Licensee / Chef

LICENSEE/ CHEF

The Angel Inn
Parsons Corner
North Shoebury
Southend On Sea
SS3 8UD
Telephone : 01702 89600

Simon Chaplin

Having completed standard schooling I enrolled at the Smithfield college

of Technology in London where I obtained qualifications in Catering,

together with Retail and Man Management. The next 10 years were spent gaining

practical experience in management roles in a range of retail outlets. This enabled

me to develop my own style of dealing with staff, targets, business promotions and

problem solving which was to stand me in good stead for my future. During this

period of my life I also attended courses and training programs and traveled to other

countries where I learned about their foods and how to cook them. This provided

me with a great deal of knowledge about the relationships between natural healthy

food and its ability to build and fuel a healthy active body.

My catering experience and understanding of "healthy food - what you eat is

what you are" was greatly enhanced over the next couple of years which I had the

good fortune to spend with the music industry's well know Rock Chef, and

incidentally my brother, Peter Chaplin. I worked with him in his capacity of

chef to several stars on tour. He taught me how different foods can be used to keep

a body fit and full of strength and stamina, which is exactly what stars like Madonna

and Steve Wonder need when on the road for up to 12 months at a time.

From hotels In England , I traveled through America to Melbourne, Australia to

Peter's vegetarian restaurant Musical Knives, and I learned the restaurant trade well

by spending time doing every job from washing up "the proper way" to promoting

the business, as well as employing and training staff.

On my return to England I worked as a Chef De-Partie at the Paris Restaurant.

This featured in the Michelin guide in 1993/4 and in the good food guide 1994.

My time there was spent working in a team of four chefs, cooking and preparing

hot and cold starters, meat, fish, vegetables, sweets, fresh, bread, ice cream and more,

using all fresh produce and working from an à la carte menu which changed on a

daily basis.

The last 8 years have been happily spent working and living with my wife and two

daughters, at The Angel Inn, North Shoeburyness. The Angel is a Pub Restaurant on

a site that was developed and renovated from a historic listed timer-framed structure

dating from circa 1650 and was formerly the North Shoeburyness Post Office and

Blacksmiths Shop.

I started my career at the Angel as the Head Chef with a determination to put into

practice my beliefs in promoting menus based only on fresh natural wholesome

foods. I have devoted much time to finding suppliers, many local, from whom I can

obtain consistently high standards of natural and whole-foods, especially grains,

pulses and vegetables. The proprietor, Malcolm Ginn gave his full support to my

ideas and efforts. Our meals are created from fresh food, not frozen, pre-packed or

processed and over the years the restaurant has become hugely popular and our

bookings and turnover are the proof that people do prefer wholesome, well prepared,

well cooked food.

We decided to promote "Real Ale" to go with the "Real Food" and we have a very

well attended 5-day "Real Ale Festival" in May of each year.

I put a great deal of effort into promoting the business, finding the right staff,

training them to the standards I expect and educating them into ethos of the

establishment.

I am very much a "hands-on" manager and regularly help out in the kitchen

and bar. It is very hard work, but extremely rewarding work and we continue to go

from strength to strength.

To book a table please telephone 01702 589600