Alan beat 26 entrants with his classic fruit cake which was also beautifully iced.    Other category winners included Trish Powell and Sophie Higham.  Alan was presented with his prize by BBC Masterchef finalist, Jackie Kearney.

Plas Coch’s Restaurant Manager, Carl Smith said  “Owners, their families  and staff alike, entered into the spirit of the event which was a fundraiser for the charity , Teenage Cancer Trust and we were delighted that Jackie led the judging. “

Following the judging the cakes were sold off to raise funds for the chosen charity and Jackie’s impromptu made cake was auctioned.

Celebrity chef, Jackie Kearney said “ I had such fun sampling all the entries ,how lucky was I ? They were all made and presented to a high standard but Alan’s was top of list and only then did we find out he is a novice to baking!”

Salt Chamber at Plas Coch

Plas Coch has long been proud supporters of local produce and local suppliers.  Not content with Halen Môn, Anglesey Sea Salt in condiments, Plas Coch have now purchased the famous product for use within their relaxing   state of the art spa.

Jess Lea- Wilson of Anglesey Sea Salt says “We are extremely proud to make a product at Halen Môn which is as clean and beautiful as the sea it has come from. We are delighted that Plas Coch are using our product in such an innovative way – clients will be able to experience the purity of the Welsh landscape with every visit to the Dry Salt Chamber within the Plas Coch Spa.”

Sandy McIntyre, General Manager of Plas Coch Holiday Home Park says “At Plas Coch we are always striving to work with local producers and suppliers and Halen Môn Anglesey Sea Salt will now, not only be in our kitchen but in our restaurant, brassiere and in our spa.”

Please visit Halen Mon YouTube Channel for details of where its been used all over the world, including TV programmes “Ready Steady Cook”, “Hairy Bikers” and even famous American  ”Martha Stewart”   http://youtu.be/qsr4jXi9tRs

Donations received enable the Charity to provide financial support to our “home nursing service” for patients with a life threatening illness and to meet the operation costs of our Day Hospice and Complementary Therapy Clinics.  We are indebted to you for your support, thank you again

Lynn Parry  -  General Manager

• Christmas Arts and Crafts
• Interactive Aladdin Pantomime
• Santa’s Grotto
• Mad Hatter’s Tea Party with magic show and games
• Achievement card presentation
• Mulled Wine and Mince Pies – small donation in association with “Teenager Cancer Trust”
• Carol singing by our roaring fire
• X Factor Semi-Final on the big screen

All this on Saturday 10th December at Plas Coch.

Booking is essential, please call 01248 711950 to reserve your place(s)

Christmas Extravaganza

Jonathan Needham - Estate Manager

As Mother Nature prepares to get her Winter Wardrobe out for another year, it’s a sure sign she’s already flaunting her beautiful autumn coat of many colours.

This is by far my favourite season, still hoping for warm hazy days to emerge from the crisp morning mist, as we await the fall of millions of leaves that will cover the ground in a rustling russet carpet.

The grounds team and I are busy cutting hedges, wind rock pruning and tidying, ensuring easier days ahead as we daily battle the trees last show of the year before they lock up and shut down, knowing the icy fingers of the first frost will soon creep along their bows.

Planting initiatives over the growth period of the park have been done with this time of year in mind. Rowan trees are heavy with shiny red berries as are pyracantha and laurel enabling our feathered friends to indulge in a seasonal feast gaining valuable fat stores to see them into the harsh winter ahead. Elaeagnus hedge rows and Portuguese laurel offer great evergreen protection from even the most determined of North Westerly Winds, providing much needed shelter for smaller birds.

I’ve been very encouraged to see bird feeders appearing on park, this is a trend I would love to see continue and it would be great if people who visit the park regularly can keep their feeding stations topped up, so as natures dining table diminishes we hang on to our wide variety of birds, this will mean we have our very own feathered pest control expanding year on year.

We hope to be building many bird boxes over the next few months to encourage a greater breeding programme on the park. We hope to number all the boxes so we can do our own “Springwatch” I would be interested to know what species we have visiting park so if you see anything unusual please let me know so we can get an insight to what’s around.

Please don’t forget we are more than likely due to get high winds this season so please secure your outdoor furniture, if you need a hand to turn tables over or tie furniture down please let reception know and we will gladly help.

Jonathan Needham

Estate Manager

Enochs Fish & Chips

Welcome to Enochs Fish & Chips

Are you sitting comfortably…then we shall begin…

Our locals will tell you some fine old tale of Arthur Enoch Hughes, a local fish merchant who transformed what was once the Electra Fish Bar into the landmark ‘Enochs Fish & Chips’ here in Junction in North Wales.
Customers from all over the country who travelled along the old coast road longed to stop and experience the taste and quality of the finest fish and chips around.

Enochs has changed ownership over the years, not only has it been cherished by Enoch himself but also by the Charmichel family who carried on the tradition in the early eighties, later passing the responsibility to John and Linda Norcliffe who continued to provide high standards, not even the opening of the A55 tunnel under the Conwy estuary would deter travellers diverting from their journey to enjoy quality fish and chips at Enochs.

In June 2006 Danny took over the business and with his team hope Enochs will still be your destination fish and chips cafe, continuing to provide you, our valued customer, the quality and tradition you have longed enjoyed.

Plas Coch would highly recommend “Enochs”  for a call on your way to the park or certainly on your way home.  Enoch’s won “Top 10 Restaurants” with The Times in August 2011. 

Please visit their website for directions and a glimpse of their delicious menu http://www.enochs.co.uk/food/

MasterChef Finalist - Jackie Kearney

Plas Coch Dining Event – An Asian Odyssey with a Masterchef Finalist  – Jackie Kearney

Top 4 semi-finalist in BBC One’s MasterChef 2011.

Jackie is a top 4 semi-finalist in BBC One’s MasterChef 2011 and is now developing her experience and reputation with pop-up dining events, as a private dining chef and working with a number of highly regarded chefs in the UK.  Her food passion lies with regional Asian dishes, street food and vegetarian dining.  Jacki’s ambition is to raise the bar in Asian inspired and vegetarian dining, with a menu inspired by a variety of regional dishes and street food, and seasonal local produce, to create something exciting and delicious.

On 22nd October Jackie will be visiting Plas Coch and with the help of our very own Head Chef – Martyn, they will tantalise our owners with a 5 course tasting menu.  An example of some of the dishes:-

Anglesey Seafood Laksa – Singaporean yellow noodles with local lobster & mussels, served in a spicy coconut & lemongrass broth.

Shashlik Lamb Chops – Shashlik marinated rack of lam with broad bean and pea pilaf rice served with spicy coriander chutney & pomegranate raita.

The event will be amazing and we will post here on our blog the reviews of the evening.

Visit Wales: kicks off digital outdoor campaign

In August Bramhall was doorstopped by a Welsh choir and ‘Gavin & Stacey’ star Joanna Page who invited him to take a free holiday with his girlfriend to Wales as part of an ad campaign by Wieden+Kennedy.

Foley was chosen from 300 women who entered a Facebook competition. The winning couple will visit destinations that were suggested by Welsh tweeters who replied to @wewantpiers.

 Piers and Emma, experienced an exciting Rib Ride along the Menai Strait in Anglesey- with our very own Tom Ashwell from Plas Coch’s exclusive Marine Club  http://www.themarineclub.co.uk/  on their day two of their adventures across Wales.  After their ride they visited here Plas Coch, and experienced what our owners experience everyday for 11months of the year – pure bliss in our exclusive Spa and Hydropool,  which refreshed their body and mind before heading to their next destination.

Please click on the YouTube link to see their exciting boat trip along the Menai Strait in Anglesey http://youtu.be/vSujo7TKbj8

By Jonathan Needham – Estate Manager

It isn’t everyday that you get asked to design a croquet lawn to the side of an Elizabethan Manor House but amazingly a few months ago this is precisely what happened to me! Having been out to look over the area trying to get inspiration for a plan to suit such surroundings, it was captivating to see the views over Snowdonia from the gardens position.  It was obvious that on a clear day Plas Coch offers one of the best views in the whole of the British Isles. I realised this would be a major advantage if I could bring this borrowed landscape into the proposed garden.

Having worked on a medieval garden within the grounds of a beautiful manor house in Ipswich many years ago, I was able to recount how layouts from this period were always symmetrical using paths and beds to form areas of organised lines and squares in a way of emphasizing human control over nature.

Islamic gardens built by Moorish invaders over Spain developed the quartered style from the Hebrew belief that four rivers from Eden split the whole world into quarters with a pool of life in the middle. I was able to use the Celtic cross with its ties to Anglesey and provide ideas with both medieval and Islamic themes to create the area on view today.

The Celtic Court has hundreds of regimental box plants to form hedges which give the desired quartered effect, with lavender “Hidcote” on their inside to frame the blood red Rosa “Ingrid Bergman” and the standard Rosa “Metro”. To form a backdrop of silver to compliment the roses,  I have added four weeping pears which won’t grow too big, enabling great views from the Elizabethan terrace, over the garden under the majestic purple beech and right over to Llanberis Pass thus welcoming the borrowed landscape of Snowdonia right to our door!

All the grounds staff worked incredibly hard in helping to realise the final result, showing great skill in the planting of nearly eight hundred individual plants which have come together exactly as I visualised it.

I’ve really enjoyed the project and hope you enjoy the garden.  Oh yes I almost forgot in the middle is a croquet lawn if memory serves me right!   That’s what I was asked to design mmm….!!.  Well we can all be guilty of getting carried away can’t we?!

News of the launch of the new Celtic Court, Croquet Lawn will follow in the next week, please do come and join us for this special event.

Andy, Gail, Ben (12yrs) & Sophie (5yrs) from Southport