Staff training & development

At the Pandora, our aim is to ensure every customer has an enjoyable and memorable experience. While the food and drink are crucial parts of what we do, our staff are really the key.

We work hard to retain a motivated team that can deliver excellent service, quality food and high standards throughout the day-to-day running of the Pandora. Managers Catherine and Lester Croft are totally ‘hands-on’ and always happy to answer any queries on anything from identifying a gluten-free meal, highlighting an organic wine, or telling you the time of the next high tide!

All new members of staff have induction training including product knowledge, customer service, fire, health and safety. New dishes on the menu are regularly sampled by team members so that they know what’s on offer and can discuss options with customers.

To help ensure you find the right wine to accompany your meal, our waiting staff all receive wine training and, yes, they get to taste all 17 wines sold by the glass! “The staff at the Pandora are always so enthusiastic, it’s great to see and makes my job more rewarding,” said Ruth Carter from our wine merchant, Walter Hicks, who runs the wine training. “We discuss the different grape types and they get to smell and taste the wines and it’s interesting to see their reactions and which wines they do and don’t like.”

On-going training includes fire marshal training – which includes setting off extinguishers and tackling a blaze (carefully set up outside!), obviously training that is very dear to our hearts here at the Pandora… Our staff also receive training in product knowledge, coffee training, customer serving and good practice on beer and wine.

We also hold regular team meetings, run staff newsletters and have a communication diary for messages, key training points and staff suggestions.

While we employ lots of students over the busy summer season, they all receive full induction training as a matter of course. Our permanent staff tend to stay which is, of course, rewarding for all concerned and 100% of the staff we employ live within 12 miles of the pub, with over 50% living within walking distance, which dramatically reduces our carbon footprint.

As you can see, we really do take ‘keeping it local’ very seriously!

Fantastic organic vegetables – grown right on the doorstep!

A couple of months ago, Head chef, Tom Milby, went to meet one of our key local suppliers – Pete Lawrence of Canara Farm

Sourcing good organic vegetables isn’t impossible, but sourcing them locally and in sufficient quantity for our needs can be challenging. Fortunately for us, we have Pete Lawrence right on our doorstep growing amazing veg in his poly tunnels at Canara Farm on the wonderfully fertile land at Mylor Downs.

Pete is really enthusiastic about vegetables of all types and the way they are produced. ‘Farm organically or not at all’ is Pete’s mantra and the tender, wonderfully flavoured baby leaves he produces are testimony to the care he takes.

Grown under the name ‘Lizard Leaves’, Pete grows the most wonderful organic gourmet baby leaves, full of vibrancy, tenderness and flavour. There’s a huge range too, include green and red incised batavia, green butterhead lettuce, red and green mizuna, Russian kale, tatsoi, purple pak choi, ruby and green frills, land cress, and red and yellow chard. Everything is handpicked and delivered from field to kitchen within hours.

There are around 14 acres of prime organic market garden at Canara Farm with several huge poly tunnels where Pete grows a range of specialist vegetables, herbs and a few fruits alongside the salad leaves.

When I visited back in June, he was just getting going with an amazing range of heirloom and artisan tomatoes with wonderful names such as Black Cherry, Green Sausage and Hawaiian Currant!

He also produces baby carrots, turnips and beetroots of various shapes and colours; a plethora of peas and beans from purple mange tout to striped French beans; edible flowers like marigolds, nasturtiums, borage and, of course, the wonderfully versatile courgette flower; a range of basils – Thai, Greek, purple and lemon; and many more colourful varieties chosen specifically for flavour, texture and maximum aesthetic appeal. When I was there he was just sampling some delicious radishes of all shapes, sizes and colours – delicious!

As Pete says, the thinking behind Canara is local, organic, specialist produce of the type that previously had to be imported from the Continent. But not any more. Now, we have these fantastic fresh vegetables right on our doorstep giving me so much more to work with and the opportunity to produce wonderful vegetable dishes and salads for our menus.

More than just a wine list…

'Green' wines from our wine list.

When we expanded our wine list, we didn’t just want to add on a few more wines, we wanted to give you lots of additional information to help you in your selection. This has proved just as interesting for us as we hope it will be for you! Following up on some of the wine makers, their operations and their ethics has been fascinating.

We had added a number of symbols to our wine list to advise you which ones have specific qualities such as being vegetarian, or organic or produced with environmental considerations. While wine is essentially made from grapes, on occasion animal products are used in small amounts in the production process, and these wines may not be suitable to be part of a vegetarian or vegan diet - we have now highlighted these for you.

 

We've added these symbols to our wine llist to
help you make more of an informed choice.

‘Responsible drinking’ is a bit of a ‘nanny state’ phrase, but in truth how many of us really know how much it’s sensible to drink, or how much we can legally drink and then drive? We have provided the information and it is then of course entirely up to you whether you want to follow it or not!

And if you are having to watch your intake, you’ll be pleased to know that we stock no less than 17 wines by the glass. We have a ‘Verre de Vin’ preservation system that means we can offer a wide selection of wines by the glass and keep them in good condition once opened. We are even able to sell a sparkling wine, like Prosecco, by the glass. So whatever you are eating, or whatever your budget, we are pretty confident you will find a wine to suit.

Two vegetarian wines.

So, what wines will you choose? We have a style guide that grades our wines to help you find what you’ll like, and our staff are all trained by our wine merchant Walter Hicks, so do please ask if you are looking for inspiration!

Here’s our wine listing in full:

Guide for white, rosé, sparkling wines & champagnes

White and rosé wines are numbered 1 to 9. Bone dry wines that are relatively light, such as Sauvignon Blanc from cooler climates will be marked 1. Champagnes and cool climate Chardonnays such as Chablis will also be 1.

2 is a far more common category with the vast majority of white table wines fitting this group such as Chilean Chardonnay.

3 indicates a wine that is very slightly off-dry and a little richer in style - a Chenin Blanc from South Africa for example.  Medium dry wines are between 3 and 5, like the Hungarian Riesling on our list.

Sweet wines range from 5 through to 9 and would include a rich Muscat dessert wine.

 

Organic wines featured on our list.

Style guide for red wine

All red wines in the list are lettered A to E. Light, soft, easy drinking wines will be at the ‘A’ end of the scale. Slightly more serious but nevertheless, light, wines will be B; Pinot Noir or Valpolicella.

C is the catch-all category that takes most red wines, with heavier, more concentrated wines falling into the D zone - such as Pinotage, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz.

E is reserved for the real heavyweights of great density, power and quality.

Our new, expanded wine list has something for everyone

Ruth Carter and Steve Bellman.

Good food needs good wine to accompany it – so we stock and sell a lot of wine! To ensure we have a really good range of wines to suit everyone, we have been busy expanding our wine list. Steve Bellman, who runs the Pandora with John Milan, is really passionate about wine and has been working closely with Ruth Carter, wine development manager with wine merchant Walter Hicks, to bring you a really stunning wine list.

“We stock a wide range of red, white and rosé wines, plus sparkling and dessert and we aim to have something to suit every pocket and every palate,” says Steve. “We have also spent time identifying organic and vegetarian wines, plus those that are sustainable practices accredited and produced with environmental considerations.”

Our green wines.

English wine production has come on leaps and bounds over recent years and the quality keeps getting better and better. We now boast over 400 producers with an annual production of two million bottles. As we are committed to supporting local producers at the Pandora, it will come as no surprise that we have a whole section devoted to wines from our region. “The South West is becoming an established wine growing area and local sparkling wines are proving especially successful and winning international awards,” says Ruth. “Cornish producers Knightor Winery and Camel Valley are extremely popular and produce first-class white wines.”

To help ensure you find the right wine to accompany your meal, our waiting staff all receive wine training. Ruth was at the Pandora earlier this month and we had a great morning in the Upper Deck dining room tasting and discussing the new wine list and yes, the staff got to taste every wine! “The staff at the Pandora are always so enthusiastic, it’s great to see and makes my job more rewarding,” said Ruth. “We discuss the different grape types and they get to smell and taste the wines and it’s interesting to see their reactions and which wines they do and don’t like.”

Ruth Carter taking staff through the entire Pandora wine list!

Wines, or grapes, go in and out if fashion. On trend at the moment, Ruth says, is Viognier for white wine and Malbec for red. We have laid out our wine list so that the grape type is listed first, so if you know you like Chardonnay, or Shiraz, it is easy for you to spot them on the list. But why not try something different next time? We include extensive descriptions on the wine list, or you could always ask one of our staff for some suggestions.

You will find our full wine list on the website and we also have large print and Braille versions at the pub should you need them, please just ask our staff.

            

Fabulous, fresh Cornish fish!

Head chef, Tom Milby, meets one of our key local suppliers – Stevenson & Son of Newlyn

Fresh, locally caught fish is one of the many things that makes the Pandora Inn so special and you won’t be surprised to hear that it always sells incredibly well! In addition to the classic pub dishes always on offer, like our beer-battered fish and chips, we always have plenty of fresh fish dishes on the specials board changing daily to suit whatever is available at the time.

Left to right – Craig Crosbie, Tom Milby
and Ian Oliver.

Almost all our fish comes from W. Stevenson & Son of Newlyn. I’ve dealt with the company for years, but had never visited them, so last month, I decided to head off west and go and see their set up at first hand. And I was not disappointed!

Stevenson & Sons have been in the fishing business for over 100 years and have the largest privately owned fleet in Britain, operating out of Newlyn harbour in the far south west of Cornwall. As they have their own fleet of boats they have control over the entire process, from catching the fish, washing, icing and storage to final sale.

Today, their core fleet consists of 13 beam trawlers fishing out of Newlyn every day. Stevensons are the biggest provider of jobs in the local community and their commitment to Newlyn and their pride in their heritage was great to see.

Craig Crosbie, General Sales Manager, showed me around some of their boats in the harbour, which was really interesting, and I chatted to some of the fishermen. I’d rather be in my kitchen than out on a trawler any day of the week – it’s a tough life.

Stevensons take the whole business of accreditation very seriously, which is something we spend a lot of time on at the Pandora too. Their fleet is ‘Responsible Fishing Scheme’ (RFS) accredited which ensures high standards of fish catching, landing, quality and vessels are maintained.

At any one time their boats can have as many as 25 to 30 different species aboard ready to be landed and sold on the market. As well as catching and landing the fish, Stevensons also run the Newlyn fish auction that runs Monday to Friday from 6.30am – not a time of day that I’d want to start work!

My hours tend to be at the opposite end of day, so I didn’t get to Newlyn in time to see the auction, but I had a good look round their packing plant and that was fascinating, the skills of the guys doing the filleting with thin, razor sharp knives was incredible to watch. There was a fantastic array of fresh fish there – from beautiful, bright, fresh sea bass to scallops, hake (one of my favourites), haddock and red mullet – and lots of other varieties too.

Sales Executive, Ian Oliver, laid out an amazing display for us to photograph and his and Craig’s enthusiasm for the fish was great to see. Ian also runs their Twitter and Facebook channels and does a great job of letting everyone know what’s just been landed – it's all so instant and totally fresh. Ian picked out a just–caught sea bass and showed me its tag recording where it was caught, at what time and by which boat - full traceability - impressive. I also finally got to meet Julia Fox, their immensely knowledgeable Sales Manager, who I talk to almost every day to order our fish, but had never met.

Stevenson & Sons are a great team, very friendly and professional and happy to give up their time to show me round and answer my questions. I’ve always admired their fish, but I’ll see it in an even more positive light now I know all the hard work that goes on down in Newlyn.

Delicious locally caught hake

Bacon wrapped hake loin with Cornish cider and a summer vegetable broth

Head Chef, Tom Milby, shares one of his favourite fish recipes...

Serves 4 people

This time of year, our specials board is crammed with local fresh fish. Hake it great to cook with as it’s so firm, with big fresh flakes, and it’s extremely popular. This dish takes a bit of work, but it is really worth it, so have a go. Do try and buy your hake from a reputable fishmonger rather than a supermarket, it will be much fresher and tastier. Our hake comes from Stevenson’s at Newlyn. I visited their operation a month or so ago and was really impressed with what they produce - more on that in a later blog! Most of the veg used in this recipe came from Pete at Lizard Leaves, who grows fabulous organic greens just up the road from the Pandora.

Tom’s Tip:

I think it’s always best to prepare things in advance then you’re less likely to get in a panic or miss out something from the recipe. Timing on this dish is also quite important, so planning ahead is a good idea! I also always say ‘taste as you go’ - check your seasoning as you add ingredients.

Ingredients

• 4 x 180/200gm hake loin portions
• 200g smoked streaky bacon
• 2-3 large potatoes, diced into 1cm cubes
• 1 large leek (white part only) finely chopped
• 1 large banana shallot finely chopped
• 150gm Cornish asparagus roughly chopped
• 2cm chunk of fresh root ginger
• Zest and juice of one lime
• 1 pint good quality orchard cider - preferably Cornish!
• 300ml good fish stock
• ½ kilo fresh Cornish mussels
• 1 tbsp honey 

Method

1. Wrap each piece of hake in bacon and refrigerate.  Ideally, you want to do this a couple of hours in advance
2. In a large saucepan, bring the cider to the boil and add the fish stock
3. Infuse with the ginger, lime and honey
4. Take a non-stick frying pan and get it nice and hot. Put the pieces of fish in, one at a time, skin side down. Hold each one down gently with your fingers until you feel it ‘rest’ a little, and then turn the heat down to medium
5. Check the stock, add the potatoes and leave them to simmer for 8 minutes, while the hake cooks
6. Add the mussels to the stock and boil for 3 minutes making sure all the mussel shells open, discard any that don’t
7. At this point, flip the hake loins over (I reckon the skin side of the fish should always get 70% of the cooking time)
8. Add the asparagus, leek and shallots to the stock and turn down the heat, simmer for a further 3 minutes
9. The hake should now be perfect, so check the seasoning and serve in a deep bowl, with the hake sitting on top of the vegetable broth, with the crispy skin uppermost

Summer drink specials…

The sun is out, the sky is blue - it must be cocktail time! We have a range of special summer drinks available that are just perfect for all the lovely sunny days we are SURE to get this summer. We also have a delicious non-alcoholic cocktail on offer too, plus all our usual range of soft drinks, including local producer Frobishers’ fabulously fruity Fusion range…

Sloe Boat £6

A measure of Plymouth Sloe Gin topped up with sparkling Prosecco

Peach Bellini £6

A shot of Archers Peach Liqueur topped up with sparkling Prosecco

Gin Fizz £6

A shot of Tanqueray Special Gin, a splash of lemonade and topped up with sparkling Prosecco

Martini Royale £5

Martini Bianco, white wine, topped with soda water and served over ice

Pimms & Pressé £5

The new blackcurrant & elderflower Pimms, topped with Belvoir elderflower press

and served over ice

Elderflower Fizz (non-alcoholic) £2.50

A dash of Bottlegreen Elderflower cordial, a splash of apple juice topped up with lemonade and served with a slice of cucumber

Gin – is in!

Did you know we stock 10 types of gin? Interest in gin has grown hugely over the last decade with independent producers flourishing. Among our extensive collection we stock THREE local gins – Tarquin’s Cornish Gin, Plymouth Gin and Plymouth Sloe Gin. We also bring you Fevertree tonic as an alternative to Schweppes – a perfect pairing.

Here's our full list of gins – there is sure to be at least one to suit you!

Williams GB Extra Dry 

A family distillery in Herefordshire, using infused juniper buds and berries giving a zesty citrus with warm spicy notes.

Bombay Sapphire
Launched in 1987 it’s name recognises the popularity of Gin in India during the British Raj. The sapphire in question is the Star of Bombay and the flavouring comes from a mix of ten botanical ingredients.

Gordon’s
First produced in 1769 by Alexander Gordon, a Londoner of Scottish descent. The special London dry gin he developed was so successful that the recipe remains unchanged to this day!

Hendrick’s 

Launched in 1999 and rapidly becoming the connoisseur’s gin of choice. As well as using Juniper they also use Bulgarian rose and cucumber to add flavour.

Whitley Neill 

Slightly softer than more traditional gins and very smooth, with rich juniper and citrus, pot pourri and exotic spices.

Tarquin’s Cornish Gin 

A contemporary take on a classic London dry, using fragrant, handpicked Devon violets and fresh orange zest to deliver an aromatic sensation unlike any other.

Plymouth Gin

A unique gin produced in Plymouth since 1793 in the oldest functioning gin distillery in the country – and the only gin to have Protected Designation of Origin status.

Plymouth Sloe Gin

Made by steeping the finest sloes in Plymouth Gin and soft pure Dartmouth water. The winner of several award, try this gin topped up with delicious, sparkling Prosecco or a tangy bitter lemon.

Sipsmiths 

Established in London in 2009 the first copper pot distillery to open in London for nearly two centuries and based around a classic London dry gin recipe using ten botanicals to create its complex flavour.

Tanqueray 

Launched in the 1830s and with a fiercely guarded secret recipe thought to contain only four botanicals. An easily drinkable gin – it makes a cracking G&T!

Keeping it local - Wines from our region

At the Pandora, we pride ourselves on supporting local suppliers and producers, be it locally caught fish, organic veg grown just up the road or fantastic wines produced in this region. We stock no fewer than EIGHT local wines on our extensive wine list.

The British consumer has spent many years ridiculing wines made within our own isles but the truth is, English (and Welsh) wine production has come on leaps and bounds over recent years and the quality keeps getting better and better. We now boast over 400 producers with an annual production of 2 million bottles, even the French are trying to buy our land so we must be doing something right!

Here’s a little more detail about the local wines we stock:

Dart Valley Reserve, Sharpham, 2011 Devon

Super full-flavoured, zippy Estate wine. Energetic and with all the structure for a long and happy life. (2) 11% vol. Bottle £20.00

Madeleine Angevine, Knightor Winery, 2013 Cornwall

Elegant, crisp and immensely quaffable wine from a local winery based at Trethurgy near St. Austell. It is reminiscent of a Sauvignon Blanc with delicate floral and citrus character. Simply delicious. (1) 10.5% vol. Bottle £21.00

Camel Valley Rosé, Camel Valley, 2013 Cornwall

A light, dry rose with intense strawberry aromas. Refreshing aciditiy and bright red fruit, this is perfect for sipping ‘al fresco’. (2) 12% vol, Bottle £25.00

Bacchus Dry, Camel Valley 2013 Cornwall

Light, floral and delicate with apple blossom and a racy edge. A really vibrant, dry wine that shows the potential of our English vineyards.
(1) 12% vol. Bottle £27.50

 

Sharpham Vineyard in South Devon.

Sharpham Brut, Sharpham Vineyard, 2010 Devon

This early harvested wine expresses a delightful spritz with a vibrant citrus mouthfeel. Fresh fruit flavours make for an excellent aperitif or as a superb accompaniment to seafood. Simply delicious. (2) 12% vol. Bottle £36.00

Knightor Brut, Knightor Winery, NV Cornwall

Winemaker James Thomas grew up on his family’s vineyard on the magical Isles of Scilly and completed his wine training in Australia. This English sparkling wine is made by the traditional method. It is well balanced with good depth of fruit flavour, and subtle complexity from lees ageing in bottle. Perfect for any celebration. (1) 12% vol. Bottle £39.00

Camel Valley Brut, 2012 Camel Valley, Cornwall

Superb golden sparkler with elegant fizz and full, ripe flavour, packed with elderflower and hedgerow notes yet truly brut. (1) 12.5% vol. Bottle £42.00

Camel Valley Pinot Noir Rosé Brut, 2012 Camel Valley, Cornwall

A lovely floral and delicate strawberry fruit nose that drives into a brioche, fresh bread yeastiness supported by crisp acidity and a finish of great finesse. Excellent aperitif or with Cornish seafood. (1) 12.5% vol. Bottle £44.00

Pandora Inn is finalist in Tourism Pub of the Year in national VisitEngland Awards!

The Pandora Inn has been named as a finalist in the Tourism Pub of the Year category of the prestigious VisitEngland Awards for Excellence 2014.

“We are absolutely delighted!” said Steve Bellman who, with John Milan has been at the helm of the Pandora since 1999. “This means we are one of the top five tourism pubs in the whole country. This is a massive achievement for the Pandora team led by managers Lester and Catherine Croft and chef Tom Milby.”

The Pandora Inn has gone from strength to strength over the last few years, winning a string of top awards. It is currently Cornwall Tourism Pub of The Year, South West Tourism Excellence Pub of the Year Gold award winner, Cornwall Life Best Gastro Pub and St Austell Brewery’s Food Pub of the year.

The Pandora will have to wait until the awards ceremony on 12 May to find out which award it has won. All finalists are guaranteed to receive either a Gold, Silver, Bronze or Highly Commended Award.

Keeping it green and keeping it local at the Pandora…

How much do you value your ‘local’? Do you still have a local? Depending on where you live, you may not even have many pubs left in your area. Fortunately, in this part of the world, we still have pubs a-plenty and the Pandora, as well as being an immensely popular watering hole for visitors, is also a much-loved local.

Pubs play a key role within local communities – holding social events, supporting local charities, employing local people and buying services and products from local businesses. And in today’s climate, we also have to work hard at addressing issues of sustainability by adopting ‘green’ practices in relation to energy management, recycling and waste and water consumption. All this is double important, and harder to achieve, when you are in a location as idyllic and ‘off the beaten track’ as the Pandora!

Almost everything we purchase is from companies based in Cornwall which ensures that what we spend creates employment for other local businesses. We actively look for locally produced alternatives to the more commonly seen national alternatives – for example, sell Frobisher's Fusions instead of brand leader J2O.

100% of the staff we employ live within 12 miles of the pub with over 50% living within walking distance which dramatically reduces our carbon footprint. We work closely with other local businesses to mutual benefit including cross selling our services with local B&Bs, holiday cottages and the Falmouth Water Taxi.

Regular fund raising events have enabled us to support local Cornish charities with donations totalling over £3,000 in 2013, including a popular decision to donate the 1p per pint reduction in beer duty to charity! Using our large Facebook following we canvassed our friends, along with our staff, as to who we should support.

We have a robust waste management policy and have achieved a 60% reduction in landfill by recycling cardboard, paper, plastic, metal and glass. Food waste is collected separately for composting and waste oil is made into bio-diesel. We have waterless urinals and movement sensor taps in the gentlemen's toilets and all commercial equipment, including the pub’s boiler, are modern and low energy rated. We have low energy light fittings throughout the building and have installed light sensors in low traffic areas.

You’ll find a dedicated sustainability tab on our website that details our aims and achievements along with links to local businesses and suppliers and a 'how to get to us' section promoting alternative ways of reaching the pub other than by car

We are always looking to improve our green credentials, so if you have any ideas, do please let us know, we value your feedback on all aspects of the Pandora.

Access for all at the Pandora

Did you know that our core menu and wine list are available in different formats?

To try and ensure access for everyone, we have produced large print and Braille versions of our menu. In addition, our staff are also happy to read out the menu and specials boards if that’s more convenient for you.

We have tried to make the Pandora itself as accessible as possible – with a disabled parking bay right outside the main entrance to the pub, plus a disabled toilet – but the building’s age and listing restrictions means that we are limited in what we can do.

For people with special dietary requirements, we have gluten-free and dairy-free versions of our menu available. Our staff are familiar with all the dishes on the menu and will be happy to discuss choices with you.

Please just ask at the bar for help with any of these options. If you think there’s more we could do, or we’ve missed something obvious, do please let us know. We value your feedback and want to make all your visits to the Pandora memorable experiences – for all the right reasons!

For more details, you’ll find our full access statement on the home page of the website and you can download copies of our menus and wine list there too.