Food news, fine dining & social events

Birmingham and the Midlands may be famous for its baltis and curries, but a glimpse at the new Michelin Guides prove that it is a region for fine dining, too.

The Michelin Pub Guide 2012, which was published in November, highlights 27 pubs in the West Midlands, Warwickshire and Gloucestershire for their gourmet food.

Five have been included for the first time this year, two in Warwickshire, The Stag in Offchurch and the Red Lion, Hunningham, and in Gloucestershire the Seagrave Arms, Weston-sub-Edge; the White Hart Inn, Stow-on-the-Wold, and the Feathered Nest in Nether Westcote are debuted in the prestigious book.

This year’s guide recommends more than 530 pubs, spread across all parts of the country and selected for the quality of their food.

Rebecca Burr, editor of the Guide, said: “We can all feel justly proud of our pubs and the way they have adapted to changing times.

“The pubs in our guide offer great food, often at competitive prices, and our inspectors keep discovering more and more of them. These pubs make terrific use of local produce and often champion regional specialities.”

Each entry in the guide comes with an in-depth description, a colour photograph and information about the style of cooking on offer and the real ales served.

In October, The Michelin Guide Great Britain & Ireland 2012, published for the first time before Christmas, also showcased the best of the Midland restaurants.

Ryan Bennett, of Owens in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, was awarded a first Bib Gourmand, while Glynn Purnell, of Purnell’s, Andreas Antona at Simpsons, and Richard Turner, of Turners, all in Birmingham, held onto their coveted one Michelin stars.

Simon Haigh at The Dining Room at Mallory Court, in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, and Gloucestershire restaurants 5 North Street, in Winchcombe, headed by Marcus Ashenford, and Lords of the Manor, Bourton-on-the-Water, whose executive chef is Matt Weedon, also retained their one stars.

David Everitt-Matthias’s Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham is the only restaurant in the region to be awarded two Michelin stars.

The 2012 edition of the Michelin Eating Out in Pubs guide and the Great Britain and Ireland MichelinGuide 2012 both cost £13.99.

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by Karen Jones

Tony Finch, retired local businessman and former benefit and testimonial chairman, held a small party to celebrate his 65th birthday Some of the cricketers and footballers he has supported joined close family members for the event at Nailcote Hall Hotel. There were many surprises for Tony during the evening, including a playful take on “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”, in which he had to answer questions about his life. There were no prizes in this game, but friends and local sportsmen were filmed relating amusing and memorable stories about his life. In the last 20 years, Tony Finch has chaired eight cricket Benefit Years, been on the Committee of another nine players and chaired four footballers’ testimonials. Many of the speeches praised his commitment to so many local sportsmen, many of them present in the room.

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The Pudding Club

The Pudding Club has scooped two awards at the prestigious HEART of ENGLAND fine foods (HEFF) Diamond Awards.

The winners of the fourth annual HEFF Diamond Awards were revealed at the Gala Dinner which took place on Saturday 21st May at the Hilton Birmingham Metropole. The HEFF Diamond Awards celebrate the fantastic food and drink available in the heart of England region.

More than 230 products were entered into this year’s awards in the ten product categories of Bakery; Condiments and Preserves; Confectionery; Dairy; Desserts; Drinks; Fresh Produce; Meat; Poultry and Game; and Prepared Foods.

In addition there were the Special Diamond Awards of GROW, INNOVATE and EXCEL along with this year’s new award.

The Pudding Club, Chipping Campden, won the Desserts category, sponsored by Hatchers Solicitors, for its Treacle Pudding. The judges said: “This product had a good homemade buttery flavour, a nice golden colour and attractive appearance along with a soft and moist texture incorporating a light sponge with a rich syrup.”

The Pudding Club also won The Special Diamond Award for GROW, sponsored by The Federation of Small Businesses.  This award recognises business achievement in the food and drink industry; judges were looking for a company which could demonstrate diversification into new areas to grow their business. Judges said: “This business had a clear business plan for growth based on solid market research.  They had developed a valuable export market and had clearly identified their target market.”

Jill Coombe from The Pudding Club said: “It was fantastic to win the Desserts category but then to win the Special Award for GROW as well was just brilliant, we’re so pleased.  It’s really given us a boost and reinforced what we already believed, but to be given a award from a third party is very valuable.” The evening was hosted by BBC Midlands Today’s Suzanne Virdee and guests enjoyed a mouth-watering six course locally sourced menu prepared by some of the region’s top chefs.

Three Ways House Hotel, Mickleton, Chipping Campden, Gloucestershire GL55 6SB  www.puddingclub.com Tel: 01386 438429

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Pushkar Birmingham

Pushkar will be celebrating the Birmingham Food Fest this year with a truly authentic and exciting “Dhaba” menu. The Festival kicks off on the 14th October with Pushkar launching its new menu on the same day. The menu will only be available throughout the duration of the Birmingham Food Fest, which ends 23rd October.

As the idea behind Food Fest is to celebrate the diversity of the city’s food scene, Pushkar have gone back to their roots and are offering diners a rare opportunity to taste original and untouched “Dhaba” recipes, straight from the roadsides of India.

“Dhaba” is the term for basic eateries typically found on the highways and outskirts of the cities, towns & villages in India. These authentic, roadside huts were initially started by enterprising Punjabis, so they could cater for the needs of the huge volume of truckers and long distance travellers in the region. Dhabas were open 24hours a day, 7days a week - Now however; the simple, unpretentious and wholesome food is served and enjoyed by families, city workers and professionals all across India.

Dhabas were characterised by shack like buildings, surrounded by cots to sit upon (called ‘chaarpai’ in Hindi) while eating. A thick wooden plank would be placed across the width of the cot on which to place the dishes. The Dhaba style food is simple, fresh, authentically rustic, full of flavours and wholesome with a homemade feel to it and traditionally accompanied with Malt Whisky.

Most Indian food lovers will be familiar with some of the dishes on the menu, which includes:

Tandoori Chicken

“King of kebabs” - The best and tastiest known Indian barbeque chicken. Spring chicken on the bone, marinated in a mixture of yogurt, malt vinegar and spices, cooked in a tandoor, served sprinkled with kebab masala.

Lamb Keem Kaleji

Semi dry preparation of lamb mince and lamb liver with chilli, ginger, tomato, onions and fresh coriander.

Sarson-Da-Saag (V)

Punjabi speciality of mustard greens. Goes well with makki di roti.

The name maybe familiar but the style of cooking, recipes, ingredients and the taste will be a whole new experience.

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Joseph Foote Trust

The Solihull-based Joseph Foote Trust raised more than £4,000 from a luxury Ladies Lunch at Hogarths Hotel and Restaurant in Four Ashes Road, Dorridge.

More than 120 guests enjoyed a sumptuous two-course meal followed by a question and answer session with special guest, BBC Radio WM presenter Joanne Malin in aid of the brain tumour research charity.

Set up by Andy and Judy Foote in memory of their nine-year-old son Joseph who died of the disease in 2007, the charity received the proceeds of a round of ‘heads or tails’, an auction and a raffle that offered a host of fantastic prizes generously donated by local businesses.

Event Organiser, Tracey Dunn, said:  We are absolutely delighted with the amazing support we received for this fundraising event.  It was a really enjoyable occasion raising a tremendous amount for this very worthy cause.  We are already planning the next one for December!”

Since it was established in 2001, The Joseph Foote Trust has raised more than £1.9million and has an ambitious target to secure a further £1million in 2011 to fund cutting edge research to crack the DNA code and dramatically improve survival rates in both adults and children.

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by Rick Cressman - Nailcote Hall Hotel

Evening celebrations followed the exciting days of the Farmfood’s British Par 3 Championship.

The celebrations included a very special 60th birthday cake for owner of Nailcote Hall, Rick Cressman, the cake was designed by his wife Sue to look like the 9th hole. Partying went on until the early hours with superb entertainment by Bobby Davro, X factor runner up Andy Abraham and a James Brown Soul and Funk tribute band. This was a great week helped by some lovely weather and the generosity of everyone raised £24,000 for Rainbow’s Hospice.

PHOTOGRAPHY BY stf photo agency and phil oldham of colorsport

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Chung Ying Cantonese Restaurant

Chung Ying Cantonese Restaurant is one of the most respected Chinese restaurants in the city and celebrated its 30th Birthday in August. The lucky few (hundred) including local media, regular customers and local businesses, were invited for an evening of thrills from Chinese Lion Dancers, a special performance from Hong Kong star Ricky Wong (who flew in especially), firecrackers and a grandiose banquet.

City Councillor Mike Whitby attended along with Dr Huijing Yang from the Chinese Embassy. Presenter Cecilia Chiu from Chinese TV station TVB caught all the action.

The ‘original’ Cantonese restaurant in Birmingham’s Chinatown

Chung Ying Cantonese Restaurant

16-18 Wrottesley Street, Birmingham B5 4RT

www.chungying.co.uk Tel: 0121 622 5669

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by Lapstone

A balmy summer’s evening and a sumptuously decorated marquee provided the backdrop for the Chipping Campden Midsummer Night’s Ball sponsored by Lapstone. Held in the grounds of Chipping Campden School on the last weekend in June, the charity event was a resounding success and raised over £10,000 for local charities including Campden Home Nursing, St Catharine’s Primary School and the Campden School All Weather Sports Pitch appeal. Attended by over 280 glamorously dressed guests from Campden and the surrounding area, the event treated guests to a Champagne reception followed by a delicious three course gourmet meal by Kopanski Catering, a grand auction of some really wonderful prizes and then dancing into the wee small hours to the funky sounds of live band, Rhythm Nation. The lucky ladies on the evening went home even happier thanks to a special Lapstone Goody Bag. A great night and some very sore dancing feet the day after!

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by Mallory Court Hotel

Award-winning chefs from Eden Hotels have taken part in a gastronomic battle, going head to head in a kitchen war in the first event of its kind.

The five chefs, each of whom works in a different kitchen within the Eden Hotel Collection, travelled to Michelin starred Mallory Court Hotel in Leamington Spa to sharpen their knives and compete in the contest on September 23rd.

Guests were treated to a series of gourmet dishes as chefs from Mallory Court, Buckland Tout-Saints in Devon, The Kings Hotel in Chipping Campden, The Arden Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon, and Brockencote Hall Hotel in Worcestershire created an array of incredible dishes.

Guests enjoyed Champagne and canapés before embarking on a five-course meal, each of which was cooked by a different chef. An explanation of the courses, without revealing the creator of the course, was given by Eden’s director of food and beverage Simon Haigh, who holds the Michelin star in the kitchens at Mallory Court. Accompanying the courses were a specially chosen selection of fine wines and Champagnes.

Guests were then invited to cast their vote on their favourite course. Although scores were incredibly tight, the winner was Andrew Scott, head chef at Mallory Court, closely followed by Adam Brown, head chef at Brockencote Hall.

Mark E Chambers, group managing director, said the inaugural event was so well received it planned to stage the contest annually.

“This was probably one of the most memorable events we have held as a company,” he said. “It created such a great team spirit and a real sense of camaraderie. Without exception everyone thoroughly enjoyed it.”

Battle of Eden Dinner Friday 23rd September 2011

In sponsorship with:  Rybrook Motors, Touchbase, Robert Welch, Champagne Bollinger, Warwickshire Living, Moet Hennesey, Berkman – wine trip

Canapés

Magmum Veuve Clicquot, NV

* * *

Pigeon breast, garden vegetables, broccoli puree, soubise sauce

Cloudy Bay, Chardonnay, Marlborough, 2007

* * *

Butter poached lobster tail, girolles, sweet pepper, baby onions

Cloudy Bay, Chardonnay, Marlborough, 2007

* * *

Mi Cuit of Cornish mackerel, celeriac remoulade, pink grapefruit pearls

Cloudy Bay, Chardonnay, Marlborough, 2007

Venison loin and shoulder, parsnip, damson and licorice

Château Bel-Air, Graves de Vayres, Bordeaux, 2006

* * *

Vanilla panna cotta, compressed apple, spiced brambles,

ver jus sorbet, apple blossom

Muscat de Beaume de Venise,Delas, 2008

* * *

Coffee and petit fours

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The Boathouse - Sutton Coldfield

The Boathouse held its 17th annual summer ball on the 16th July & it was once again an enormous success. The evening started with a five course dinner followed by a Take That tribute act & band. Radio WM’s Phil Upton hosted the charity event raising a substantial amount of money from the posh tombola & auction. Over 140 guests attended & most were still standing at 2am when breakfast was served before making their way home. Both Laurence & Fran would like to express their sincere thanks to all who donated or sponsored the evening making it the biggest fund raiser in their calendar.

Bracebridge Pool, Sutton Park, Sutton Coldfield 0121 308 8890

www.boathouseatbracebridge.co.uk

photography by GARY PRICE

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