Magnificent Yet Intimate, Brunton Boatyard

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Brunton Boatyard offers a wonderfully prestigious, yet boutique and personal, Fort Cochin experience.  With just 22 rooms, but also wonderful restaurants and plenty of great in-house activities, it’s the perfect blend of the best of CGH Earth larger resorts and smaller more intimate properties. I love it! It’s a CGH Earth favourite for me!

Returning to Brunton Boatyard I was so pleased to find that all the things I love about this special hotel were still there. But I never expected such a fabulous welcome from the very busy GM Manoj Nair and team!

A sea facing room is a must at Brunton Boatyard with fabulous views over the harbour and great balconies. I love the huge bath with windows opening out to the harbour!

Breakfast in the Armoury Cafe

It’s always a treat to wake up to a Brunton Breakfast, included in the room tariff.

And it’s not just the food, but also the very charming service.

The History Restaurant is Well Deserving of It’s Reputation

I now know why people love the Brunton Boatyard History Restaurant. Even the menu is a delight to read as it narrates the dedication of it’s original creator Executive Chef Ajeeth Janardanan who visited the homes of Fort Cochin families who had travelled here from different parts of the world, bringing their cuisines to contribute to the Fort Cochin melting pot.  Like other CGH Earth menus, the food has that freshness and rich flavour that comes from the use of herbs and produce grown on site and a commitment to creating from scratch.

The Secrets of the Famous First Class Mutton Curry

So it was a real treat to be invited by into the Brunton Boatyard kitchen to see the History Restaurant’s most famous dish prepared for me!

Unpacking the Luxurious Seafood Thali

The Seafood Thali is famous for lunch on the Brunton Boatyard menu. It includes a luxurious array of seafood dishes like squid, clams, tiger prawns and fish fry all carefully prepared separately. Thali means food served in a circle or on a round plate. A special thali like the one at Brunton’s is the type that might be served at a wedding. Sous Chef Sebastian invited me back behind the scenes to see the Seafood Thali created and enjoy it’s magnificent abundance!

Beans Thoran

Squid and Coconut

Masala Clams

Prawn Curry

Pullissery

The Brunton Boatyard New Signature Cocktail Reveal

Brunton Boatyard is not only about great food. It also prides itself on offering guests some pretty special signature cocktails. When we arrived the team was ready to reveal to us their new creations, before they were to be launched on the new cocktail menu in August. I was not only touched by their generosity in sharing their pride and joy with us for the first time, but I was also very impressed with how the ideas, trialling and tasting had all come from the team, as they worked together to come up with something special for their guests.

The Van Rheede Cocktail

The Iced Royalty Cocktail

The Passionfruit Delight Cocktail

Brunton Boatyard’s In-House Activities

This visit there wasn’t as much time to enjoy all the great in-house, included Brunton Boatard activities but I couldn’t miss afternoon tea…

…or the In-house Cooking Demonstrations.

Chicken Mappas

And although I’d already seen several versions of the dish Meen Moilee prepared, as Chef Amal said, in Kerala every district will prepare the same dish differently and each will have a different taste.

Meen Moilee witha Secret Touch!

But there’s another story to tell about Brunton Boatyard! It’s also the launching pad for a day trip or a stay at CGH Earth’s gorgeous Chittoor Palace! What a delight it was when GM Manoj took us across the harbour to discover this remarkable CGH Earth property.

My greatest thanks to Manoj, Sebastian, Shinoj, Rajeev, Maneesh, Naveen, Jithin, Trivan, Amal, Tinoj, Ronald, Annie, Saranya, Athira and the whole team who shared such amazing experiences with us!

Do take a look at last year’s article for more Brunton Boatyard experiences.

And to find out more about Brunton Boatyard, seasonal prices, weather, packages, facilities or itinerary ideas, get in touch with Roshini via email and let her know you’ve been reading  my Food and Travel Secrets. Roshini is so very lovely and helpful even if you’re just at the I’m interested stage.