What a crazy rollercoaster ride the last few months have been!!!! My passion for blogging didn't even get a look in the weeks were sooooo crazy busy. But now, open a few weeks and I'm beginning to hit my stride, find my feet, develop my routine, and make time to blog about the start of Sika Lodge B&B so far!!!
We met the construction deadline of 2 months with an hour to spare before our first guests and a full house. (we were powerhosing throughout the night and doing the final perfection adjustments.)
To get a feel for the kinda of scale I'm talking about, I've demonstrated with a few before and after pics of my kitchen.
My Office Pre Renovations
My Office During Renovations
My Office Post Renovations
So far, I'll been working my socks off to make sure all our guests are happy and fed little bunnies, because happy customers is where you reap the rewards of your hard work. I've already have Europeans, Americans, New Zealanders, British, Irish (of course) and South Africans......all a real pleasure to cater for and some with very interesting backgrounds and stories.
We have been very fortunate so far that our travellers have liked their expereience so much with us that they have given us full marks on Tripadvisor, helping us go from #89 out of 124 to #4 of B&Bs in Killarney within a month of opening!!!! Its really unbelievable. I'm so chuffed, it's spurred me on even more! But now that we have reached higher status, the pressure is on to maintain it.
Tripadvisor Link to our traveller comments :
For those of you who have following my food blog, you'll know that my favorite meals to cook are lunches/dinners. I do love breakfasts, though in the past it was hard to give breakfast the time in deserved (most important meal of the day), when running out the door for work at 6.45am. Now, the story is different. I'm 100000% committed to creating yummy, tasty, breakfast dishes for my guests, using locally sourced ingredients where possible.
I've found that in the B&B business the single most important ingredient you need is good eggs!!!!!!!! I can't stress it enough. We now get out eggs delivered daily to our door from Beaufort Eggs a local supplier with very happy free range hens. I've found no subsitute for free range eggs, be it in baking or even just boiling an egg. The taste of a free range egg can not be beaten. And your eggs are your most important element of your breakfast!!!
I went to Darina Allen's breakfast course in Ballymaloe to get the insider knowledge on the perfect breakfast! She was as always full of expertise, giving loads of recipes and advise for bed and breakfast operators like myself. I've been using her Tradtional Irish Cooking cookbook for a few months now and many of the recipes on the course are in that book. We covered everything from juices to breads and cereals to the hot cooked breakfasts. I'm much more experimental and confident having completed the course.
I'd never baked muffins in my life, but after watching Darina do it in minutes, I said I'd give it a lash and now I have blueberry muffins baked and cooled in just under 35 minutes in the morning.
I'll share my recipes and breakfast tips along the way, I've quick developed a love for baking, so watch out for plenty of scones, buns, and breads recipes. As well as my poached apricots and my hot breakfast options.
Full Irish Breakfast
Our Most Popular Option: Pancakes and Irish Strawberries
Muesli with Mashed Strawberries, Cream & Honey (my personal fave)
Visit our new elegant website: http://sikalodgekillarney.com/
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