The Truth and Love about The Gallivant

We asked every restaurant in Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery to complete a survey detailing their passions, processes and philosophy. Discover more of our restaurants’ stories in their own words.

• WHO: Harry Cragoe, owner
• WHAT: A restaurant with coastal-inspired bedrooms and a beach hut mini spa
• WHERE: New Lydd Road, Camber, Rye, TN31 7RB

There are many different ways to practice sustainability and integrity in hospitality. Give us some examples of an action or principle that is important to you.

Locality: "We take great pride in sourcing locally-landed fish, which results in the freshest and tastiest fish possible. The two suppliers we use, Dungeness Fish Hut and P H Fish in Hastings, are the fishermen themselves who fish daily and sustainably from their small day-boat fishing boats. When they catch something notable, like a really big turbot, they call us when they are still out at sea to tell us what they have just caught and whether we would like it. We only serve fish in the restaurant that has been caught by them daily. Our daily catch can be varied, but this creates an enjoyable challenge for the chefs and we believe it is a small cost to provide the most sustainable fish we can. For this reason, we would never have popular dishes like salmon on the menu; they simply aren’t caught nearby. It is crucial that our suppliers share our ethos and we are proud to work with brilliant local people who help us to source responsibly."

The Gallivant

Community: "To support the local community is a top priority for The Gallivant. Our main initiative is to ensure that all of our produce is coming from, where possible, local and independent businesses. This not only helps to build the local community’s economy, but also allows us to build strong relationships with those closest to us. This community approach doesn’t just stop in the kitchen, however. All of our dining room tables, trestle tables and other pieces of furniture are made by Harbor, a local business that exclusively uses recycled and reclaimed wood for its furniture. They are a social enterprise in Hastings that take on unskilled trainees from an assortment of government funded schemes, offering them a chance to secure long-term employment. By working with individuals who are as passionate about the local community as us, we establish an efficient and sustainable method to support smaller businesses and boost local employment. Working with small suppliers’ costs more. However, we believe buying from these smaller businesses benefits both us and those around us, at the end of the day. As a business, we are always re-assessing how we can shop more locally by doing our best to keep up to date and get out there in the community."

Sustainability: "The site employs a rigorous sustainability policy that guides everything we do as a business. Aligned to this ethos as part of our Luxury Room refurbishment project completed in 2016, the gardens surrounding and to the rear of the building were re-landscaped, replanted and re-imagined as a total natural coastal shingle garden using indigenous plants and recycled materials. It has transformed a featureless grass garden devoid of any wildlife or diversity into a haven of wildlife with countless butterflies, insects and birds that have adopted this landscape as their home. In 2017, the gardens were shortlisted in the UK Garden Design Awards."

Health & well-being: "Our dishes are balanced plates with healthier options available, such as our many fish dishes and vegan options. We also offer a balanced continental-style breakfast with options such as gluten-free almond cake, vegan Bircher muesli, wheat-free granola and ‘bubble and squeak’ with poached Burford Brown eggs. We promote well-being for staff and guests, with inspirational books such as Happiness (printed by the Harvard Business Press) in all our rooms and yoga classes throughout the week for all to attend. (Happiness is the only book that constantly gets ‘borrowed’ by our guests – so frequently, in fact, that we now have had to put a price list in the rooms)."

Other initiatives: "In 2018, we have launched a new staff benefit scheme focused on staff well-being and rewarding passionate and service-orientated team players. The scheme hopes to encourage team members to adopt a healthy lifestyle and supports this initiative with balanced meals on duty, subsidised fitness initiatives and competitions, and support to stop smoking."

To read more about The Gallivant, visit their Truth, Love & Clean Cutlery profile here.