The Grand Hotel: New England
A peek behind the scenes of The Grand, Brighton with Emily Bowles, assistant bar & lounge manager
Welcome to A Grand Place to Work. The £5million revamp of the iconic Grand Hotel on the seafront was completed earlier this month, and we find out what the refurbishment means to the staff at the Grand, as well as the people of Brighton.
This week, Latest 7 meets Emily Bowles, assistant bar and lounge manager.
“I have been at The Grand for about three years; before I was working events and sales but after the refurbishment I was promoted to the position I am in now, which I love.
“I help manage a team of about 15 working down here in the Victoria lounge, bar and terrace, and it is fairly non-stop. We start serving teas and coffees in the morning and after that, we start prepping for our famous afternoon tea.
“Our afternoon tea stands come in three tiers – one for cakes, one for scones and one for finger
sandwiches – all freshly made from our amazing pastry chef – Emily Rose Dempster – in the GB1 kitchen. The offerings include cream horn, chocolate delice, paris brest, fruit tart, lemon tart and lemon drizzle, and that’s just the top tier!
We also have scones with clotted cream and preserves and finger sandwiches: cucumber, smoked salmon, egg cress and chicken and tarragon. It’s a very traditional afternoon tea but with a modern edge – like The Grand – and we are extremely proud of it, though we are always trying to find ways to outdo ourselves! Very soon we are looking to introduce bespoke blended teas made by our very own chefs.
“It’s a very traditional afternoon tea but with a modern edge – like The Grand!”
“It’s not just the fabulous cakes that make coming to The Grand for afternoon tea so special – the Victoria Lounge and Bar looks amazing after the refurbishment – as does the whole hotel since the £5million renovation was completed earlier this month. The lounge and terrace now has a real ‘New England’ feel to it with gorgeous blues and greens in the décor and new furnishings. The best part about the terrace though is the huge windows, opening with fantastic views of the sea and the goings on at the beach. It’s good in all weathers too – the sun beams through when it’s shining but even in a storm there’s something so comforting about looking out at the wind and the waves whilst you’re nice and cosy by our fire.
“It isn’t just guests at the hotel that come in for afternoon tea, a lot of locals are regulars
and students come in with their parents when they come to visit. Two couples got engaged over afternoon tea! A man from one of the couples told us he was going to do it so we piped ‘congratulations’ in chocolate onto their plates; we like to go the extra mile here.”
Afternoon tea at The Grand: Monday to Friday, 3pm–6pm, £22.95pp (£24.95pp on Friday),
Weekend sittings: 2pm & 4.30pm, £24.95pp.
To book afternoon tea call the hotel on
01273 224300
The Grand, 97–99 King’s Road,
Brighton, BN1 2FW,
www.devere-hotels.co.uk/thegrand
