Jug lands top seafood catch

There’s cause for celebration in the village where I work, as the local pub has recently been named the top food service operator, as part of the 2019 National Fish and Chip Awards. This was a contest organised by Seafish;  a Non-Departmental Public Body set up to support the £10 billion UK seafood industry.

The competition was open to outlets such as pubs, restaurants, leisure outlets, cafés and hotels, where fish and chips is included on the menu but not as the core offering.  As Marcus Coleman, Chief Executive at Seafish, said: "This award celebrates businesses that don’t solely focus on producing fish and chips, but nevertheless go the extra mile to create great quality fish and chips and provide customers with a memorable dining experience.”

He went on to say, “This award is proof that you can eat high quality fish and chips in places other than fish and chip takeaways and restaurants. Well done to The Little Brown Jug.”

The Little Brown Jug is just over five minutes walk from my workplace, and is an attractive late 19th Century building which, despite being enlarged over the years, still retains much of its original character. The pub is situated directly opposite Penshurst station, and started life as the Station Tavern.

It acquired its present name 40 or so years ago, after being bought by a jazz and big-band enthusiast who renamed it as the Little Brown Jug, after the well-known Glen Miller tune. Back then the pub still had two bars, and that is how I remember it when I moved to the local area in the mid 1980’s.

A change of management, at the end of the decade, saw it dramatically increased in size, with new kitchens, a function room and even bed and breakfast accommodation added. The new owner also introduced a wide range of different cask ales to the pub. 

Towards the end of the following decade the owner received an offer he couldn’t refuse, so he sold up and moved on. This was when  Greene King first appeared on the scene. Unfortunately the wide range of interesting beers was replaced by standard GK offerings.

I renewed my acquaintance with the Little Brown Jug in the summer of 2006, when I started work at my present company, but before long the pub closed to allow further alterations to be made to the pub.

The pub reopened in February 2007, and although nominally still tied to Greene King, the Jug is now owned a company called Whiting & Hammond. The latter are a company who operate a small chain of food-oriented pubs in this part of Kent. The beer is still standard GK stuff, but local favourite Larkin’s Traditional is stocked, and is probably the pub’s best selling cask beer – certainly amongst the locals!

I can’t comment on the fish and chips, although I will certainly give them a try next time I’m at the Jug for a meal. My company uses the pub for entertaining customers, from time to time, and I have been fortunate to partake of several excellent lunches there. For the last few years it has also been the venue for several memorable company Christmas meals, and it’s something of a tradition to pop in for a few beers each year, when we close for business at lunchtime on Christmas Eve.

As can be seen from some of the photos, the owners of the Little Brown Jug have splashed out on a series of banners, which have been placed outside the pub and also at the entrance to the village.

So well done to all involved with the award, and to those running the pub on a daily basis; and who knows you may see me popping in for some top notch fish and chips.