best of homemade cakes and other delicacies to enjoy with your tea or coffee – seek out the best ones and you won’t be disappointed. Cafés, of course, are another source of good food – you will find plenty of them dotted throughout the island providing everything from a simple cup of tea to a whole range of great meals. But back to perhaps the more formal side of eating out. The island has over 70 restaurants with the largest concentration being in St. Peter Port but with many dotted around throughout the island down leafy country lanes, on cliff tops and across the road from favourite beaches. Finding the ones you most enjoy is a gastronomic treat and perhaps the best time to try out a few new ones is when they are competing against one another in two of the island’s major culinary competitions – the Good Food Guernsey Restaurant Awards and the Channel Islands Tennerfest. The former has been judged for the past few years by celebrity chef Brian Turner, whilst the latter started life as a challenge to restaurants to offer two or three-course meals for just £10. It has evolved slightly in recent years into price bands of £10, £12.50 or £15 (if you really want to push the boat out!) but still provides incredible value for money. In both cases, the chefs of the establishments taking part pull out all the stops to produce incredible menus to tickle your taste buds – the most difficult decision you will have to make is where to try next! Picnics are, of course, another lovely way of enjoying food you have prepared yourself or, if time is short, that you have purchased beforehand at the deli counter of your favourite supermarket topped up perhaps with fresh tomatoes and grapes from your nearest roadside stall. Once your food is to hand the choice of venues is extensive. Whether you fancy a few hours on the beach, a day trip to one of the nearer offshore islands, a party in the park or you attend one of our excellent outdoor theatre presentations where picnics have become de rigueur – it could be argued that food in the open air can’t be bettered. Of course, it is often said that the simplest things are those we enjoy the most and perhaps we shouldn’t give all of our secrets away but………if you’ve got nothing better to do on a beautiful summer evening, just buy a bag of fish and chips, grab a cool bottle of wine and find your way down to your favourite west coast beach. The sight of the sun slowly going down, casting the most beautiful colours into the sky and sea, whilst you relax with the sand trickling between your toes and tuck into your improvised picnic is surely nectar for the gods!
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| Site by Hamilton Brooke | |||
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