Travel

Seafood delights and hidden coastal gems in Jersey

MOST of us have memories of that one incredible summer or gap year post-university days spent deliciously content and carefree.

For me that was in Jersey, where a planned three-month trip to the Channel Islands turned into an almost two-year extended working holiday.

Waitressing in one of the island’s top restaurants at the time, I remember spending my down time enjoying sun-soaked yoga sessions on the beach; having long, lazy lunches with friends by the sea and hitting the town on Sunday nights to dance well into the small hours.

The burden of impending career decisions and responsibility seemed like a world away as the tourist season brought you from one pair of flips-flips into the next. It was a life full of good times and great food on a gorgeous island.

But could my dream destination recreate those wonderfully carefree moments over 10 years later?

That was the question I found myself asking as I disembarked a Friday evening flight at Jersey Airport for the first time in over a decade.

It’s no surprise that Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands, has been popular with the Irish for decades.

With record sunshine levels due to the nearby Gulf Stream, the flight time from Dublin is about 1hour 15mins and it’s less than 50 minutes from London — leaving even the most experienced cabin crew struggling to get through the in-flight drinks trolley dash.

Jersey lies 100 miles south of mainland Britain and enjoys average summer temperatures of 20°C.

Situated just 14 miles from the Normandy coast of France — French was the island’s official language until the 1960s — you can see these influences in everything from the food to the street names.

The Club Hotel, one of the 68 hotels in Jersey

Part of the island’s beauty also lies in its boutique nature — at just 45 miles square it’s both manageable and magical to get around. But don’t be fooled into thinking you’ll be done and dusted with the tourist trail in a day.

Jersey’s 360-mile road network, which includes 47 miles of Green Lanes where priority is given to walkers, cyclists and horse riders, will take you to a myriad of hidden coves, bays and attractions.

Armed with memories of old and with just over two days to spend on the island, it takes less than 15 minutes to get from the airport to Jersey’s capital, St Helier.

I’m staying at The Club Hotel & Spa, a five-star boutique venue located in the centre of town and one of the 68 hotels on Jersey. It’s a luxurious step up from my very first ‘home’ here over 10 years ago — a two-man tent in Rozel camping site on the other side of the island.

This hotel has eight suites and 38 bedrooms all with feather beds, Frette linen and Aromatherapy Associates bathroom products — it certainly beats a sleeping bag.

The Club is also home to Michelin-starred restaurant Bohemia, where I’m just in time for last orders.

One of Jersey’s four AA Rosette restaurants since last year, the eatery prides itself on its passion for excellence and use of local produce.

Its head chef, Steve Smith, won his first Michelin star at the age of 24. He joined Bohemia in January 2014 having previously worked under award-winning chef Jean-Christophe Novelli as well as in various other top restaurants around the world.

Prepare for a fantastical feast at Bohemia.

Some of the food on offer at Oyster Box

To start choose from any one of their special cocktails — such as the Bohemia Classic (Courvoisier cognac and Champagne) or something a bit more fruity, like the Atomic Dog (rum, pineapple and lemon) — as you sample some of the delicious amuse-bouche, which includes a decadent onion crème brulee.

There are also various tasting menus on offer from vegetarian to pescetarian — think scallop, smoked eel and truffle and langoustine with sweet corn and purslane.

We opted for the 11-course prestige menu, gorging on warm homemade breads and butter as we waited.

The butternut parmesan crepe with mushroom ice cream was incredible, followed by an equally satisfying fois gras cream, fig, pinenut and duck salad and turbot with mussels and cauliflower vadouvan.

The prestige menu is £85 pp (£140 with wines).

Wined and dined to the full I retired to the comfort of my room for a full eight hours before the following day’s exploring.

The Club also offers a great choice of cooked breakfast, boasting everything from potato cake with smoked salmon and poached egg and dill crème fraiche to field mushrooms on toasted brioche with tarragon and scrambled eggs. Perfect to set you up for of a day of excursions.

Finance and tourism are Jersey’s main economic drivers. The average house — subject to residential rules and restrictions — will set you back about £500,000 on an island that is home to 99,000 people, with a third living in the capital St Helier.

It has a colourful history and a number of well-known figures, among them the 19th century French writer and the author of Les Miserables Victor Hugo, have called the island home.

Jersey’s first settlers were farmers who arrived from Brittany in 700, followed by the Normans in 933, who had the greatest impact on the island.

In 1940 it was attacked by the Germans. In fact, during WWII the Channel islands were the only part of Britain to be occupied by the Germans — which lasted five years until their liberation on May 9, 1945. The Jersey War Tunnels in St Lawrence tell the story of the islanders under occupation and are worth a visit.

The best way to see the island and visit its many hidden bays, coves and beaches is to hire a car and drive around at your leisure.

Head east from St Helier to Gorey village and harbour in the Royal Bay of Grouville and you’ll see Mount Orgueil Castle.

Follow the coast north towards St Catherine’s Bay, on to Rozel and Boulet Bay, before heading west past St Johns with the option along the way to take in attractions such as Durrell Wildlife Park or La Mare Wine Estates, a working 20-acre estate of vineyards where you can enjoy tours and tastings.

Having done this I arrived on the island’s west coast and at St Ouen’s Bay in time for a late lunch.

The great bay of St Ouen’s is a mix of sand dunes, wetlands and salt marshes.

Here you’ll find a number of beach cafés and casual restaurants to suit all tastes and budgets and get the chance to watch the locals take on the mighty St Oeun’s surf.

Try Big Vern’s Diner or El Tico — a relaxed beach cantina offering fresh flavours with a sea view. El Tico also has its own on-site surf school, run by Laneez and chief instructor Dan Harris, if you fancy dipping your toe into the Atlantic.

I opted to stay on dry land and have lunch — sampling the warm prawn salad and calamari, which with soft drinks came to just over £24 for two.

Another good option is La Braye Café, run by Annie Baker and her husband Jolyon, where you’ll find fresh crab sandwiches and burgers and an irresistible selection of Jersey ice cream — made from the island’s famously creamy milk — on the menu.

If you can pull yourself away from St Ouen’s, your drive back to St Helier will bring you through La Corbiere and in view of its iconic lighthouse, which was the first in the British Isles to be built of reinforced concrete. Its light is visible for 18 miles in clear weather.

Up next is St Brelade’s Bay — a postcard perfect south-facing beach and one of the island’s busiest resorts.

In summer you’ll find sun-whorshippers lined up like sardines on the sand as plenty more take part in the various water sports on offer.

Jersey is also great for shopping

It’s also the perfect stop for people watching. I visited on Sunday and ate at Oyster Box, sat outside to take in the views and enjoy a glass of Laurent Perrier Champagne.

Jersey is renowned for its fresh produce and seafood, with local fishermen bringing in the catch all year round for the menus and markets.

Over 1,200 tonnes of shellfish are caught locally annually, with king and queen scallops available year round (the best ones are diver caught), while skate ray, brill, turbot and sole are also available in abundance.

Foodies take note: The Jersey Food Festival 2015 takes place in May, while every October/November the island runs its annual Tennerfest where you can get great meals at fixed prices, from £10 to £17.50, during the six week festival.

Another highlight on the summer calendar is Jersey’s Battle of the Flowers, which is one of the largest floral carnivals in Europe. This year’s parades take place on August 13 and 14.

You can’t come to the island and not sample the local delicacies and so at Oyster Box it was Jersey oysters for starters (six for £8) — I tried both grilled with garlic butter and chorizo and chilled with lemon and shallot vinegar.

A whole grilled garlic lobster with Jersey potatoes and salad followed, with lunch for two including drinks costing £94.

It’s possible that oysters and lobsters may not be your thing, but there’s plenty else to choose from on this menu, including whole Jersey cracked chancre crab, grilled rib eye with fresh cut chips and San Marzano vine tomatoes and a roast lamb rack with parsnip and potato gratin and minted pea puree.

The Oyster Box is part of the Jersey Pottery family — a producer of lifestyle pottery that began life as a working pottery and tourist attraction in 1946 in Gorey village.

Since 2013 the company now runs the Oyster Box and the Crab Shack (St Brelade’s and Gorey) as well as numerous other cafes and restaurants.

One of its latest ventures is Banjo, a refurbished late Victorian private gentlemen’s club in St Helier’s Berresford Street, which is now operating as a brasserie bar hotel.

Back in St Helier (stop off at St Aubin’s harbour for a stroll if you have the time) there’s still time to explore the waterfront, where you can walk the maritime trail, which includes Elizabeth Castle — a must-visit history-filled tourist attraction.

The waterfront is also the perfect place to take in a little shopping, with the new Liberty Wharf shopping and leisure complex a great option for a quick coffee or some fish and chips. On the high street head to department stores Voisins, a family owned independent retailer, or De Gruchys, a jersey favourite for over 200 years.

Or if you fancy putting a little sparkle into your trip check out Jersey Pearl (St Ouen’s) and Catherine Best Jewellery — located at the windmill in St Peter — for unique gemstone designs.

Head back to Liberty Wharf after dark to Mimosa bar for some dancing and cocktails (a pint in any of the island’s bars will set you back about £3-£3.60).

If the weather’s good Mimosa’s Liberation terrace, on top of the old harbour wall, has inviting panoramic views overlooking the marina.

But my final stop on this trip was back in St Ouen’s at the Watersplash — a relaxed beach bar and diner where the party can often carry on long into the evening.

When I visited the place was packed with locals enjoying the last rays of the day listening to the DJ who was playing outside as the sun went down. The hedonistic combination of chilled tunes, sea views and good company almost caused me to miss my flight home.

I did eventually make it back to London having enjoyed a weekend full of carefree moments and with the wonderful memory of my dream island still fully intact.