The Hungry Monk Jevington

[BUTTERBALL]

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere, but I heard that the Hungry Monk closed down last weekend to be turned into holiday cottages after 44 years of trading (their website confirms).

R.I.P. birthplace of the Banoffi Pie

Recessionary times i guess.....

 

[Eric Potts]

Very sad . I always thought : must go someday . Alas not to be .

 

[ferring seagull]

Not sure if this has been posted elsewhere, but I heard that the Hungry Monk closed down last weekend to be turned into holiday cottages after 44 years of trading (their website confirms).

R.I.P. birthplace of the Banoffi Pie

Recessionary times i guess.....

How very sad - wonder what happened/will happen to the 'symphonium' which they had there - 10p a punt raised money for charity though that was 30 years ago.

 

[eastterracemike]

Very upset to hear about this last weekend - was hoping to celebrate the wife's birthday there.
First went in 1977 and have only been 3 times since - a special place.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Hungry Monk, home of the banoffi pie to close - Business News - Eastbourne Herald

Hungry Monk, home of the banoffi pie to close


Published on Friday 13 January 2012 12:00

THE RESTAURANT where the much-loved dessert banoffi pie was invented shut its doors last weekend due to the economic downturn.

The Hungry Monk in Jevington closed after Sunday lunch on January 8 and the owner plans to turn the building into three holiday cottages before the summer.

Nigel Mackenzie bought the Hungry Monk with his wife when they were 23 in 1968.

It had been previously used as a tearoom, but the Mackenzie couple spent five months doing up the 16th century building, which didn’t even have a mains water supply.

The restaurant went from strength to strength.

It became the birthplace of banoffi pie in 1971, received a host of awards and was listed in the current Michelin guide.

Last year it was visited by Queen Sofia of Spain and the success of its menu also led to a series of Hungry Monk cookbooks being published.

Mr Mackenzie retired from the restaurant business around seven-and-a-half years ago and handed the reins over to long-standing member of staff Corinne Williams, and her husband Andrew.

The Williams couple also ran a very popular and successful restaurant, but rising costs forced them to close.

Mr Mackenzie said, “Things have just changed so much over the years and it is so difficult to run restaurants out in the country now.

“We used to have people driving down from London to eat in the Hungry Monk but now people won’t take a drive in to the country because they can’t afford the petrol.

“I think people’s habits have changed over the years too, with many people favouring gastro pubs.

“The cost of food and wine has also risen with the pound being weak against the euro and that is a cost you can’t pass on to customers because everyone is tightening their belts.

“It is very hard to run a restaurant.”

Mr Mackenzie said the gas bill at the Hungry Monk had risen from around £200 to £800 a month and the Williams couple were struggling to make ends meet.

He added, “It is a shame because the food was always wonderful.

“However, I think the staff, who have all been there for many years, are quite excited because they would never have left the Hungry Monk.”

Mr Mackenzie, who lives in Ripe, got planning permission agreed for two cottages in 2008 and he is hoping Wealden District Council will extend permission to include three properties.

The listed building will then be rented out to tourists.

He said, “There is a lot going on in this country this summer.

“There is the Olympics and the jubilee so I think it will be nice to have the offering of holiday cottages in Jevington, because it is a lovely area on the Downs.”

 

[Lord Bracknell]

I seem to recall that Nigel Mackenzie thought very seriously about closing the restaurant seven years ago, when he retired from running it.

 

[Smirko]

Very sad . I always thought : must go someday . Alas not to be .

Maybe if you did it wouldn't be closing down!

 

[Seagull over Canaryland]

Sad news. A little gem in the delightful East Sussex countryside.

Will never forget the obilgatory original Banoffee Pie, none better anywhere.

Good luck with their new venture.

 

[Eric Potts]

Maybe if you did it wouldn't be closing down!

Very true : i am a bad person

 

[BlockDpete]

RIP Hungry Monk.

I remember running past the place during the Beachy Head Marathon a couple of years ago.

Would have loved to have eaten there.

So another victim of greedy fuel and gas companies?

 

[CheeseRolls]

Bloody lovely meal there last year. A real shame.

 

[fcportaloo]

A loss to the area, I have eaten there a few times. It was always great