Conceived as a beacon of Jewish life in Brighton and Hove, BNJC has made significant strides toward its vision of fostering a thriving Jewish community on the East Sussex coast.

“Our vision is to ensure a vibrant, strong and growing Jewish community in Brighton,” says its CEO Marc Sugarman. “We aspire for BNJC to serve as a valuable resource for the Jewish community nationally and internationally.”

While acknowledging the progress made over the last 12 months – the stylish hub boasts residential and holiday homes, a synagogue, cultural activities and educational programmes – Sugarman remains grounded, recognising that the journey towards fulfilling the dream is ongoing. “On some level, we are only now getting to the starting blocks. For example, we have only learnt through being here, the size of the team we need to run BNJC properly.”

Sugarman says that they are “gearing up” to open the hub’s restaurant, Novellino Brighton, for three meals a day, every day of the week, including Shabbat, from June. “We have not, for a variety of reasons, been able to offer that level of consistency [yet], but I am glad to say that we will soon be in a position to do so. That takes significant resource, teamwork and desire. So, if we are no longer taking baby steps, we are still taking toddler steps”.

In its inaugural year, BNJC has become a multi-faceted centre of Jewish life, offering a diverse array of services and facilities tailored to meet the needs of the local and wider community.

The aforementioned restaurant, led by chefs Yanir Mrejen and George Afentakis, is at the centre of BNJC, blending Mediterranean flavours with Jewish tradition to create a unique dining experience. The Orthodox synagogue, under the guidance of Rabbi Hershel Rader and initiatives like Shoresh Nursery and the gym have catered to the diverse needs of community members of all ages.

The brainchild of Tony Bloom MBE, chairman of Brighton & Hove Albion FC, and Marc Sugarman himself, the BNJC was built on the site of Brighton and Hove Hebrew Congregation and the idea to redevelop the old shul received the blessing of the Chief Rabbi, Sir Ephraim Mirvis, in September 2017.

“Tony and I grew up in Brighton, and we are here very often,” says Sugarman. “Jewish Brighton is our identity. Brighton is beautiful and our Jewish heritage is also beautiful – a Jewish Brighton is just too valuable to risk losing. So, to create something unique and inspirational, rather than seeing the community slowly dwindle, seemed the right thing to do. Tony’s financial commitment to the project since its inception in 2015 is extraordinary – I do not think there is anything like it in Europe.”

Marc Sugarman, the CEO of BNJC, reflects on the Jewish hub's first year (Photo: Sophie Sheinwald)

According to Mr Sugarman, collaboration has been a cornerstone of BNJC’s success, with partnerships extending beyond the Jewish community to include local organisations and institutions, such as the adjacent St. Christopher’s School and various engagements with the broader community through cultural events and educational initiatives. “We have also started to build strong relations with the local council, with our local MP Peter Kyle’s office and with the important forums which represent residential associations in the neighbourhood. They are showing a real interest, and we are excited to try and support them. Our goal is to be a ‘community of communities’, welcoming individuals from all backgrounds.”

The resilience of BNJC was tested in the aftermath of the tragic events of October 7th, a day that both changed – and mobilised – the community.

BNJC opened its doors to provide support to Israeli families and reaffirmed its commitment to solidarity with Israel. “October 7th changed everything,” Sugarman reflects. “It was a defining moment that underscored the importance of our unity and resilience.”

Looking ahead, Sugarman is optimistic about BNJC’s role in shaping the future of Jewish life in Brighton and Hove and he invites people from near and far to experience the warmth and vibrancy of the hub first hand.

As BNJC embarks on its second year, the focus remains on growth, innovation and community building, says Sugarman. “Brighton is more than just a city; it’s a community.

“Our centre embodies the spirit of inclusivity and celebration that defines our identity. Please don’t be a stranger. Come and be a part of something truly special.”

bnjc.co.uk

@bnjcbrighton

Council leader Bella Sankey has criticised the government for telling Brighton and Hove City Council to form a local growth hub with neighbouring West Sussex County Council.

The Labour councillor said yesterday (Thursday 25 April): “We completely oppose the government’s plans for West Sussex and Brighton and Hove to become one ‘functioning economic area’.

“Not only are the economies of Brighton and Hove and West Sussex clearly distinct and operate across different geographies, Brighton and Hove is a city that drives jobs and investment across a larger functioning economic area.

“The government’s decision is so illogical that I can only conclude that this is one of the many last-ditch attempts by this failing Tory government to bolster its support in the counties to the detriment of our city.

“I have written to the minister and requested a rethink of this approach and will continue to lobby on behalf of our city.”

The marriage of inconvenience has been brought about by the government’s decision to stop funding local enterprise partnerships (LEPs) including Coast to Capital (C2C).

C2C covers an area that includes not just Brighton and Hove and West Sussex but the Lewes district as well as East Surrey, with Gatwick airport at the heart of the area.

In their place, the government wants regional growth hubs made up functioning economic areas with a minimum population of 500,000.

It was this proposal that prompted Councillor Sankey to speak out as the council’s Strategy, Finance and City Regeneration Committee met for the last time before the council scraps its decision-making policy committees in favour of a cabinet set up.

Brighton and Hove and West Sussex will be expected to come up with arrangements for local economic planning that enable business to be represented as well as to deliver some government programmes.

Projects supported by the LEP included £12 million towards the work that is under way at Black Rock, £1.5 million towards faster broadband infrastructure, known as the Brighton fibre ring, and £3 million towards the Corn Exchange restoration.

The LEP also awarded funding of £7 million towards the Advanced Engineering Centre, in Brighton, channelled grants to the council for the revamp of the area from The Level to the sea, now known as Valley Gardens and loaned £4 million to the Brighton i360.

The government has said that, as LEPs were set up as private enterprises, they may choose to continue operating.

The council is also a member of the Greater Brighton Economic Board which covers council areas from Arun to Lewes and from Brighton and Hove to Crawley. The economic board has not met in public since last July.

An ambitious bid by East Sussex County Council, Brighton & Hove City Council and West Sussex County Council to form a Local Visitor Economy Partnership (LVEP) to boost the region’s visitor economy has been approved by VisitEngland.

The new East Sussex, Brighton & Hove and West Sussex LVEP will see the partnership collaborating on ways to sustainably grow the visitor economy, attract more leisure and business visitors, inward investment and access to funding.

Tourism is a key sector across Sussex. Pre-COVID, tourism generated over 62 million visitors a year, contributing £5 billion to the local economy and supporting 74,000 FTE jobs.

East Sussex, Brighton & Hove and West Sussex LVEP will be able to access expert advice, dedicated toolkits and VisitEngland’s training programmes on product distribution, accessibility, business support and marketing, and the opportunity to bid for potential national funding streams.

The new LVEP will develop a Strategy for Growth for the tourism sector led by the LVEP Board. The Leaders of the three local authorities have invited Hedley Swain, Chief Executive Brighton & Hove Museums, to chair the new LVEP board and Mardi Roberts, Director of Communications, Ridgeview Estate Winery, to act as Vice Chair.

Establishing a pan-Sussex collaborative approach will be core to the success of the new LVEP framework for Sussex. The partnership will embrace local visitor destinations, District & Boroughs, and businesses, to take forward the plan for growth to support sector recovery and sustainable growth and raise the profile of Sussex as a national and international visitor destination.

Hedley Swain, Chair of East Sussex, Brighton & Hove and West Sussex LVEP Board, says: “This is an exciting time for East Sussex, Brighton & Hove and West Sussex LVEP and we look forward to working with partners to develop and deliver the new tourism growth strategy, setting out a target of £2.5bn growth by 2030.

“We welcome the opportunities offered by the LVEP to work nationally with VisitEngland to the benefit of the industry across Sussex, including a strategic channel of communication to national bodies, access to targeted business support and training programmes, and marketing and travel trade activities.”

Councillor Keith Glazier, Leader of East Sussex County Council, says: “To hear the application for East Sussex, Brighton & Hove and West Sussex LVEP accreditation has been successful is great news and we welcome the opportunity to improve ways of working with destinations, opening new opportunities and benefits for Sussex.

“The LVEP accreditation comes at an opportune moment following the opening of our section of the King Charles III coastal path and the world-renowned Turner Prize being hosted in Eastbourne until 14 April 2024.”

Councillor Bella Sankey, Leader of Brighton & Hove City Council, says: “I am really excited about our LVEP accreditation which recognises the opportunities for growing the tourism sector in Brighton & Hove, East and West Sussex.

“Combining the vibrancy and diversity of Brighton & Hove with the amazing countryside and coast, culture and heritage, food, drink and hospitality across the region, we offer an outstanding visitor experience.

“We are looking forward to deepening our joint working for the economic success of all communities in our partnership.”

Councillor Paul Marshall, Leader of West Sussex County Council, says: “We welcome the opportunity for the East Sussex, Brighton & Hove and West Sussex LVEP to work directly with VisitEngland.

“Tourism is important to the region and West Sussex County Council has a long-standing commitment to the visitor economy. It offers a key opportunity for growth through collaboration, we are proud to continue this approach and to elevate the profile of our wonderful county as the destination of choice for national and international visitors.”

Andrew Stokes, VisitEngland Director, says: “Local Visitor Economy Partnerships (LVEPs) are at the heart of transforming the visitor economy landscape in England and we are delighted East Sussex County Council, Brighton & Hove City Council and West Sussex County Council worked together on the partnership bid.

“There is an incredibly diverse visitor sector across the region, where past and present blend, from vibrant Brighton & Hove city to rustic hamlets, iconic coastal views, outstanding cultural attractions, a stunning National Park, and a growing wine tourism offer – all proudly supported by creative and welcoming communities.

“The new LVEP will lead on the sustainable growth of the visitor economy and ensure the region is a compelling leisure and business visitor destination to the national and international markets.”

The menu ranges through all the owner’s favourite things from Latin American, southern Europe and south Asia, plus anywhere else that happens to float his boat

Palmito is a tiny, semi-orderly explosion of flavour on the Brighton/Hove border, and reserving one of its 20 seats is already a battle, so nobody living nearby will thank me for visiting. It sits on the site of a former takeaway, now va-va-voomed with pink paint and fairy lights, but there’s still only enough room to swing a small shrew without sweeping its whisker through someone’s Colombian rocoto chilli salsa.

This is a sort-of Latin American restaurant – or at least the cocktails and the soundtrack are. Pineapple and jalapeño mezcalitas were on the menu when we went, alongside cachaça cristalina and velvet falernum caipirinhas, but then the pre-dinner snacks included lentil papad with plum chutney, which is decidedly Indian, albeit with a condiment redolent of my gran’s linen cupboard, which brimmed with homemade preserves.

You are on a journey at Palmito. The menu is a vast scroll of text, allowing the place’s founder, Diego from Ecuador, to range through all his favourite dishes from Latin America, southern Europe and south Asia, plus anywhere else that happens to float his boat. Heritage tomato, beetroot and feta za’atar salad sits alongside nectarines with pistachio tahini, along with a scattering of fritters, spreads and relishes that wouldn’t look out of place in a 1970s Cranks cookbook, only for the pudding list to feature a spin on a home-counties eton mess.

Palmito’s USP, I feel, is this jumbled yet delicious poetry, an intoxicating bombardment of 24 different small plates: on the day we went, the choice included “grilled spiced chicken thigh with turtle bean and chorizo menestra and spring greens” and “grilled oyster mushrooms anticucho with cannellini hummus and kohlrabi salad”. That nectarine, for example, came in fat slices, grilled and served with green pistachio tahini on charred endive and a pomegranate dressing, and was sweet and bitter and burnt and fruity all at once.

Many dishes are vegan, so this is definitely a place to take someone who is tired of the meat-free options available elsewhere: roast harissa cauliflower with black pepper grapes or crisp celeriac masala with stuffed padrón peppers and tamarind chutney, say, should tick that box. Meat eaters, meanwhile, will find happiness in longhorn beef steak anticucho for a shockingly reasonable £15 that comes flanked by grilled potatoes and doused with Peruvian aji panca pepper paste and coriander sauce.

It wasn’t all plain sailing. We’d ordered parippu moong lentil coconut dal with roast butternut squash and a flatbread, and the bread arrived 27 minutes after the dal. Together, they’d have been showstopping; separately, they were still magnificent: beautiful, silky dal with chunks of sweet squash, and pillowy bread doused with good olive oil.

Does Palmito need to offer quite so many things? Probably not – they could get away with cutting the menu by two-thirds, and make it less erratic and with fewer pivots, but that wouldn’t be anywhere near as big, bold and frothy. They’d definitely serve more people, and faster, but where’s the fun in that? Palmito’s vibe is thoughtful and designed to pack as much of a punch on the plate as possible. And, right now, when your server asks, “Any questions?” the absolute honest answer is, “Yes, I have about 15, actually, but I’ve decided to ask you just to surprise me.”

I drank a booze-free sangria made with red grape and orange kombucha and Three Spirit Livener and attempted, poorly, not to listen in on the rather close next-door tables. All I will say about that is: “No, it’s not a hot flush – it is warm in Palmito when the door is shut”, and “Yes, your neighbour’s daughter is in the wrong for making her evening-only wedding guests use a pay bar.” Lack of privacy will always be an issue in such compact and bijou places, but it’s clearly not hindering the footfall here, because people kept coming to the door to eye up whether we were on mains or dessert, and hoping to take our table.

As our plates arrived, never predictable or half-hearted, there was a sense that each hand-dived scallop and plate of Keralan chicken had been made simply how the chef fancied it that night; that this particular concoction may well never be repeated. Palmito is ever-changing, and leans heavily on what it can get hold of, so those plums I mentioned earlier popped up in various sauces as well as in the eton mess. If you were plum-phobic, though, that night there was also a boozy, grilled banana with rum baba and banana creme.

It was a little Latin America with a dash each of Lyon and Leighton Buzzard, and I wouldn’t have changed a thing. I’d love to go back, but somehow I sense Palmito will now be even busier.