by Justin | Nov 5, 2010 | Eating & Drinking, Hotel News
Our New Head Chef - Paul Tugwell
We’re excited to announce the appointment of a New Head Chef at Sunset Beach Club, Paul Tugwell. Originally from Cardiff, Paul has been involved in the hotel and catering business for many years and will undoubtedly bring a wealth of experience to the team here at Sunset.
I had a chance to catch up with Paul earlier on in the week to find out a little bit more about him and what his plans are for Sunset’s kitchens; here’s a summary of what I found out:
Paul started his career by studying at the Barry Island Hotel School. After two years of intense training he headed off to London where he began work as a Commis Chef at the famous Savoy Hotel; it didn’t take long for Paul to establish himself as an integral part of the team, allowing him to work his way up to the position of Sous Chef in the 5 years he spent at the Savoy.
After an intense 5 years in London, it was time to move on and Paul spent the next 9 years in Bath; first at the Royal Crescent hotel and later at Combe Grove Manor. His time in Bath allowed Paul to learn, explore and apply new cooking techniques (this was at a time when Nouvelle Cuisine was revolutionising the industry).
In the mid 1980’s, family commitments – Paul’s wife is Spanish – meant it was time to move to Spain. The Costa del Sol was his chosen destination and has been his home ever since.
Since arriving on the Coast Paul has worked as Head Chef in several well known restaurants; however, one of his most challenging positions was when he was asked to become Head Chef and Lecturer at the Les Roches Hotel School in Marbella. For over 5 years he was responsible for training future hotel managers and chefs at this highly respected hotel school (I’ll tell you a secret……. he even trained our Operations Director, Miguel Marcos!).
For the past 5 years, Paul has been Head Chef at the boutique hotel, La Posada del Torcal, located in the mountains behind Málaga.
Now it’s time for a new challenge here at Sunset Beach Club! Wasting no time at all, Paul is already busy with several projects: The daily menus for half board guests are just about ready (I’ll be sure to post about them as soon as they are!) and the team are busy preparing two special dishes for a charity event and cooking contest next weekend; I’ve seen the dessert they have prepared at it looks fantastic!
The next objective is a completely new dessert menu…..ñuuuummm! I’ll definitely have to report back to you about those,; pictures and all!
Something to look forward to next summer is the plan to include a BBQ buffet in the evenings by the main pools. This will be a welcomed addition to the hotels dining facilities and will no doubt prove to be a hit.
Welcome to the team Paul! I look forward to tasting some one of those new desserts!
by Justin | Nov 4, 2010 | What's On
Next Tuesday the 9th November sees the start of the 24th edition of the Málaga Jazz Festival. This year’s venues will be the traditional Cervantes Theatre and the Echegaray Theatre (included this year as second venue to the festival).
Málaga awaits some great Jazz musicians, amongst them, the Cadiz pianist, Chano Domínguez, who will take to the stage of the Cervantes Theatre on Wednesday the 6th November.
The rest of the weeks line up is equally as impressive:
Teatro Cervantes
Wednesday 10th November: Chano Domínguez
Friday 12th November: The Bad Plus
Saturday 13th November: Dayna Kurtz
Teatro Echegaray
Tuesday 9th November: Doris Cales Quartet
Wednesday 10th November: Ana Cisneros Trío
Thursday 11th November: La Insostenible Big Band
Friday 12th November: Seamus Blake Quintet
Saturday 13th November: Sacri Delfino Trío
Los organizadores del festival también han preparado varias actividades paralelas para este año: El Seminario Internacional de Jazz, una Masterclass con la Seamus Blake Quintet y los pasacalles que estarán todos los días (de 1 a 2 de la tarde) por el centro de la ciudad; todas actividades diseñadas para acercar el Jazz a la gente.
The organisers of the Festival have also prepared several paralel activities for this year: The Internacional Jazz Seminar, a Masterclass with the Seamus and the street performers who will be walking the streets of the city centre from 1pm to 2pm every day. All the above activities have been designed to bring Jazz to the people by creating interaction.
Photo Credit: Infrogmation
by Justin | Nov 3, 2010 | Eating & Drinking
Wine lovers on the Costa del Sol are in for a treat this weekend as Torremolinos hosts the 11th Annual Wine Fair (from the 6th to the 8th November).
This event is the ideal platform for professionals and wine lovers to meet and talk about their passion. Visitors to the fair will also be able to enjoy an educational day out with the fair offering various learning spaces with presentations and wine tasting sessions conducted by well known professionals from the wine industry.
I’d like to highlight the following activities:
1) Various conferences covering the subject of Mediterranean Food
2) Wine Tasting Sessions; aimed at visitors who are keen to learn about the “ins and outs” of the wine industry, so important to Spanish and Mediterranean Culture.
3) Cocktail exhibition and tasting session with Andalucian wines. The Association of Spanish Barmen (ABE) will be preparing 5 different cocktails created with 5 different wines; visitors will have the chance to taste their wonderful creations!
4) Various competitions, including, the prize to the Best Young Sommelier of Andalucia
During the fair, there will be a daily prize draw for a weekend break for 2 people in a traditional Andalucian holiday destination. This fantastic prize includes 2 nights of accommodation including breakfast and an activity related to wine tourism in the area.
Anyone interested in attending can do so for just 3 Euros, payable at the entrance of the event at the Palacio de Congresos y Exhibiciones of the Costa del Sol.
Photo Credit: thebusybrain
by Justin | Oct 30, 2010 | Hotel News
Any of you who were at Sunset Beach Club during the summer will have had the opportunity to win a fantastic weeks holiday next summer.
We had an box in reception where you could leave your details and enter into the prize draw. As expected, we had a great response for the draw with hundreds of guests entering.
Well, we have just had the prize draw and I’m happy to announce that the lucky winner is:
Charmaine Robinson
Charmaine and her family stayed with us at the end of August and will no doubt be looking forward to their weeks holiday next year, courtesy of Sunset Beach Club! Well done!
Stay tuned for our next prize draw or competition! If you become a Fan of our Facebook Page you’ll get all the latest news about the hotel.
by Justin | Oct 29, 2010 | Kids & Teens
Here’s a few photos of the halloween decorations in our Panorama Bar and the Kids Club. Our animation team have been working hard since yesterday to get all the decorations up in time for this evening!
At 8:30 pm, all kids who want to join in the Halloween spirit will be meeting up in the Kids Club for Face Painting! After that, its time for “Trick or Treat”! Together with the animation team, the kids will be making their way around the hotel, knocking on doors and asking the famous question; Trick or Treat? If you are staying at the hotel, I recommend you stock up on sweets; you have been warned! 😉
Hopefully tomorrow we’ll have some great photos of the evening and will be posting them here!
Happy Halloween!
Decorations in the Panorama Bar
Decorations in the Panorama
The Haunted Kids Club
Pumpkins galore in the Kids Club
by Justin | Oct 29, 2010 | What's On
Blues at Moonlight - The Musicians
We’re all getting ready for the 4th edition of “Blues at Moonlight”, the popular live music festival which takes place every year here at Sunset Beach Club.
Friday the 12th and Saturday 13th November are the chosen dates for this year’s event, organised by Active Sound Productions; we expect a full house for some great live music acts! If the Blues Night we had a couple of weeks ago is anything to go by, we’re in for a great weekend!
“Blues at Moonlight” isn’t only about Blues – as the name might suggest – the musical experience goes further, encompassing the best Rock n’ Roll, Swing and Jive, Rhythm and Blues and even Jazz! There’s something for everyone…..here’s a brief summary of all the musicians taking part this year:
Friday 12th November, 2010
22:00 hrs – The Donald Reagans – True Rockabilly style music from this Madrid duo.
00:00 hrs – The Margoes – One of the newest bands to come out of the Barcelona music scene; their music is a mix of rock n’roll and rhythm and blues.
02:00 hrs – The Dirty Robbers – This 4 piece band form the UK are the kings of frat-rock!
Saturday 13th November, 2010
22:00 hrs – The Nu Niles – 21st Century Rock and Roll
23:45 hrs – Smoky Joe Combo – A swing and Jazz combo in true 1940’s fashion
01:30 hrs – Nico Duportal – French guitarist who plays swing and rhythm & blues
03:15 hrs – Nick Curran & The Lowlifes – Probably one of today’s best rock n’ roll live acts
The doors of the Moonlight Cabaret Bar open at 21:00 hrs and tickets are priced at €15 for Friday evening and €25 for Saturday. Anyone interested in catching all the acts can purchase a weekend pass for €35.
Tickets can be purchased on the door or at El Corte Inglés stores (www.elcorteingles.es)
