Island Life Magazine Ltd October/November 2016 | Page 113

Food and drink All welcome in Dan’s Kitchen! In the five years since they launched their own restaurant in St Helen’s, Dan and Carla Maskell have built a loyal team of staff, a similarly loyal following of customers – and a reputation for great food, friendly service and scenic surroundings. Dan’s Kitchen, located on the south side of the village green with views across the Solent, has put its focus on relaxed and informal dining and creative menus that make use of as much great quality local produce as possible. Owner-chef Dan had previously worked in Michelin-starred kitchens before launching out in St Helen’s in 2011, with Carla running the front of house. The couple say they’re passionate about what they do, and enjoy providing relaxed and informal dining, good food and great wine served by friendly staff. “We’re happy to have built a loyal following of customers - but are always happy to welcome new faces!” says Carla. To book a table, call 01983 872303. Catering to the High Street It’s best known as the little ‘yellow deli’ that backs onto Cowes Marina, but there’s much more to The Food Hamper than cute looks and an enviable location. Owner Sarah Churcher, who took over the delicatessen business in June last year, has a 22-year history in the catering industry, having worked on private superyachts and a Michelin-starred restaurant in the New Forest, as well as for big corporate events. She moved to the Island 10 years ago and began providing a catering service to private and corporate clients - so when the Cowes business came up for sale, she saw it as a perfect fit for her skills. “It gave me a catering unit with a High Street frontage, which was the perfect combination” she says. “Catering can always morph into different guises and at The Food Hamper, there has been a lot of growth in the office lunch side of things.” Having run a staff canteen for an Island company for several years, Sarah took this service to a smaller scale at the shop and now offers a tempting and very popular lunchtime takeaway range that includes salad boxes, frittata, quiches, local pork pies and Scotch eggs. Office and lunchtime food has since become a major part of the deli’s trade, but also hugely popular is the range of convenient home freezer meals, all made on the premises by Sarah and her two staff Sallie and Lindsay and including favourites such as Beef Bourginon, Lamb Tagine and Roast Vegetable Lasagne. Meanwhile, the shelves of the deli are stacked with speciality foods and lots of good local produce from suppliers such as the Isle of Wight Cheese Company, Calbourne Mill, Green Barn Dairy, Wild Island, Pinks, the Island Biscuit Company and a selected range from the Garlic Farm. Customers buy these products for home cooking or, as the business name suggests, often put together their self-selected hamper gifts. Other customers use the service for their picnic and party catering, sailing lunches and receptions. All of which makes for an ultrabusy working life for Sarah and her staff – but as she says: “Yes, it gets pretty hectic at times, but you couldn’t do this if you didn’t enjoy it. We love food and love bringing creativity into everything we do” Contact The Food Hamper on 01983 295680. www. visitilife.com Oct/Nov 2016_MASTER NEW.indd 113 113 14/10/2016 14:40