Celebrity Stories

by Karen Jones

Hampton Manor says Konnichiwa to Far Eastern cuisine

Masterchef’s Tim Anderson brought his famously complex Japanese cuisine to Hampton Manor, Solihull.

The 2011 winner teamed up with Peel’s Restaurant to offer an exotic eating experience for two nights in what was a sell-out event.

The chef, whose cooking style has been inspired Heston Blumenthal, created a six-course Japanese themed dinner, each of which was paired with an expertly matched Japanese drink.

At 26, Wisconsin-born Tim is the youngest ever winner on Masterchef. His twist on Japanese cuisine helped him secure the show’s crown and he has quickly become a pioneer for innovative cooking styles.

He found his passion for the Far Eastern cuisine after living in Japan for a number of years and is now keen to bring the exotic cuisine to our tables.

Tim teamed up with Martyn Pearn, head chef at Peel’s Restaurant, to create the tasting menu and also mingled with guests afterwards to talk about each of the dishes that was served.

“To work alongside Martyn was a wonderful opportunity,” he said.

James Hill, owner and director of Hampton Manor, said the collaboration with Tim was a fabulous experience for everyone at the hotel.

“Guests loved sampling the cuisine”, he added.

photography by jon head

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Edgbaston High School Welcomes Celebrity TV Chef James Martin

On November 15, Edgbaston High School welcomed celebrity TV chef James Martin into its classrooms to judge the Midlands Regional Final of a national cooking competition.

The prestigious Young Chef Challenge which aims to find England’s best young chef talent is run by EBLEX, better known for their quality ‘red tractor’ mark on fresh British meat. James Martin, of Saturday Kitchen fame, was the judge for the day and oversaw eight contestants from schools across the Midlands as they attempted to create a tasty dish for two, using beef or lamb mince with a vegetable or salad accompaniment, in one hour.

On the day Year 10 pupil Elsa Court, representing EHS, created a mini meatball dish and thoroughly enjoyed the day: “James Martin was helpful and encouraging to all the students taking part - but it was both exciting and stressful at the same time.

I had a lot to cook in the hour session but it turned out well. I just think I could have improved my presentation; I was rushing at the end. It was good to take part and to see what the other students cooked and to have my picture taken with James!”

Elsa missed out on first place but her dish was Highly Commended. All participating students received a white chef’s jacket, a signed copy of James Martin’s latest cookbook and a certificate.

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Footballer legend Kevin Keegan enjoyed showing off his ball skills when he visited a Birmingham school as part of a nationwide activity roadshow.

Keegan, ex-England player and manager, spent a morning at Kings Norton Primary School after pupil Freya Sigerson won the npower No Power Hour competition in which she described her ideal way of spending an hour without power.

It was part of the energy company’s campaign to encourage parents and children to switch off their televisions, computers and consoles for an hour and spend time together.

Kevin is ambassador for npower’s No Power Hour and he spent the summer touring cities – including Birmingham – to show parents and children how easy it is to get away from all the electronic distractions, even if it is just for an hour.

Freya, aged nine, wowed the judges with a vivid account of how she would go to a local forest with friends, where they would build a den by foraging for sticks and logs that they stuck into the ground before decorating with recycled materials.

“Her entry for the competition was fantastic,” Kevin told Touch Base, as he took a break from the coaching session at the school.

“She has a great imagination and it’s been a pleasure to come to the school. It has a great atmosphere and we’ve all enjoyed ourselves.”

The visit to Kings Norton Primary School was the last stop of the tour and a football arena comprising several training areas was set up for the children.

“We’re all tightening our belts these days and many parents can’t afford to keep going bowling or going to the cinema, so there are plenty of free activities parents and children can enjoy together as a family,” said Kevin.

“It costs nothing to go on a walk and it is fun to have a laugh about the day, talk about what you did at night. It’s something every family should be doing.”

Kevin admits times have changed from when he was young, when he was able to spend hours outside, playing football with his friends in a park a few minutes’ walk from his home.

“I appreciate that it was a different era but spending more time outside being active seems to me something that would benefit everyone as well as reducing the carbon footprint,” he says.

“All the children who’ve been involved with the npower No Power sessions have enjoyed the activities and I’ve loved talking with them, laughing with them and giving them ideas on what they could do when they switch off the power.

“It doesn’t have to be complicated stuff; you don’t need to be a professional footballer to have a kickabout. Keep it simple.”

npower’s research found that 38 per cent of parents questioned admitted they to compete with games consoles for their son or daughter’s attention.

In Birmingham, it was revealed that one in four children admitted they would rather spend time on their X-Box than enjoying quality time with their family, 39 per cent of children said they preferred to communicate digitally rather than face-to-face, and nine out of ten children across the city claimed they watched TV or were on a computer for up to three hours a day.

“When I was young I spent most of my time outside practising the skills that have helped me to get where I am today. For me, it helped me develop my football and athletic ability, as well as my people skills,” added Kevin.

Kevin Keegan is backing npower’s No Power Hour, which is encouraging families to switch off the television, games consoles and computer for just an hour and play together as a family.

It’s not about being a top sportsman or woman or dragging the family on a 15-mile hike in the mountains. It’s just as much fun to play a board game or having a kickabout in the park.

Here are ten of Kevin’s suggestions:

Go on a bike ride

Go on a creepy crawly hunt in your garden or the local park

Practise handstands and cartwheels

Write a poem about your favourite things

Set up a treasure hunt around your house for your family

Devise your own team sport

Make a no bake cake

Make up a dance routine

Start a scrap book

Make your own gunge using custard and food dye.

For details about the npower No Power Hour, visit www.npower.com/nopowerhour

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by Emma-jane Brown

Emma-Jane Brown enjoys a salsa lesson with Strictly Come Dancing’s Karen Hardy

It’s hard to believe that Strictly Come Dancing has been gracing our screens every autumn since 2003.

Those slinky hips, gorgeous dresses and fleet-footed moves have mesmerised millions of us every Saturday night – including me.

More than 11 million of us tune in every week to watch the celebrities and their professional partners glide across the floor and it has inspired thousands of us to seek out ballroom and Latin classes.

Classes for adults are thriving across the region as we look for different and fun ways to keep fit. How many of us really enjoy going to the gym and spending relentless hours on the treadmills and weight machines?

I have tried a couple of salsa classes that are held near my home in the Midlands and while what I may currently lack in technique I certainly make up for in enthusiasm!

It is why, when I was invited to take a lesson from one of the country’s top, professional dancers, I simply couldn’t refuse. With the party season upon us, I dreamt that I might just be able to impress friends with a few good moves.

In eager anticipation I took a trip to Imperial Wharf, London, to Karen Hardy Studios, for a salsa lesson with the five times World No 1 Latin American Dance Champion.

Karen, who was crowned champion in the fourth series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2006 when she partnered cricketer Mark Ramprakash, opened her dance studios in 2009 with her husband, former international dance champion Conrad Murray.

I was incredibly nervous. What if I had two left feet? I needn’t have worried, for Karen welcomed me with her wonderful trademark smile and led me inside the studio where there are dance classes for children, adults, couples, as well as private tuition, six days a week.

She demonstrated different salsa moves and advised me on how to point my toes and to hold myself. I was exhausted – and we hadn’t even put on the music.

My steps were hesitant at first, but she is a brilliant teacher, which made me all the more determined to do well.

Holding the Strictly trophy she won served as an inspiration, so when I was given the chance to dance with one of her instructors, Nick Jury, I was ready to put into action everything Karen had taught me.

I felt as if I could salsa all night.

It’s safe to say that I am now hooked on dancing and would gladly do it every day.

Dancing is such a fantastic way to keep fit, make new friends and even improve your self-confidence.

There are so many classes in the Midlands that are perfect for adults – even nervous first-time dancers – that there is no excuse for you not to get on the dance floor.

Make it your new year’s resolution to learn to dance and I promise you’ll never have more fun.

If you have the dancing bug, Strictly Come Dancing Live comes to the National Indoor Arena between January 20-22, where you can see celebrities, including Robbie Savage and Nancy dell’Olio take to the floor. For details, visit www.strictlycomedancinglive.com

Karen Hardy began dancing at the age of five – and has not stopped moving those feet since.

At the age of 18, she moved to the USA and won both East and West Coast amateur championship titles. After two years in America, she returned to the UK and danced with partner Mark Lunn, representing England in a variety of competitions.

Karen turned professional in 1994 after she was approached to partner South African dancer Bryan Watson and between 1995 and 1999, the couple enjoyed considerable success.

During their five- year partnership they were World Masters and won the Osaka World Trophy, United Kingdom Open, International Open, British National, Italian Open, London Open and Yankee Classic Professional Latin American Champions.

The pair also won the Carl Alan award for services to the dance world, and were named the most outstanding Latin American couple in 1995 by the Ballroom Dancers’ Federation.

Karen retired from competitive dancing in 1999 and moved into coaching. She is also an accomplished adjudicator, judging all of the Grand Slam events worldwide.

Seven years after retiring, Karen joined the professional cast in the third series of Strictly Come Dancing.

She partnered BBC newsreader Bill Turnbull and won the 2006 series with cricketer Mark Ramprakash. She has also danced with actor Brian Capron and chef Gary Rhodes in the series, as well as boxer Evander Holyfield for a Christmas special.

Karen can now be seen on Strictly Come Dancing’s Red Button commentary every Saturday night and is also on the sister show It Takes Two, where she gives her professional opinion on the couple’s training and performances.

www.karenhardystudios.com

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by Jane Howarth

Professional ballroom dancer Brendan Cole tells Jayne Howarth about his forthcoming show – and how being in love has calmed him down

With a schedule that includes Strictly Come Dancing and preparation for a new run of his live show, it’s a wonder that Brendan Cole manages to find the time to sleep.

The 35-year-old New Zealander cannot stop moving those hips and feet in rhythm to the music, but he loves every minute of it.

Every inch the perfectionist, he admits he still cannot believe that his show – Brendan Cole, Live and Unjudged – has not only had rave reviews from media and dance lovers, but is now on its fourth run.

“I am flabbergasted,” he says, as he takes time out from rehearsing a team dance for Strictly Come Dancing. “I can’t believe that something I have created has been so well received. I’m so excited about what we are doing.”

The show, which comes to the New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, in January, features Brendan, his younger brother Scott, who is also a dancer, four more professional dancers plus a 14-piece band.

This is not just a show where the audience passively watches elegant ballroom dances or the sexy Latin moves, however. Anyone hoping to enjoy the show in their seat may be disappointed, for Brendan loves to get the crowd involved, too.

“I like to get the audience up on their feet to do a dance as well,” laughs Brendan. “Can you imagine what it’s like having 1,300 people at the Alex standing up and trying the salsa? It’s about enjoying that experience.”

There are also plenty of opportunities to hear Brendan and his brother Scott chat to the audience.

Once touted as the bad boy of Strictly for his temper and outbursts (and those illegal lifts in dances), Brendan now claims he is too contented to lose his rag.

He puts that down to being in love, having married British model Zoe Hobbs in July 2010.

“Being happy and in love helps a lot,” he says. “Nothing else really matters.

“I’ve not got wound up as much, but a lot of that comes down to success, too. When you are starving for success, you want it so much, you hunger for it.

“Now I have the show, I’m responsible for the company and I believe in myself. I still follow my dreams, though.”

Brendan, who began dancing at the age of seven, has enjoyed considerable success since he joined the first series of Strictly Come Dancing in 2003, which he won when he danced with newsreader Natasha Kaplinsky.

Since then he has partnered Sarah Manners, Fiona Phillips, Claire King, Kelly Brooks, Lisa Snowdon, Jo Wood and Michelle Williams.

This year he danced with Lulu, who complained their height difference (she’s 5ft1; he’s 6ft1) led to their being incompatible partners, something straight-talking Brendan laughed off.

“Height doesn’t make a real difference,” he says. “It really wasn’t a problem; you have excuses, I suppose, but to me it didn’t mean anything in the slightest.”

He also stepped into Artem Chigvintsev’s dancing shoes this series to partner Holly Valance when the Russian dancer injured his back.

“I’ve had a great time with all of them, but Jo Wood was a real sweetheart, lovely natured and extremely generous,” says Brendan. “Lisa and Kelly, too. The others? Well, you know…”

Brendan Cole, Live and Unjudged, is being staged at the New Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, on Monday, January 23, 2012. Tickets cost between £30.50 and £37. For details, visit www.alexandratheatre.org.uk or telephone 0844 871 3011.

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