Gallery Kitchen Café

GKC_Logo6_2021 OPEN: 10am - 4pm, Tuesday - Sunday (same as the Gallery, closed Mondays).
To book a table please phone during Office Hours (9am - 5.30pm) Monday to Friday.
Please note last orders for hot food* is 2.30pm or for cakes & drinks 3.30pm daily.
Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free options are always available (see 'Background' below).
* Sorry to disappoint but we can only offer a limited hot food menu on Saturdays.

News & Updates.

For the very latest Café news, Special Events and Menu updates please go to our Gallery Kitchen Café Facebook Page or follow @Gallery_Kitchen_Cafe on Instagram to see photos of Lorraine’s latest creations. (+ Gallery Kitchen Café on Twitter).

>>> LOCKDOWN3 IS OVER & WE ARE OPEN FOR INDOOR AND ALFRESCO DINING / REFRESHMENTS! <<<

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We wish to reassure all our customers that appropriate distancing measures and hygiene precautions remain in place and in step with official public health guidelines. Please continue to keep 2m apart and use face-coverings when inside the gallery.

ENJOY OUR DELICIOUS FOOD & DRINKS OUT FRONT OR INSIDE(!) AGAIN (FROM 18TH MAY)

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Please maintain Social Distancing while on site to minimise the risks (entry numbers are limited). For everyone’s safety we need your cooperation, all visitors are expected to meet with no more than one other household, keep at least 1m apart, wash hands / use the hand sanitisers frequently, and wear face coverings until seated.

Awards & Reviews.

Above Left: Chef Lorraine (centre) and Georgie (Left) accepting the Gold Award at the Freefrom Eating Out Awards 2018 ‘Cafés & Teashops’ category with awards director, Michelle Berriedale-Johnson (Right) on the 20th November 2018. Above Right: Lorraine & Georgie in Award Winners 2018 line up (can you find them?).

We hope you enjoyed visiting our Gallery Kitchen Cafe in the Upper Gallery. If you nominated us in any of the following awards we would like to take this opportunity to thank you enthusiastically. Many thanks also to all our customers and visitors for helping to support our Art Centre and the local creative community.

November 2018 and once again chef Lorraine & her team take the Gold Award at the Freefrom Eating Out Awards 2018 (Winners) in the ‘Cafés & Teashops’ category. Back in November 2017 Lorraine and her team won a Gold Award for that category (FreeFrom Eating Out Awards 2017). Congratulations to the entire Cafe team for all their hard work in 2018!
[This Freefrom Eating Out Awards MAP highlights the very best UK locations to eat out for Free From diners.]

 

Back in 2015 our GKC received a ‘Kent Life and Kent on Sunday Food & Drink Awards 2015‘ ‘Highly Commended’ for ‘Cafe of the Year’. In October 2016 at the ‘Kent Life and Kent on Sunday Food & Drink Awards 2016‘ (), out of hundreds of entries our humble cafe was a very respectable top three Finalist in both ‘Cafe of the Year’ and ‘Customer Service of the Year’ categories. Again in 2017 the GKC was shortlisted for ‘Customer Service of the Year’.

GKC Special effects film.

This short film shot here in the Gallery Kitchen Cafe showcases the work of our chef Lorraine King.

Many thanks for permissions to video creators Burger Films and Ross Bugden (music).

A Small Sample of Pre-Pandemic GKC Menu Highlights…

Vegan Coronation Butternut Squash & Chickpea with Baby Cos Lettuce Super Greens, Blueberry, Puy Lentil & Somerset Brie Salad (+ is that Nhene?) Special guest Milly moulding her own 'Freefrom' Vegan Falafels (not staff!) Belgian Chocolate Brioche Bread & Butter Pudding made with Bourbon Vanilla Pod Crème Anglais
Super-moist Gluten-free, Vegan Carrot Cake (Kate Samuels plate 1) Gallery Kitchen Special Gluten-free Fruitcake (Kate Samuels plate 2) Parlic Fell Scones (Lactose-free), plus Chocolate Brioche Bread & Butter Pudding and Vegan Bread Pudding Sunday Special Irish Potato Pancakes - Gluten & Dairy free (+Charlotte & Rosie?)

Background.

After a number of impressive guest chefs, special event experiments, and a period of basic, irregular provision, we were very fortunate in September 2011 to discover Lorraine King*, a very talented local Chef. Since joining us our “Gallery Kitchen Café” has become a prime destination by regularly and reliably offering delicious light lunches, fabulous cakes, and quality barista coffee, or Fair Trade and locally-made herbal teas. Lorraine is passionate about using the finest, seasonal, and locally-sourced ingredients where possible, while constantly developing an eclectic, international menu, to mix spicey global influences with reassuringly familiar British conventions and favourites, such as her ever-popular ketchup recipe.

All our food is freshly prepared / cooked to order on the premises, and we always offer Gluten-Free and Dairy-Free options** alongside more traditional or exotic savoury dishes and desserts. The menu usually has something for everyone, although it is limited on Saturdays (booking is advised for parties of five or more all week). Whether visiting the Gallery Café for tea & cake, brunch, or a light lunch, all our customers can enjoy the stimulating yet calm atmosphere, with aromas of freshly-baked cakes, soups or sauces accompanying the frequently changing exhibitions of work by local artists.

* Our Chef Lorraine is Coeliac/Dairy/Lactose allergic and is fully committed to ‘Safe Eating Out & At Home’ principles at all times, and therefore has been highly motivated to initiate and deliver regular ‘Free From’ cookery classes here at the GKC, while additionally hosting a ‘Free From’ Support Group and Mentoring Programme, which is available to all (email Lorraine for more information). The Gallery Kitchen Café has also just been shortlisted in the 2017 FreeFrom Eating Out Awards.

** All our Gallery Kitchen Café team have attained their ‘Coeliac UK Private Sector Module’.