People are always asking me what it was like to live, cook and work at the Manor. I thought I would do a post today about that experience in my life. To be honest, it was, to a humble girl from a small town in Nova Scotia, Canada, a bit of a dream come true!
When I was a child I used to dream of one day living in a pretty cottage in the English countryside, but I never ever thought that this would be a dream of mine that would come true. When I moved over to the UK in 2000 that dream came a little bit closer to coming true for sure, but it still seemed to be pretty remote to someone like me.
I decided to go to culinary school when I first arrived in the UK. This was something which I had always wanted to do, and the time seemed right. I was an empty nester without any obligations, and so I took the courses I needed to take in order to be able to work in the food industry. I had always been a very good cook, and I had run my own coffee shop at one point in my life, and I had, in fact, worked as a pastry chef (sans training) when I was a very young woman.
After I graduated from Culinary school, I started looking for a job. I did not want to work in a restaurant. At the age of 46, I reallyfelt that was too old for the fast pace of restaurant work. Restaurant work is a young person's game.
There is a magazine in the UK called
The Lady. It is one of the primary places that wealthy people advertise to recruit staff. I decided that I would try to find a job working for a private school or a family cooking on a much simpler and easier pace. I began looking at adverts in the magazine and applying for jobs.
I received call backs from several positions but there was one job in particular that appealed to me. and so I went down to Kent for an interview. It was to work as a Chef for an American family living in the U.K. Kent is one of the most beautiful counties in England. It is known as the Garden of England and is host to a lot of beautiful little villages.
I went down by train for the interview from Chester where I was living at the time. This was just about the longest job interviews I have ever had. I was there for the most part of the day. I was given a guided tour of the Estate and of the cottage that would be mine.
By the end of the day I was told that I had the job, which would include a decent wage along with the cottage, which was situated just down the lane from the main house which you see above.
It was a very lovely cottage and would be my home for as long as I worked at the Manor. It was cozy and comfortable and well situated. We had a large eat in kitchen/family room down stairs, a laundry room, and a walk in larder. There was a circular staircase leading upstairs where there was a reception room, two largish bedrooms, a room we called the library/office and two bathrooms.
This was only a small portion of the kitchen downstairs in the cottage. It was quite large, with loads of cupboard and counter space.
My job at the Manor entailed cooking for a family on a daily basis, five days of the week, breakfast, lunch and supper. I got weekends off and bank holidays, unless it was a special occasion and of course I needed to work extra hours when they were entertaining.
As well as cooking, I was responsible for cleaning the kitchen, larder and conservatory.
There was a huge larder just off the kitchen which had slate shelves. It was lovely and cool in there. Stored in there were a variety of specialized dishes/platters/etc. which would be required for specific occasions.
There was a small wine/alcohol section, an area with tinned/packaged goods, and an ice machine. There was also another refrigerator which came in very handy to store things when a dinner party was planned.
The kitchen was huge. I had access to a large sink with a garbage disposal a professional sized electric/gas stove, a gas burning AGA and every electrical appliance you can imagine. On the other side of the cooking area was also a dining area which was never actually used for eating for the whole time I worked there, but served as an area to provide welcome drinks when guests were arriving for a luncheon or brunch.
There were a multitude of cabinets, some of them glass fronted, which held a variety of silver and china, crystal, etc. I was also responsible for the maintenance of these. The ceiling was oak beamed. The walls were lined with copper utensils. I was also responsible for polishing all of the silver and copper. There was not only silver in the kitchen, but a huge cupboard across from the laundry room that was filled with it from the floor to the ceiling.
Working there cured me from ever wanting to have any copper, silver, or crystal for myself. It was a lot of work keeping these things up to par, and during those years I did enough of it to last me a lifetime.
Everything was beautiful however and I have to say it was a wonderful opportunity for me to get to work in a beautiful environment with some of the finest equipment and ingredients.
Every day meals were quite ordinary. Much the same as anyone would eat. In the mornings I would make breakfast for the Mr. who usually had toast and jam, coffee, juice. The Mrs. would have 3 mini bran muffins, a glass of my homemade fruit smoothie and 2 prunes. The recipe I used for the bran muffins was this Refrigerator Bran Muffin recipe. I kept a big jug of that in the refrigerator at all times.
It was only ever very occasionally that they would want anything else for breakfast. Occasionally he would like some scrambled eggs and toast, and if they had guests I would cook full breakfasts to order. Bacon, eggs, sausage, etc.
Lunches were also very simple affairs. He might ask me to make him a sandwich, or sometimes I would make a pizza and have it in the refrigerator that he could eat whenever he wanted. A tray of Deviled Eggs was kept in the refrigerator at all times and I would often make a homemade soup for him to enjoy with his sandwich. He also liked to munch on cold chicken and there was also always a tray of crisp vegetables with homemade dip in there for snacking.
Every day suppers were also very simple. Usually just some sort of protein with some vegetables on the side. They did not eat carbs such as rice, pasta or potatoes on a regular basis. Dinner would be simply some beef, pork, chicken, duck, or fish (usually salmon), and 3 or 4 simply cooked vegetables as well as a salad. Dessert was also not an every day thing, although the Mr. did like me to cook my Chocolate Chip Cookies and Fudge Walnut Brownies on a regular basis.
On Chocolate Chip Cookie days, all the staff made a visit to the kitchen. They all adored my cookies, and would pop into the kitchen, one at a time for a freshly baked cookie.
The Ladies' Luncheons were a different matter. These were much more involved and required a lot of work in preparation. The Mrs. would entertain ladies for luncheons several times a month. They would consist of drinks served in the kitchen upon arrival, usually Elderflower cordial as well as an assortment of finger foods. Not too many, only one or two because the ladies were always watching their weight. Small nibbles only.
There would usually be a soup course to begin, with perhaps some cracker breads or tiny muffins on the side. It would only be a simple soup like
Potage Crecy.
The soup was often served in these vegetable shaped ceramic soup dishes which each had their own lids to keep them warm. They were all different shapes and very pretty.
The main course would usually be a salad of some sort, sometimes grilled chicken with a few vegetables, or salmon. All very dainty, and of course, beautifully presented.
There would be a dessert to finish. A favorite of the ladies was the
Frozen Lemon Souffle which would have been prepared by myself as small individual souffles and served with some berries or a coulis.
There would be iced water and a variety of wines to serve with each course and chocolates and coffee to finish.
I loved doing the luncheons. Sometimes they would be held outside on the patio, but more often than not they were held in the conservatory, which was just off the kitchen. (See photo above.)
I did all of the planning, shopping, prepping, cooking and serving. I was also responsible for setting and dressing the table, an example of which you can see above. Plus all of the clean-up afterwards. I tried to pick dishes that I could do in advance for the most part for the first and dessert courses. That way I had only to really concentrate on the main course on the day.
They involved long hours of preparation, and many hours spent on my feet on the day, but I loved the challenge of being able to pull it all together and I can tell you, they were always very happy with what I had prepared. I was right in my element, and, as tired as I would be at the end of it all, I always felt a great sense of accomplishment when it was done, and really enjoyed all of it. They were considered to be quite casual affairs.
As fun to plan and prepare as the luncheons were, the dinner parties were what I loved doing most of all! I planned, cooked and served dinner parties for as few as 6 or 8 people and as many as 25. Usually six courses, including the coffee's and chocolates afterwards.
Dinner parties were always quite a bit more elaborate and involved a lot more in terms of preparation and effort. They were silver service and consisted of appetizers and drinks upon arrival, usually served in the main reception room. I would usually prepare 3 to 4 different appetizers. Some favorites were this delicious
Smoked Salmon Spread with crisp breads, boiled Quails Eggs,
Toasted Cheese Rounds, Smoked salmon on little rounds of brown bread with lemon, etc.
Another favorite were these
Stilton and Walnut Shortbreads which were served spread with cream cheese and topped with a dollop of Mango Chutney and a toasted walnut half. Real party fare.
Following the appetizers and drinks there would be a first course. (This photo above is of the dining room, but dressed for a luncheon rather than a dinner party. Dinner parties were always silver service.) The first course was usually a soup dish or a fish dish. She was very fond of stacked salads. I had special rings to stack things up in. You would set the salads up in the rings, on plates, and then once they were set remove the rings for service. Things like this
Layered Cobb Salad would be a prime example.
Following the first course (starter) there would be a main course. This could be any number of things. Lamb, Beef, chicken, fish, etc. Accompanied with a variety of vegetables and of course the special dinner rolls that I would have baked earlier in the day. This recipe on
Cooking Classy is very similar to the party rolls I used to make for the dinner parties.
I plated everything very judiciously. Small dabs of each thing, artfully placed, so as not to overwhelm appetites. It took some getting used to. I was used to family service prior to working at the manor and had to really learn to restrain myself when I was plating up. With five or six courses being served they didn't want overly large helpings of anything.
They really were very elegant affairs.
Following the main course there would be a dessert course. Typically I would prepare two to three different desserts. Usually a chocolate one, a light one and then a cake of some sort. I tried always to pick desserts that I could make well ahead of time that I wouldn't have to do for when it came to the actual day. These
Baby Sticky Toffee Pudding Cakes were very popular.
After dessert there would be a cheese course. Prior to cooking at the manor I had a very timid cheese palate. I soon learned that in order to put together a
delicious cheese tray I needed to know what I was doing and so I learned to love cheese.
I would prepare a large silver tray holding a variety of cheeses and fruits with special silver scissors meant to be used to clip off little sprigs of grapes. Normally there would be a hard cheese, some semi hard cheese, a soft cheese, a conversational cheese and a variety of fruits. Perhaps some wedges of apple, grapes, ripe figs, etc.
A silver biscuit barrel would also be passed at the table for the guests to enjoy a variety of crackers and biscuits with their cheeses. Small bread and butter plates with special silver knives would have been laid for them to spread their biscuits, cheese and fruits on.
As they were enjoying their cheese course I would be preparing the coffee course.
Coffee and chocolates were always served in what was called the Linen Fold Room. This was a room which had special oak wood paneling which dated back to the Elizabethan age which had been carved in a specific linen fold pattern. There were several chairs and a comfortable sofa in the room and a huge inglenook type of fireplace. The fire would have been set so that is was glowing and soft lighting would add to the ambiance of the room.
We always used a large wooden antique tray for this with handles. A hand crocheted antique lace cloth would be places over top and then the coffee things would be placed on top of the cloth. Small demi-tasse cups with silver spoons, and a silver basket covered with a doily and filled with a variety of quality chocolates.
By that time my work would have been almost done for the day. I would be busy clearing, cleaning and washing up. Leftovers, if any, would have been covered and refrigerated. The silver and crystal hand washed and put away and the dish washer would be humming.
Normally I would clean up the coffee things the next morning. That way they were free to socialize as they wanted and I could go home and get a well deserved good night's sleep before work the next day.
All did not always run smoothly. I remember the first Thanksgiving dinner I cooked, the turkey burned. It was a really large turkey and I had it in the electric oven. I went back to our cottage for a wee break and when I returned it was to discover that the bottom of the turkey was burning. It was so large that it was too close to the bottom element . We quickly ran to the shops, picked up two smaller ones and the first one was used as a show piece (elaborately garnished with plenty of parsley) and the guests were served meat from the other two. We did have a great laugh over that one.
The Mrs. said that it wouldn't be Thanksgiving if nothing happened to the turkey!
All in all I really enjoyed my years working at the Manor. I got to work in a beautiful environment with the finest equipment and ingredients. I got to stretch and expand my culinary skills more than I had ever thought myself capable, and I left there with a really good reputation intact.
So much so that a few years ago, they contacted me from their home in the Bahamas asking me could I come to work for them again. They said I had been the best Chef that they had ever had working for them. The offer included a cottage on the beach, etc. I had to turn it down though. I was very content now to just do what I am doing and to be near my family. I do admit I was very flattered to have been asked to return, however, and I was really chuffed that they thought so highly of me.
It really was a great experience and one that this simple girl from rural Nova Scotia had never thought that she would ever get to live. Living and working in a beautiful spot in the Garden of Kent. If I had my life to live over again, this experience would always be a part of it. Through it I learned a great deal about fine cooking and dining, proper service, and entertaining on a grand scale. This I will always be grateful for.
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