Help to Grow - business leadership programme - Coach
I am a coach/ facilitator for the government-funded, Help to Grow programme for SMEs, led by the School of Business at the University of Leicester.
Help to Grow Leadership Programme
I'm proud to be working as a coach and facilitator with the School of Business at the University of Leicester on the Help to Grow leadership programme for small and medium-sized businesses in the East Midlands and East of England. It’s an opportunity for senior managers and business owners to learn new skills, reach more customers and boost profits.
Accredited by the Small Business Charter, Help To Grow is a 12-week practical programme that combines both online and face-to-face learning. The programme covers key areas of leadership including:
“Polly Robinson continues to be a massive asset to the University of Leicester School of Business and has undertaken important roles in the work that we have delivered to support small businesses in the UK. This includes the government-funded Small Business Leadership Programme (delivered in 2020/21) where she was the business coach and the Help to Grow Management Programme (currently being delivered) where she is the cohort facilitator and occasional module lead.
Polly always receives fantastic feedback for the guidance and advice she provides and she is reliable, efficient and always willing to adapt to support our needs. Polly continues to assist us with her marketing insight/knowledge and always goes above and beyond to ensure the programmes are a success.
It is a pleasure to work with Polly and I look forward to continuing to work with her on both current and future programmes. She will bring her abundance of talent and ability to anything she takes on.”
Strategy and innovation
Growing national and international markets
Leading for high performance
Building vision and brand
Engaging and inspiring teams
Creating customer value
Adopting digital technology
Adopting responsible business practices
Financial management
I work with participants guiding them through the programme, coaching them on practical business and leadership challenges and leading weekly peer-to-peer coaching sessions. Through the programme, I have worked with businesses in all sectors from legal and professional services, manufacturing, IT and food and drink.
For more information about the Help to Grow programme visit the University of Leicester website or the Small Business Charter Help to Grow information here:
The programme is 90% funded by the government.
Henley Business School - Coach
I work as a Learning Coach with Henley Business School, part of the University of Reading working with senior leaders to help them achieve the outcomes of the senior leadership apprenticeship programme.
I specialise in:
Strategy
Leadership
Innovation & Change
People Management.
White Hart Inn, Mersea Island - new opening
The White Hart Inn, Mersea Island to reopen this spring after major refurbishment and under new management
Spring 2022 will see the relaunch of The White Hart Inn on Mersea Island as a pub with restaurant and rooms. It will be the third site operated by Piers Baker owner of the renowned local pub with rooms The Sun Inn, Dedham and bar & restaurant Church Street Tavern in Colchester.
The White Hart Inn, which has been closed since 2013, will benefit from a partial rebuild and major refurbishment to transform it into a tasteful, contemporary and eye-catching venue - somewhere for a casual pint, relaxed lunch or a special dinner with delicious, great value food. It will feel unique, tasteful and contemporary.
There will be light and welcoming bar and dining room with a vaulted ceiling and open kitchen, a cosy oak-panelled lounge with an open fire, plenty of outdoor seating in the terraced garden and six individually designed ensuite bedrooms, some with sea views.
Piers Baker says: “Mersea Island is a special place which deserves an independently owned pub with restaurant and rooms that welcomes locals as much as visitors. It has a great community many of whom are already friends and customers who have told us how much they look forward to us being there. I feel proud, grateful and excited to be opening in West Mersea and can’t wait to open our doors!”
The regularly changing menu will be a mix of casual bar food along with a restaurant menu using the best local ingredients. There will be roasts on Sunday and options for kids. On the bar, there’ll be real ale, craft lagers and cider, plenty of non-alcoholic options and a wine list similar to the award-winning lists at the sister venues.
Baker continues: “If someone told me back in March 2020 that I’d be opening a new, third venture in Spring 2022, I would never have believed them! The turmoil of the Covid-19 pandemic, with subsequent trials and tribulations of lockdowns, reopenings, restrictions and more lockdowns, made it impossible to look too far ahead. But when local businessman Lee Tyler, landlord of the White Hart Inn, approached me and was keen to work with Baker Hospitality on the basis of our reputation and local networks, I could immediately see the opportunity the site offered. The White Hart Inn has huge potential and ticks all the boxes we were looking for in a third site: a beautiful location close to the sea, a village feel on the high street opposite the church green, and a great island community.”
The exact opening date will be confirmed once work is underway but is expected around late May 2022.
White Hart Inn https://whitehartinnmersea.co.uk
About Baker Hospitality
Baker Hospitality has earned a reputation for warm and convivial inns and taverns with seriously delicious food and drinks. The Sun Inn, Dedham and Church Street Tavern, Colchester are seen as unique and consistently outstanding for every day as well as special occasions. They enjoy wide community support, have had continual national acclaim and awards.
The Sun Inn, Dedham opened in 2003, followed by Church Street Tavern, Colchester in 2014.
Blushing Cook - floral brownies
Blushing Cook was founded by Sammi Gascoyne, combining her passion for baking, art and flowers to create truly unique brownies and biscuits decorated with edible flowers.
Blushing Cook was founded by Sammi Gascoyne, who has combined her passion for baking, art and all things floral to create truly unique brownies and biscuits decorated with edible flowers.
With a foundation in fine art and after studying Patisserie at Le Cordon Bleu Culinary School, Sammi worked as a pastry chef in restaurants such as Michelin Star Le Gavroche and as Head Chef for renowned cake designer Peggy Porschen. When Sammi decided it was time for a new challenge she began baking in her little flat in South West London, Blushing Cook was born.
The discovery of edible flowers opened Sammi’s eyes to the beauty and simplicity of using something that was already growing around us. Why decorate a cake with a daisy made out of sugar, when you can have the real thing, and eat it too. The only problem is that flowers tend to wilt, and need preserving. Recalling fond memories of picking flowers from her Nan’s garden, and pressing them between old books, Sammi sandwiched some edible flowers between the pages of her large patisserie bible, and later used them to decorate a cake with a recreation of her favourite Liberty pattern; a wildflower meadow. This became Blushing Cook's first hit, their signature Pressed Flower Cake and Sammi's edible floral masterpieces have been setting trends in the food world ever since.
Since then, Blushing Cook has blossomed into a range of individually designed edible masterpieces; from buttery biscuits hand-iced using vegetable, fruit and floral based colourings, to gooey and luxurious brownies made with the finest fair trade chocolate...and more. Creating intricate designs using fresh, organic and edible British flowers grown on a farm in sunny Devon, Blushing Cook strives to create cakes that are not just florally beautiful and blooming delicious but that carefully consider the environment.
Parson's Nose Butchers, London
Parson’s Nose is a premium London butcher and grocer with a busy online shop and about to launch national delivery.
Parson’s Nose is a premium London butcher and grocer with stores in Fulham, South Kensington and Putney and offering 7 day/week delivery across South West London and soon to launch nationwide delivery through the jam-packed online shop.
Parson’s Nose was founded with one ambition in mind - to bring back the traditional high street butcher that was so loved from our childhood memories and encourage people to eat better quality ethically reared meat. Founded in 2007, Parson’s Nose is led by husband and wife team, Serena and Tony Hindhaugh and supported by a passionate and knowledgeable team of butchers and food lovers. The name, in case you’re wondering, comes from a joke about the back end of a chicken… and that the first shop opened in Parson’s Green!
The butchers source the finest free-range meat that is fully traceable and have worked with some of of the same farms since they opened, including Sutton Hoo Chicken, grass-fed beef from the Scottish lowlands and Plantation Pigs from Sussex. The team work closely with the producers, visiting the farms to understand the whole journey from the farm, through slaughter to butchery and onto your plate. They follow traditional butchery methods - breaking down the whole carcass and using all the meat.
In-store and online you will also find sustainably sourced fish (Fulham and online only), fruit and vegetables, condiments and pantry items, cheese, charcuterie and chef-curated meals, salads and soups created by the Parson’s Nose in partnership with leading chefs. Traditionally seen as an unhealthy option, Parson’s Nose is reinventing the ready meal by using only their counter meat and adding no additional sugars or salt. They call it cheating without the guilt. Meat, mixed meat and fish and fruit & veg boxes are also available as one-off orders or on a regular subscription.
The team is committed to offering consistently excellent customer service and the knowledgeable butchers are always on hand to offer advice on the best cuts of meat, how to cook, recipe ideas as well as being able to talk about the provenance of the meat. The website contains a wealth of cooking tips and recipes.
To offer customers all the convenience of supermarkets, Parson’s Nose offer delivery across West and South West London 7 days a week with same-day-delivery from 8am to 10pm on orders placed before 3pm, you can also add or edit your order on the day. Alternatively, you can order to click and collect in one of the three stores in Fulham, Putney & South Kensington.
In July 2021 the butchers will launch nationwide delivery.
The Sun Inn, Dedham
Fabulous food and rooms on the Essex/Suffolk border
“Polly has worked with me on The Sun Inn and Church Street Tavern since 2017. Her remit was to undertake PR on the back of The Sun Inn’s January 2018 refurbishment and increase occupancy in its guest rooms. At Church Street Tavern it was to seek opportunities to extend its reach to a wider audience. She has done all extremely successfully with a measurable increase in our room occupancy particularly. Polly is fast, diligent, keeps me informed of what she is focusing on and never fails to follow up. Her advice is valued on where/when/how to pitch ideas/events/offers. As an added bonus, she is meticulous on copy, a pedant on detail and captures the right tone for us. I thoroughly enjoy working with her, find her easy going and highly recommend her.”
In the heart of Constable Country on the Essex Suffolk border, The Sun Inn has been a watering hole for villagers and resting post for travellers for centuries. These days, it offers a convivial welcome to locals and visitors to Dedham Vale. The Sun Inn is an ideal spot to revive yourself with a pint of craft beer, an Italian-inspired meal, a tasty bar snack, or a good night’s sleep. Independently owned and run since 2003 by Piers Baker, this year The Sun Inn celebrated its 15th anniversary in 2018.
The Sun Inn is a proper coaching inn with an elm bar, an open beamed dining room, oak floors, a snug oak-panelled lounge. You will find open fires to keep warm by in the winter, and a peaceful garden and terrace to enjoy in the summer. After a major refurbishment in January 2018, there are bold colours, rich fabrics and bespoke furniture. The mood is congenial, relaxed and family-friendly, with jazz and Latin American background music adding to the appeal. There are newspapers to read, board games to play, and the panelled lounge has deep sofas to sink into.
The Sun Inn is renowned for fabulous seasonal food, inspired by Italy. Head Chef Jack Levine creates robust dishes that are big on flavour. The menu changes monthly and features classic pasta and risotto dishes: crab ravioli; squid with chilli and garlic; as well as more hearty main courses including game in season, rare-breed meat and day-boat landed fish. The menu always offers three cuts of British rare-breed steaks to suit every wallet – skirt, sirloin and prime bone-in-rib and on Sunday’s there’s a generous roast with seasonal changing accompaniments.
Puddings also have an Italian twist such as Espresso Semifreddo, Burnt Meringue, Caramel, Hazelnuts and feature seasonal fruit like Blood Orange Chocolate Mousse.
A new bar menu launched in January for this seeking something more casual to snack on in the characterful bar or the comfortable and cosy lounge. Enjoy a Coronation Sutton Hoo Chicken Sandwich, steamed mussels with Aspall cider or a charcuterie platter to share with friends or indulge in Jack’s Snack based on chef Jack’s midnight fridge raid.
Head Chef, Jack Levine says ‘Cooking with the seasons is very important to us - everything tastes better in its natural season and gets to us quicker so it’s fresher. Our area has a long tradition and perfect climate for growing fruit like apples and raspberries which arrive in our kitchen on the day they are picked. It almost goes without saying that we source produce locally when we can, but first and foremost ingredients have to taste great, if it doesn’t we look further afield.”
Drinks are just as important as the food and are sourced from producers who are as passionate about what they do - ales from Crouch Vale Brewery or Adnams and an eclectic award winning wine list brimming with rare treats.
Seven beautiful en-suite bedrooms, all individually decorated with sumptuous beds and luxurious linen retain their centuries-old character and are a perfect place to unwind. Rooms at the front overlook the beautiful church while those at the back enjoy views over the garden. Breakfast (which is also available to non-residents) includes the classics smoked salmon and scrambled eggs and a fry-up with local sausages and bacon as well as more unusual spinach and mushroom omelette with smoked cheese.
The village of Dedham and the countryside around it has changed little since it was immortalised by John Constable in the 18th century, yet it’s under two hours drive from London. Opposite the striking St Mary’s Church, visitors can explore the pretty village with its patchwork of colourful houses, or borrow bikes, hire a boat to explore the Stour Valley or take a gentle stroll to Flatford Mill.