Off the rails, on the right track
Pubs can be like buses. You wait ages for one to come along and then half a dozen arrive unexpectantly and all of a sudden you are spoilt for choice.
I was going to say trains, not buses, but then realised it would be impossible for half a dozen trains to arrive simultaneously as there is a very obvious limit to how many trains can fit on one railway track.
I recently moaned about the state of pub food operations near railway stations, but within days of doing so, I discovered two operations based on station platforms which just might prove me wrong. I say 'just might' because in both cases I didn't really sample the food.
At Platform 5 on Nuneaton station I just about had time for a Mars bar and a cup of tea before boarding my homeward bound train, and during a recent visit to the Manningtree Station Buffet in Essex I sampled the all-day full English breakfast, hardly the establishment's height of culinary excellence but just what the doctor ordered nevertheless.
The Manningtree Station Buffet has received some good press. It is one of those establishments that has been duly noted and written about by pub afficionados like Roger Protz, who lists the place in his excellent book, Britain's 500 Best Pubs.
Things have moved on a little since Roger described the place as a 'splendid traditional buffet...in a listed Victorian railway station on the Liverpool Street to East Anglia line.' It's still splendid and traditional and the station remains Victorian but the owners, Richard and Debbie Rowley, have moved on and Paul Sankey, a Liverpudlian who describes himself as a 'technical sales engineer', has bought the lease.
It is hard to pigeon hole the Manningtree Station Buffet because it suffers from a culinary form of chronic schizophrenia. In the mornings (from 5.30am to 9.30am) it is little more than a transport 'caff' for commuters who cannot survive without one of Jean's bacon sarnies and a large paper cup of tea or coffee. At lunch time it veers towards a kind of community pub serving railway workers with dishes like lasagne and chips and then in the evening it puts on a full head of steam and becomes a gourmet trainspotter's paradise offering as it does some floridly titled dishes like a 'seafood symphony - a melody of seafood in a creamy white sauce'.
The seafood symphony, among other dishes, was composed by Karl Box, a professional chef who, according to Paul Sankey (scouser to his mates) has a 'QE2 in cheffery'. Actually, it's NVQ 1 and 2 and a half-finished HCIMA National Certificate but let's not split hairs.
Karl's father is Paul's 'best mate' and his reason for being part of the Manningtree team is simple: Paul 'phoned Karl's old man and asked if Karl could help him out. That was three or four months ago and while Karl has all sorts of future plans - some of which involve running a restaurant in Florida, USA - he is quite happy to continue at Manningtree for the moment and is proud of his achievements there to date.
The kitchen is tiny but clean - health inspectors are regular customers of the Manningtree Station Buffet, according to Karl - and, like John Gayden's work space at the Halfway House in Bastonford, Worcestershire, it works perfectly. "It's easy to keep clean and small means easy and efficient," said Karl.
Karl works afternoons and evenings Monday to Friday. He works in the bar, cooks the food and then serves it. At the time of Pub Food's visit, just before Christmas, the mainstay of the evening menu was a traditional Christmas meal - roast crown of turkey, roast rib of beef, all served with Yorkshire pudding, gravy, Duchess potatoes, 'pigs in blankets' and three seasonal vegetables.
"Because other people have to cook it, I've made it easy," said Karl. It sold for £12 per head including coffee and mince pies which, according to Karl, was good value for money.
And to top it all there is no frozen food. "We buy it in on the day we cook it," said Karl. "We don't hold anything, it's all fresh food," he added, proudly.
The 'other people' Karl refered to are crucial to the smooth running of the Manningtree Station Buffet. Shirley the manager and Jean the 'cook' bring together the other 'personalities' of the operation. Shirley is on call 24 hours per day and starts work at 5.30am every morning when Jean begins the mammoth task of serving 300 customers over the four-hour period to 9.30am with bacon rolls and breakfasts. "We have to be here at 5.15am to get the tea going," said Shirley .
Jean is the buffet's character, its life and soul, and the only one who has any real history attached to her. With five kids of her own and an amazing 16 grandchildren, Jean has been getting up at the crack of dawn with husband Ron (he 'does' the buffet's newspapers) to cook for the commuters.
Paul Sankey describes her as 'a motherly cook, a rough diamond but everybody loves her'. According to Shirley, Jean used to own and run the buffet and sold it on to the previous owners, Richard and Debbie Rowley. The customers love her because she is generous with her portions. Jean is a firm believer in the old adage 'if the plate's not full, it ain't a proper meal'. According to Shirley, "we try to tell Jean to reduce the portions but she goes her own sweet way. She's like everybody's mum but she's well regarded."
After 9am, when near on 400 people have already been served with bacon rolls, tea and coffee and when the last boat train to Harwich has departed and the school kids are in school, it is time for the railway workers and then, with lunch out of the way, things quieten down between 3pm and 5pm and Shirley can concentrate on preparing for the evening shift. Jean finishes after breakfast and Karl normally starts around 3pm.
Karl works from 3pm to 11pm except for Thursdays and Shirley is looking to appoint some-one else for Thursday and Friday and maybe even Saturday as Karl works Saturday afternoon until 11pm.
Unless a special event is on, the food stops at 9.30pm. Function catering is relatively big business but the buffet cannot close for private parties because of its constant obligation to commuters . "Last year we had 27 in here dressed in school uniforms," Shirley explained, but even then nothing came between the buffet and its commuters .
According to Shirley, the buffet was unable to close during the day for its internal alterations, again because of its commitment to the commuters. All the work was carried out during the night. The main aim of the work was to provide customer access to the toilets which didn't interfere with those eating in the restaurant area.
While it is possible to literally jump off a train in the evening and bowl into the Manningtree Station Buffet for a meal it is not the done thing, according to Karl. Evening meals are normally pre-booked. "We don't have the facilities to hold a lot of food. Customers coming 'off the street' would still have a choice but it's best if they pre-book," Karl explained.
Pre-ordering is necessary not only because of the lack of facilities and because Karl works the evening shift alone, but also because the customer base is so varied. "One day's notice is preferred if they want something special,"said Karl. "We do a lot of real ale stews," he added.
For Paul Sankey, the Manningtree Station Buffet is a long term investment. When he bought the lease, the food to drink ratio was roughly 60:40 in favour of wet sales - the place has always had a strong reputation for serving top quality real ales - but today it is probably the other way around in favour of food.
"We won't make any money this year because of the all the alterations, but it is all self-financed," said Paul.
According to Paul, the old Manningtree Station Buffet run by the Rowleys was more orientated towards fine dining and while Paul maintains that element of the business in the evening and at weekends - and uses Karl as his chef for that very reason - the main aim has been to make the food operation more 'spur of the moment'.
"We had to simplify the
