Enjoy the summer at Village Pizza Kitchen

Village Pizza Kitchen

With summer on the way, Village Pizza Kitchen has now reopened their outside terrace area where they will be serving their full menu of pizzas and pastas, plus some additional lunchtime dishes, including paninis, salads and antipasti platters. As the warmer weather arrives, they will be extending their terrace area to include the space outside the bridal shop, so will have ample seating, along with heaters and blankets for those cooler evenings!

They have also been readying their two converted horseboxes, Little Pizza Kitchen and The Mini Bar for the summer season, with a packed calendar of events planned, including The Great Big Pants Party at Danny House, the St Lawrence Fair and Super Sunday! They do have some availability left, so if you have a private, public or corporate event that needs catering this summer, then get in touch with Jo at Village Pizza Kitchen.

With a busy summer ahead, Village Pizza Kitchen are looking for some extra help, so if you or someone you know is interested in a pizza making position, then please email hello@villagepizzakitchen.com or pop in with a CV.
Professional kitchen and pizza making experience is preferred but not essential as training can be provided. A positive attitude, love of good food and cooking however, are a must! Further information is available at www.villagepizzakitchen.com

Hurst's central pub - the New Inn

I met Murray at the New Inn on a Monday, so we had the place to ourselves. “For some reason the whole of Hurst seems to shut down on this day; we kept open for a few years on Mondays but in the end it wasn’t worth it.” Many business owners have had ups and downs over the last 18 months and none more so than landlords and he very much hopes that by the time you are reading this, there will be punters standing at the bar again, being served drinks.

He grew up in Surrey and his first job was in a bank in Clacton-on-Sea, ‘in the days when you could get a bank job with O’levels.’ He progressed to a finance company in the Midlands, specialising in asset finance for the printing industry, which 25 years ago was thriving. Nearly 15 years ago he and his wife Chris moved to the village, at the far end of Langton Lane and the New Inn became his pub of choice. “It’s smack in the centre of Hurst and it’s got a massive amount of history. It seems every other customer who comes in here to drink has either worked here or slept upstairs at some point during their lives, so everybody knows it.”

Then one day the landlord announced he was selling, and he thought ‘well maybe I could do that, and wind down a bit’, rather than try to pursue a career that was essentially finished, due the internet and advanced home printing. So, he took the plunge and bought it in 2016. “I didn’t quite get that right, if I’m honest with you, as I’ve had to wind up rather than down! This is a full-time occupation and there’s no other way around it.” Like many landlords and B&B owners who had envisaged a quiet life leading into retirement, he had a rude awakening. “I thought I could dip in and out; when you’re the wrong side of the bar you think you could do it, but there’s so much involved in running a successful pub.”

It became clear to them early on that living two miles away was not working out, so they renovated the four-bedroom flat above the pub and rented their house out, an arrangement that comes to an end this month. Chris is a music teacher by profession but gave up and joined the business to help Murray run it. “We went from a situation living in Langton Lane where we never saw anybody from one day to the next to here where we now know everybody. And I love it, walking down the street saying good morning to everybody and everybody’s friendly, and I wouldn’t change that for the world.

Turn to page 18 of August’s Hurst Life to learn more about the life of a landlord and his dogs.

New owners at Morley's, Hurstpierpoint

Alex and Andy Kier

Introducing Alex & Andy Kier of Morley’s, on the High Street. Andy has been the chef at Morley’s for the last 18 months and has now, with his wife Alex, taken over the helm. Serving up classic and globally inspired dishes, there is sure to be something for everyone!

Andy trained in the colleges of Oxford University and has spent his career cooking in Oxford, Brighton and France, picking up a few awards along the way.

Alex has also spent her career in the hospitality industry, with some time managing Carluccios, before Bill’s and then most recently at Glyndebourne near Lewes.

The couple said it had always been a dream of theirs to run their own restaurant business and when the opportunity to take over Morley’s came up, they thought it was too good to miss!

“We are really excited to be taking on this lovely restaurant and feel very lucky to have been welcomed so warmly,” Alex said. “Morley’s is part of the community and we want to be fully involved with local events.”

Morley’s serves breakfast from 9am on Saturdays and Sundays. The full menu runs 12 noon-2.30pm and 6- 9pm Tuesday to Saturday. For an extra treat on a Sunday, Andy also does a top notch roast beef!