Sponsored Editorial

It’s no surprise that Jumeira has become such a household name in the Maidstone area when it comes to quality Indian food and serving the local communities.

With branches in Staplehurst, Cranbrook, Wadhurst as well as Bleu Steakhouse, family-run business Jumeira has come a long way since those humble beginnings in 2012.

Winners of the Best Indian in Kent Curry Award in 2017 and with over three decades of experience in Indian dining, Jumeira also prides itself on the close bond it has with its local communities and surrounding villages. Their steakhouse in Staplehurst has also proved a smash hit with diners venturing to their restaurant from all over including Ashford, Tunbridge Wells and even as far as London.

“We are loved by the locals and the plan was always to become a household brand in the community that we serve”, explains Managing Director Tariq Ahmed.

“Our restaurants continue to break record numbers not just in terms of people coming to our establishments but also deliveries. We take a lot of pride in not only keeping the food to an amazing standard but our service has and always will be 10 out of 10.”

Tariq says that the close bond with the local community grew even stronger during lockdown when Jumeira began offering a delivery service from their Staplehurst restaurant as well as introducing free meals to NHS workers and special discounts on all takeaways.

When lockdown restrictions began to ease and their restaurant door finally began opening again to the public, the number of diners soared.

Two years ago, a takeaway branch in Wadhurst opened to meet the ever-growing demand and it was a move that paid dividends.

“When we first had the plan to open our Wadhurst branch we were a little sceptical of having a business solely focusing on takeaways and not diners. It was the first takeaway we had ever opened but it's been going amazing.

“Our loyal customers in Wadhust who can't come out to Staplehurst now have the opportunity to carry on experiencing Jumeira’s flavours from the comfort of their own homes.”

A day out in London was the inspiration for Jumeira’s next venture - a steakhouse which would eventually become Bleu in Staplehurst.

“After going out for steaks in London, we were shocked at the quality of food they had served and that's where Bleu came about. We had our eyes set on a little pub and did not look back or hesitate,” continued Tariq.

“The steakhouse opened its doors to its customers in August and again it's always been up and onwards. Diners love it at the steakhouse and the community could not have been happier with now having two restaurants in the village of Staplehurst.”

The steakhouse has an incredible menu from Argentinian Fillets to Gold T- Bones and Wagyu and there will also be a kids menu during the summer holidays. They knew that solely focusing on steaks wasn't a good idea as Staplehurst is a village full of families and that many would pass on the opportunity. That saw the introduction of our burger menu which has taken the whole village by a storm.

The expansion didn't stop with a juicy steak in Staplehurst. Customers continued to demand more outlets for Jumeira’s dishes and a decision was made to open a brand in the picturesque village of Cranbrook back in May.

“We were shocked to see how many people knew about our brand before we even managed to put the sign up. Word got around that Jumeira was coming to Cranbrook. It really was the talk of the town and to meet the demand, we're now launching a special lunch menu. I can proudly say that in all the years that Jumeira has been running, there is not a single person in our vicinity that hasn't heard of us or had our food.”

The future continues to look bright for Tariq and his team of 50 across the group as they look to not only expand their Indian cuisine menu to other communities but also their hugely popular steakhouse.

And now couldn't be a better time to pop into one of the restaurants.

“We currently have some special promotions running including a 10% discount on all collections and if you sign up as a Jumeira member, this increases to 15% with 10% on dining in”, added Tariq.

“Bleu Steakhouse is also offering a 10% discount on all takeaway collections. It’s also summer now so why not even come in to try our recently-introduced cocktails and mocktails. Our Blue Sea Breeze and Mojitos are especially a big hit!”