It Takes a Village
JORDAN CONNELLEY
Hastings is full of beloved small businesses and taking a stroll down Queens Road, you only need to peer into the cozy Prince Albert or packed Imperial and you’ll see a throng of loyal patrons who turn up night after night for a pint and some good vibes. On a recent tour of the old town I got to meet Kimberley Duke the owner-chef at a business that has benefited from the town’s legendary community spirit which has taken her business on a successful journey.
Old Town-based restaurant Tonka, which has been open for a year and a half, offers a decidedly Hastings take on Mauritian food, inspired in part by the cuisine of Kim’s Mauritian inlaws. The restaurant is the culmination of Kim’s decade-long experience of training, learning and working deep in London’s highly competitive culinary world, taking inspiration from her time in Bao of Borough market and her deep passion for Southeast Asian food. Kim was also co-founder, with business partner Ryan Riley, of the immensely successful CIC Life Kitchen, working with food industry A-listers like Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall of River Cottage fame, and Nigella Lawson, as well as TV personalities including Sue Perkins, to develop cooking classes, cookbooks and recipes for the taste-blind.
It’s fair to say that Kim has seen and done a massive amount in the world of food, but having her own restaurant has always been her dream – “I’ve always felt happiest in the kitchen, and I just want to create beautiful tasty food.” And that’s precisely what she’s been doing at Tonka, which has attracted rave reviews for its menu staples like tapioca fried chicken, prawn toast in courgette flowers and her famous mac and cheese.
But, notwithstanding the praise, it has been a struggle for Kim and her team to keep the business afloat with costs going up and a reduced council marketing budget hitting summer tourism. As Kim says “Many people expect business owners to be wealthy, especially if they are DFL’ers (Down from Londoners) but that’s not the reality, as most of us live and operate month to month with no parachute.”
In a twist worthy of a tv drama, television Producer Susie Liggat of Black Mirror fame got talking after a mix-up with a Deliveroo order, starting a conversation which, over time, came to change Tonka. Susie was in love with Tonka’s menu but could see the business was struggling. One night, over dinner in Tonka, Susie offered to step in and help give Tonka the renovation and vibe she felt it deserved, drawing on the resources of the tight-knit Old Town community. Within months, Tonka was transformed with the help of artists Louis and Ian Skelton, Dennis the handyman, local carpenter Kai, helpers Clare, Michelle, and Feona, and a host of other local business people and patrons too extensive to list, all of whom asked for nothing in return for their generosity.
Kim could hardly put her surprise into words and said at the time she was wondering *Why are all these amazing people doing this for me?” As our interview develops, it becomes clear that this generosity of spirit, comradeship, and solidarity is very much a key Hastings strength, and one that those, like Kim, coming to the town often cite as one of the main reasons they choose to relocate here. As she puts it, “Tonka has so many loyal and passionate followers, and other small businesses are great too, there’s no competition here, we all work together–and it’s very satisfying.”
Kim sees Hastings as “a town full of cool, forward thinking people who want to do interesting things” and in our hour-long interview, she namechecks other food industry businesses including the Sri Lankan food at Colombo 16 in Marine court, Raj’s offering of travel inspired bowls at Three Souls in a Bowl in St Andrews Mews, and the beer and summer vibes at Seadog.
It’s clear that Kim has found her community: from the Old Town Committee to other independent business owners such as Tess from The Crown pub, who has offered to mentor her. And having received such sterling support in her early months here, Kim is ready to give back and pay forward that same passion.
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