After much anticipation, the creators of Deal Pier Kitchen, Tim Biggs (29) and Rebecca Hodson (27), have announced that their all-day dining concept, housed within the RIBA award-winning structure at the end of Deal Pier in Kent and owned by Dover District Council, will open in December this year .
A series of soft opening events are scheduled for throughout the festive period, introducing this new business to the town and visitors from further afield but also allowing Biggs and Hodson valuable time for experimentation and trialling.
Each event will have a limited number of tickets available to the public, which can be acquired through Deal Pier Kitchen’s social media pages.
Having acquired the premises through leisure property specialist Fleurets and currently under refurbishment, Deal Pier Kitchen will subsequently celebrate the New Year with a full opening and launch on the weekend commencing Friday 4th January 2019.
Director Tim Biggs commented: “We are focused on providing fresh, organic, local and wholesome food, and a gourmet experience through our food and drink.”
Business partner and fellow hospitality entrepreneur, Rebecca Hodson, added: “Tim and I met through our work together at a renowned Kent wedding venue and quickly bonded with a combined passion for high quality customer service and our love of all things food. Discussing our experiences and goals it quickly became apparent that we should look to work together in the future and we have since been searching for the right opportunity to get our teeth into and create something special. Deal Pier Kitchen is that opportunity. Our company ethos is to create a fun, meaningful, and most importantly safe, environment without judgement for our patrons 364 days of the year. We will also be creating 20 jobs throughout 2019, including a head chef and general manager.”
Meet the team behind Deal Pier Kitchen
Tim Biggs (29)
As a local who grew up in East Kent, Deal has always held a special place in Tim’s heart and he is excited to see the community thriving over the past ten years and evolving with the modern era. As a child he would regularly visit Deal to support the local events calendar and enjoy the fantastic town. The stunning location and the premises at the end of Deal Pier are awe inspiring and deserve a high-quality product to match.
Since leaving school Tim studied for his BSc degree in Kent and has over 10 years of experience working in high end pubs and bars across the county. He has operated in every role required to run a successful restaurant, everything from kitchen porter, through bar man and waiter, to now owning and running TB Bars. Over the years he has developed a true passion for high quality service and fantastic quality local food. Supporting like-minded local businesses is a true mind-set, which takes dedication and hard work but creates lasting working relationships and fantastic quality results for the customer and the wider community. It is his vision to build a meaningful, fun, accepting, local business that can develop into a true community asset that helps to support local arts and culture.
TB Bars Limited currently provides a full beverage and bar service to Winters Barns, a well-established wedding venue in Canterbury. The overall running of TB Bars has given Tim a wide range of hospitality experience allowing him to grow his career into the restaurant trade, where his passion lies. The Pier café offers the perfect opportunity for Tim and the team to excel and provide a fantastic asset to Deal and the wider community.
Rebecca Hodson (27)
Rebecca is a highly skilled and motivated young professional with over 10 years of experience in the hospitality and events industries. Alongside her culinary endeavours, Rebecca is a professional singer and trained at one of the UK’s most prestigious drama schools. During this training Rebecca developed hordes of creative flare and enthusiasm for the arts. She is a self-confessed chatterbox and enjoys getting to know what makes people tick - A real people person!
Starting out as a silver service waitress in her teens, Rebecca quickly learnt an acute eye for detail and quality. Over the past 10 years Rebecca has built her career in management at some of the south east’s best pubs and catering companies. These roles have led her to be responsible for day to day operations within restaurants and full event services to high end wedding clients.
As of October 2016, Rebecca has been the director of The Farm Street Kitchen, street food truck. Doing the rounds across London and the South East, this farmhouse kitchen on wheels champions Kent’s finest produce, and has seen hundreds of happy customers pass through at markets, events and festivals. Rebecca’s kitchen currently holds a residency at the Midnight Apothecary, a wild flower cocktail garden at the Brunel Museum in South East London. Rebecca’s role as director and head chef within the business has allowed her to explore her capabilities, feeding up to 500 hungry faces per weekend she has learnt what works and what doesn’t work when running a catering business.
Rebecca is delighted to have the opportunity to use these skills in a new project and believes that she can bring energy and life back into the Deal Pier Kitchen.
Posted on 12 November 2018