For many many years as a family we have had a passion for food. Its ability to bring together friends, family, colleagues, acquaintances, friends of friends and everyone else in between for a shared experience inspired us to think about opening Smoke&Ice. Below are a few of our personal memories of our passion for food.
Momma C
My passion for cooking began as a child baking with my Mum and Grandma. I remember making a victoria sponge for my Grandad whilst he fell asleep watching world of sport as a surprise for when he woke up, my first example of food giving pleasure. When I had my own family their favourite was a Sunday roast. We always had music playing, particularly Shania Twain, Jimmy Nail and Diana Ross. These songs instantly say Sunday lunch to us, it’s also where Momma C’s Roasties and Cauliflower Cheese were born. No Sunday lunch is complete without pudding! So lemon meringue, apple crumble and many more will appear as specials. These are still my most special memories of family time.
Phil (The CSO)
I didn’t really start as a foodie. A curry, kebab and a meat pie at the football in Birmingham was the extent of my culinary knowledge. Carol (Momma C) opened my eyes to what food could be and I still remember the first family holiday in Puerto Pollensa was where we enjoyed an unbelievable leg of lamb and a paella I will never forget, at this stage Carol still had to peel the prawns for me (she still does). Food has become a shared experience, something we can do together, enjoy together and create together. It brings us as a family closer (most of the time) and has become my passion.
Jess
Food for me is always the first thing I think about in the morning and the last thing I think about before I go to sleep. Oh and every other minute of the day!
Living away from home, whether at Uni or living in Germany, food remained a huge part of my life. Food is nostalgia for me, and most, if not all of my best memories involve a specific dish. What food and cooking taught me most is that it brings people together. I am happiest when cooking, and happiest when surrounded by family and friends, then if you throw some wine and music in the mix, even better!
To cut a long story short, I LOVE FOOD.
So how did we get to Smoke&Ice Ltd? The purchase of Chugakhan in 2018 ignited the smoked foodie fire. Thoughts of opening a restaurant have been around for over 20 years. The end of Phil’s journey as a CSO offered the opportunity for him to become a different kind of CSO (Chief Smoking Officer), it was a woulda coulda shoulda moment, so we went for it. Jess had just finished Uni and had to scramble back from travelling around the globe with Ben, as COVID-19 took hold of the world. So she was appointed Director of Operations, which was very handy for the new CSO and Momma C.
We found a great location in the heart of Edwinstowe but the lockdown took hold of the UK, so we had to spend the next few months planning, tasting, testing and trying to do something positive for the community whilst we prepared to open Smoke&Ice.
We sincerely hope you love your Smokey Eats and Cool Treats just as much as we love creating them for you.
Love Phil (The CSO), Carol (Momma C) & Jess
