Maidstone is gearing up for not just one, but for eight new dining experiences to be presented at the Lockmeadow Leisure Centre.

And today, we can reveal the identity of the eight chosen food outlets that will shortly be opening inside the centre's new Food Hall.

The food hall is being created just inside the entrance to the centre off Barker Road as part of a £900,000 regeneration of the centre by Maidstone Borough Council which will include additional outdoor seating on the riverside of the building and a new children's play area. The food hall itself is costing £467,000.

We can now reveal the eight tenants that have signed up to occupy the catering units within the food hall.

Between them they will offer a range of foods from Caribbean-style to Thai street food, and from burgers to cakes.

First up is Total Jerk Caribbean Food, owned by Michelle Ayling.

She said: "My Dad is Jamaican, my mum is Trinidadian, and I shall be drawing on their cooking heritage."

Miss Ayling, who has lived in Maidstone for 21 years, runs the business with her partner Benjamin.

She said: "We've been operating as a pop-up since 2016, doing events such as the Vicar's Party in Yalding, the Dickens Festival in Rochester, and various private parties.

"But we're extremely excited to be moving into the food hall.

"We're foodies ourselves and we enjoy good quality food.

"There are some nice restaurants in Maidstone, but we will be able to offer something a little different and we're so grateful to Maidstone council for giving us this opportunity."

Next is Forge Truck, an American-inspired caterer, offering a variety of smoked foods. It is run by Arran Smith from Loose, with back-office support from his partner Farah Ginai.

The business has been running since March last year, but until now been operating from a street food-truck which Mr Smith built himself.

He said: "We've done pop-ups at Drakes in Maidstone and at the Curious Brewery in Ashford, and private events, but moving into the food hall will be the next stage for us - on the way perhaps to establishing our own restaurant chain!"

Mr Smith said his ambition was to make slightly more unusual food easily accessible to the public and to re-assure them that: "You don't have to turn up in a suit at a table spread with a linen tablecloth to eat really well."

Mr Smith, 29, a former Oakwood Park Grammar student, said: "Maidstone is a great community, and we're delighted to now be getting a permanent place in that."

Chutima Blakley is already an established restaurateur in Maidstone. She owns the Thai Orchid just a few hundred yards from Lockmeadow, but she is planning something totally different for the food hall.

Named Aroi Dee (which is Thai for delicious), her new outlet will be bringing the taste of authentic Thai street food to the town.

She said: "I've been at the Thai Orchid for five years, but this is a totally different concept.

"It's something I've been wanting to do for a long time, offering the people of Maidstone the opportunity to try real Thai Street food."

The dishes will be based mostly on soups and noodles.

The Kangeroo Court Coffee Shop will of course be offering coffee, but also a range of cakes and tray-bakes, with many vegan and gluten-free options.

It will be run by Vick Town and all the food will be home-baked at her existing business - the Kangeroo Court Bakery in Gabriel's Hill.

She explained: "I started the bakery six years ago at home.

"We opened a shop in Chatham in October 2017 and recently opened the bakery in Maidstone. The bakery is not open to retail, but from there, we supply other coffee shops across the county, and now the Kangeroo Court Coffee Shop will be one of them."

The outlet will also offer a range of savoury items, including hand-made sausage rolls.

The food hall is offering new hope and a new lease of life to Dayzee Potter and her business - the Moondance Bar. Ms Potter had established the Moondance Cocktail Bar in Rochester High Street in April 2019. She said: "Business was going really well and then the pandemic struck.

"We had to close, but my landlord insisted on taking the full rent. It was a huge financial blow and when the tenancy came up for renewal last February we were still in lock-down with no telling how long it would last. So we had to call it day.

"But," she said: "The food hall gives us the perfect opportunity to start up again with reduced overheads and hopefully re-establish the brand."

The bar will be offering alcoholic and non-alcoholic cocktails, milkshakes and juices, and serving finger-food.

She is expecting to open between 11am and 9pm with occasional later openings if there is a special event at the centre.

Notorious BRG will be bringing the tastes of the Brooklyn East Coast to Lockmeadow. The business is owned by Jonny Wall and he is assisted by his partner Kashi Francis.

Notorious BRG has been operating as a take-away restaurant in Castle Street, Canterbury, since 2019.

Mr Wall said: "We offer the best quality ingredients grown and reared in Kent. We will be serving premium burgers, nachos, loaded fries, milkshakes - everything you would expect."

Although raised in Maidstone, Mr Wall had moved to Canterbury to launch his business there. He has just moved back to Maidstone ahead of the opening in the food hall.

He said: "We are very much hands-on owners and we are very invested in this project."

Street Food by Easy Dine will be an extension to the Easy Dine business already operating online.

It is run by Sadith Fernando, who was executive chef at Leeds Castle before the pandemic.

He currently runs a service where customers can order freshly cooked and chilled food to be delivered to their homes.

But at the food hall, he will be offering a different menu with items such as pork belly in a steamed bun, fish and chips in a cone, tacos and more traditional dishes like sausages, mustard and onion gravy.

Mr Fernando, from Boughton Monchelsea, said: "It will be European, with a touch of Asian." He runs the business with his wife Seila Merino. He said: "We can't wait to open at Lockmeadow."

Funky Feast is run by Eric Allangba, a classically trained chef originally from Lyon in France.

He came to the UK 19 years ago and has worked at Marco Pierre White’s restaurant in Blackfriars, and most recently from 2017 till 2021, at Leeds Castle.

He has been running private pop-up dinners, mainly in south London, and is now looking forward to working from a more permanent base.

He said: "My ambition is to provide good quality dishes that are full of flavour, simple, fresh and most importantly healthy."

He will combine the tastes of the Middle East, Mediterranean and Asia in meals such as quinoa and spiced pineapple salad, and beetroot and chickpeas falafel burgers with tahini yoghurt and rocket salad.

Progress on the food hall construction by Form Fit Out is going well and the council now expects it to be ready ahead of the originally scheduled opening date of October 14.

It could now be as early as the first week of October.

Cllr Martin Round, the chairman of Maidstone council's Economic, Regeneration and Leisure Committee, said: "This is an exciting time for Lockmeadow and the whole of Maidstone, especially around the river.

"The new food hall will bring some amazing different good quality food offerings.

“LoveFood@Lockmeadow will focus on quality, modern, diverse foods from local businesses. Not only will this be a dynamic, new hot spot in town, but also diners can feel proud to be supporting local businesses to expand."

He said: “There is no doubt that the hospitality sector has had a really tough time recently as we have seen not only in Maidstone but in all town centres which have suffered similar losses of big brands during Lockdown.

"These new, exciting and diverse food offerings will provide fantastic support for new businesses and employment in the town. I look forward to seeing you there soon.”

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