TLH Leisure Resort, Torquay

What do you get if you mix 2 head chefs, 2 sous chefs, a chef de partie, a second chef and a restaurant manager together with a food hygiene qualified trainer? The Level 3 Award in Supervising Food Safety in Catering, that’s what!

We take training very seriously here at TLH Leisure Resort to make sure we provide the very best levels of service for our guests both “on-stage” and “off-stage”. To this end in January seven members of our kitchen and restaurant management teams attended this 3-day course, which is a Chartered Institute of Environmental Health course for all managers within food handling areas. It covers everything they need to know about supervising food safety in their departments, thus ensuring that everyone takes all the practical measures involved in keeping food safe to eat and wholesome through all stages of handling.

I ran this course in-house and as it was the first time I had run it myself I was a little bit nervous. Well I shouldn’t have been! All 7 of the team were fantastic through the course and participated well and got involved. The culmination was to sit a 2-hour 60-question exam. If they scored 40 – 50 out of 60 they would get a pass and if they scored 51 or more they would get a merit. How would they do??

Well, the exam papers were sent away for marking on the 22 January and since then I, and them, have been nervously awaiting the results. Today the certificates came in and I am so pleased to be able to announce that they all achieved a merit grade! This is fantastic news, so a huge well done to Darryl Patrick (Restaurant Manager at the Carlton Hotel), Will Harborne (Sous Chef at the Toorak Hotel), Rob Hockridge (Junior Sous Chef at the Toorak Hotel), Andy Johnston (Head Chef at the Derwent Hotel), Dave Clifford (Head Chef at the Victoria Hotel) Patrick Stuchbury (Senior Chef de Partie at the Carlton Hotel) and John Kelly (Second Chef at the Victoria Hotel). I suppose now I will have to get you all the bottle of wine I promised!! The picture shows them all proudly showing off their certificates!

If you are interested in a career here at TLH Leisure Resort then take a look at our website to see the latest job vacancies on-line, or give us a call on 01803 400132.

Well done to the team for their achievement!

Albert’s is the perfect venue for a great karaoke night out. With its multi-screen layout, quality sound system and over 25,000 different songs to choose from it make for a fantastic night out in Torquay. We also welcome all parties, stag and hen nights and large groups as well as single or duo vocalists.   

Chris Jackson

Your regular host is Chris Jackson, who fronted the local soul band Joey The Lips for 10 years. Chris and alto sax player John George put the band together in 1993 and based it on the line-up and music from the film `The Commitments’, even taking the name from the trumpet player in the film, Joey `The Lips’ Fagan.

Joey The Lips travelled all over the country and Europe playing to ever growing crowds of Soul music fans. The band is still playing now, although John George is the only surviving member of the original band. You can check out the latest line-up at www.joeythelips.co.uk. 

In 1999, Joey The Lips played on local television chat show `Langsford Late’ with Ruth Langsford (who is now married to TV presenter Eamonn Holmes) and jammed with some very unusual guests including Patrick Moore (on vibraphone). Here’s a clip with Chris singing from one of the shows: http://www.youtube.com

Chris will be hosting our popular karaoke nights all year round check him out every Thursday, Saturday and Sunday from 8.30pm till late. And if you missed out on last week’s Karaoke night – here is a pic of the winner and her friends. The competition was to find the best rendition of a Take That number and Steph blew everyone away with her version of “A Million Love Songs”

Steph & her mates

Cheers for now

Chris B

It used to be a case of a quiet drink with some friends the night before the big day, or a meal out at the most. In fact pre-1980s it was practically unheard of for the bride-to-be to celebrate her last few days of singledom – now it’s very unusual not to.

We’re all aware of the bad press; the drunken parties, the male strippers, the cheap weekend in Barcelona (apparently one of the most popular hen and stag destinations) and latterly the even more extravagant holidays to Las Vegas or Dubai. But what if this isn’t your thing? More and more women are turning to spa treatments and pamper parties as a way of celebrating. They are a brilliant way of spending some quality time with close friends and getting some pre-wedding day relaxation and beautification in the process! Plus you can happily spend time with both your young, free and single friends and your Mum or Auntie – there’s something for everyone on a spa day.

An All About You spa day or overnight package at the Aztec Spa at TLH Leisure Resort is perfect for brides-to-be or, in fact any group of ladies looking for a get together and a spot of pampering. Who wouldn’t enjoy the chance to float around in a big fluffy bathrobe with nothing more strenuous to do than flick over the pages of a magazine? With tea, coffee and magazines on tap, the Aztec Spa could be your perfect party idea.

 Currently the Aztec Spa has a great offer, running until the 11^th February – you can enjoy a Sun – Thurs 2 night spa break for just £129, saving £50!

 Call 01803 400190 for more details

Food and football are top of the priority list for many sports enthusiasts, and if you come to Alberts Bar you’ll get both.

2009 was a great year for pub food in Alberts, and we now have our sites set on making Summer 2010 the best in Alberts history. Last year we launched our new £5.95 menu which included such pub classics as sizzling steak and chips, hand made beef burgers from a local Torbay butcher, and everyone’s favourite, ham egg and chips. Our aim was to bring top class local produce to our menus at a mouth-watering price and we did. Head Chef Dave Clifford put together a new menu introducing new dishes and a great children’s menu featuring even healthier options.

Sizzling steak & chips

This year we are expecting a fantastic Summer. We’ll be showing all of the top matches from the World Cup in South Africa, so we are sure to have a jam-packed pub full of people showing up to support England.

For the first time ever we will be designing a new football menu just for the World Cup with selected drinks and food items including top beef burgers, Devon pasties and much, much more. You’ll be able to enjoy a refreshing drink and a bite to eat without breaking the bank. This new and exciting menu will be available for the start of the summer and if there is anything you would like to see on this off our £5.95 main course menu write in or post your suggestions on-line.

Remember we are still showing all Sky Sports and ESPN Matches all year round on our big screen. Regular entertainment features talented singers plus two karaoke nighs per week, so you’ll be spoilt for choice.

Come and see us soon!

You can find top Torquay Pub  Alberts on the corner of Belgrave Road next to the Victoria hotel Torquay. So from me Chris Brimicombe, Alberts Bar Supervisor, we look forward to seeing you soon.

Cheers!

Healthy eating and a special diet is something we are all aware of these days. We are constantly being bombarded by the media about what we should and should not eat, so it is important to the Food and Beverage teams here at TLH Leisure Resort that they are able to handle any special requests about diets that come their way.

When I was approached by the Food & Beverage Manager of the Victoria Hotel and asked to do some specialist training on the subject I was only too pleased to oblige. The CIEH (Chartered Institute of Environmental Health) provide a Level 2 course called the Level 2 Award in Healthier Food and Special Diets, which I am qualified to deliver. So I got organised and ordered all the exam papers and handbooks. Over two Fridays I delivered the course to seven of the Food & Beverage team at the Victoria – Barrington, Reda, Beata & Aldona from the Restaurant, Bart & Lauren from the Kitchen and Nikki who is the Assistant Food & Beverage Manager. All of them passed the multiple-choice exam and our picture shows them celebrating with their certificates.

The Vic F & B Team show off their certificates.

During the course of a year we serve a huge number of meals in our beautiful period restaurant in the Victoria Hotel. Special diets and healthy meal options are so important these days, so it is great that the team at the Victoria are prepared to handle any request that comes their way. Well done to all of them and hopefully the other hotels will follow suit soon!

Spa breaks should be more holistic and less ecliptic

When you think of a spa break, you might think of walking around a beautifully therapeutic environment, with waterfalls and singing tropical birds. You might imagine being wrapped in a huge fluffy dressing gown, that feels like it have been hand woven by angels. Why? Because a Spa is all about having your body pampered by experts intent on making sure ever inch of you as relaxed and stress free as possible.


What you might not imagine is the opening scene to Ridley Scott’s Alien, your fluffy dressing gown is a cold space suit and you’re running through corridors avoiding aliens to find your 4.00pm pedicure.

Ellen Ripley in the First Alien movie

OK, well maybe it’s not that bad, but as technology becomes more emboldened., are we in fact in danger of loosing the very sanctity of what a spa treatment really is. Here is our pick of some of the most bizarre space age treatments and Spa’s online.

1) High tech body spa machines

This spa in Skopje has high tech body work machines that look just mini space pods from some sixties movie B movie.

Spa high tech body work machine

2) The 3D pluri-sensorial dimension Spa

This is the galactic Exedra Nice Hotel Wellness Centre in Nice. It is said to offer a “3D pluri-sensorial dimension never seen before,” I have no idea what that means, but it does look very nice.

Simone Micheli Space Spa

Simone Micheli Space Spa design

Simone Micheli Space Spa design

Simone Micheli Space Spa design

Simone Micheli Space Spa design

Simone Micheli Space Spa design

3) The space age salon

This is a design concept for a new space age salon by designer Vizitiu Eduard, filled with transparent glass partitions, retro graphic art designs and walls that curve in on themselves.

New space age salon by designer Vizitiu Eduard

4) Takeaway Spa hydro-fusion

This is a futurist spa that you can have in your home; it is basically a huge bathing tube where the user gets; a hydrotherapy spa treatment with inbuilt hydro-fusion, aromatherapy and musical technology (it has nozzles that spray water, play music and smell nice).

Spa hydro massage chamber

spa jet hydro massage

5) The Spa shower system

This is the kind of phone booth that even superman wouldn’t have minded changing in. OK, you got me, it’s a shower, but it is very pretty.

Spa shower

6) Futuristic head massager

If you wish to look like one of the original battlestar galactica’s cylon’s while you get your massage then this futuristic head gear is for you.

healthcare head spa massager

Original battlestar galactica cylon

So, should spa breaks be a holistic experience or a step into the Twilight Zone?