Katherine MacAlister visits Jersey for the first time for a gastronomic treat and blows the cobwebs away

The champagne cork popping on the ferry rather gave the game away en route to Jersey. But then we were celebrating, having managed to escape for the weekend without husbands or children. Yes Patsy and Eddie were back in town.

Neither of us having been to Jersey before, and tempted by the tax free haven of shopping, eating and sunshine, we signed on the dotted line pretty swiftly when Condor Ferries announced its quick new ferry service from Poole to St Helier. Holing up in the five star The Club Hotel & Spa in the capital for a few days also seemed like an excellent idea.

But even with our wonderfully superficial itinerary of spa treatments, bubbles and retail therapy, we couldn’t ignore the pull of the coastline and the beauty of the long white beaches.

So it was a game of two halves our trip to Jersey, half spent in the luxury confines of our hotel, the rest pacing its beaches, shopping in its busy streets, watching the rugby in its many bars, or visiting the sights, the two merging seamlessly together.

What enhanced our weekend further was taking the car because although you can fly to Jersey on numerous budget flights, it’s then harder to get around if you want to go a bit further afield.

Instead Condor’s Liberation car ferry whisked us there in great style in about four hours. The Ocean Club lounge even had its own waitress service making the crossing wonderfully smooth.

Booked in for dinner at The Club’s Michelin-starred restaurant Bohemia, where head chef Steve Smith and his fabulous pastry chef Ellen de Jager reign supreme, we were dressed up to the nines, cocktail in hand by 7.30pm, despite docking at 6pm.

Suffice to say Steve’s tasting menu was meticulous in its presentation and vision, each course a marvel of taste and excitement including the cheese board which nearly sent me over the edge, his menu lingering in my memory as long as its magical tastes.

But then it’s easy to forget how close Jersey is to the French coastline and its produce. And yet, given the choice, the islanders elected to stay British and the Channel Island has remained so ever since, despite a good effort from the Nazis.

In 1940, 11,000 German troops occupied this island, so sure was Hitler that we would launch our big offensive there and retake our territory. Churchill of course had other ideas, realising that D-Day would be ruined if we stopped off en route, blighting our attempts to land in France. Instead Jersey was left to get on with it until Liberation Day in 1945.

It meant however that the German fortifications built along Jersey’s coastline are a forbidding sight. Walking up the West coast from La Corbiere to La Porte, only the Nazi defences break up the miles of empty white sands, A trip to Hohlgangsanlage 8 the famous Jersey War Tunnels put that further into perspective. Built by prisoners of war, the Nazis planned to use it as a hospital for the expected British invasion. Now a war museum, it is a testament to the efficiency of the enemy and the reality of living in occupied territory.

Emerging from the tunnels it was, therefore, refreshing to shake off the cold weight of history and dive back into the streets of St Helier, making it back to the hotel in time for high tea, buckling under the weight of our purchases and devouring all four tiers of our cake stand, from the delicious sandwiches and scones to the more exotic patisseries quicker than you can say Mary Katrantzou.

Oxford Mail:

  • The new car ferry Condor Liberation

We had no time to digest out food however, as the World Cup Rugby was on, and we scoured the streets near the hotel for a suitable venue, finding a nice, welcoming bar whose locals were rather bemused by the two ladies who arrived, began quaffing pints like they were going out of fashion, and shouting, to no avail, at the TV, Wales beating us anyway.

It meant the next day was a more leisurely affair, as we were feeling rather ‘plain’ as my friend called it, a quick trip to the hotel’s spa affording us a wonderfully relaxing massage while my pal tried the Mud Rasul Experience, before opting for a quick lunch, this time on the south side of the island at St Brelade’s Bay.

Another long white sandy beach, another walk in the autumnal sunshine, another delicious lunch this time at The Crab Shack whose crab linguini was so fresh the crabs could have crawled into the pot straight from the beach.

Sat in the sun, eating divine food, sunshine beating down on our bare arms, we knew we had barely scratched the surface of this breath-taking island and began calculating how long before Patsy and Eddie could return to Jersey, and escape again. The consensus was, as soon as they will have us.

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* The Club Hotel & Spa, St. Helier, Jersey JE24UH. 01534 876  theclubjersey.com
Rooms start at £99, suites from £210. 
* Condor Ferries operates a year-round service to Jersey from Poole, alongside a conventional ferry service from Portsmouth. Prices start at £50pp for a car and 2 passengers each way. 0845 6091024 or condorferries.com.