Get feeling foodie on a Friday! #FridayNightFoodie is back!

aroundbrum, brum bites, brummiegourmand, Michelin, multi, nonfood, restaurants

In the run up to Michelin starred maestro Glynn Purnell’s Friday Night Kitchen on October 7^th at Villa Park’s Holte Suite, Twitter followers are being given the chance to win a pair of tickets!

The #FridayNightFoodie competition runs from Friday 1st April and every Friday afterwards and Twitter followers are encouraged to send in a picture of their Friday night dinner using the hashtag #FridayNightFoodie and tagging @GPFNK

The ultimate winner gets two tickets to the event in October, in aid of CureLeukaemia and their winning dish will be in the cookbook. Here’s how it works:

Starting 1^st April, @GPFNK followers need to send in a picture and short description of their Friday night dinner using #FridayNightFoodie (FRIDAYS ONLY!)
Each week will have a theme, giving people the chance to challenge themselves to make something out of their comfort zone, rediscover an old favourite or find a new favourite recipe
The first theme is nice and easy to get started – your signature dish! Whatever it may be, it’s your chance to show them what you’re made of
Each week they will pick a winner. The top dish will become one of their finalists and will automatically make it into this year’s cookbook – to be handed out at the event (here’s a sneak peek at last year’s book!)*
Glynn himself will pick the overall winner from all the weekly finalists and that person will win two tickets to the event
There’s no limit to how many times you can enter – the more weeks you try, the more chance you have of making the list of finalists

*Just so you know, they may use Tweets, photos and anything else sent in throughout the competition as part of the cookbook – it can be a recipe from an existing book, just let them know when you send it in!

They’d love for you to join their quest this year to find their new #FridayNightFoodie, last year had over 100 entries which they’d love to beat!

If cooking isn’t your thing, tickets are now on sale for the fun-filled, live show-cooking event that over the last two years has gained the reputation of being the best Friday night out in the Birmingham social calendar.

The ‘Yummy Brummie’ will be joined by X-Factor winner Sam Bailey.

The East Londoner, now living in the Midlands, will join Glynn on stage to assist with the cooking along with other celebrity friends of Glynn, before performing for over 400 guests at the prestigious Midlands venue.

Award-winning presenter Suzanne Virdee will host the evening alongside Heart West Midlands presenter Ed James and BBC Coventry & Warwickshire presenter Phil Upton. The night will include on stage guests discussing and cooking their favorite dishes with Glynn before the audience enjoy the dishes themselves.

The one and only raffle prize on the night will give guests the chance to win a meal cooked at home by Glynn and his Purnell’s team for up to six people a money can’t buy experience. Glynn and his team will turn up, cook Sunday lunch and clean the kitchen up before they leave!

To round off the evening, guests will be treated to live music from The Subterraneans, the resident band from The Jamhouse, and Heart FM DJ Russ Morris until 2am.

You can book now at gpfnk.co.uk/shop/. Tickets cost £135 per person and VIP tickets £155. Tables of ten can be secured for £1350 and VIP tables for £1550.

Breakfast Bonanza – Birmingham Breakfast Club at Nomad

aroundbrum, birmingham breakfast club, brum bites, brummiegourmand, Michelin

Nomad don’t do things by halves. Described as “Birmingham’s most unusual restaurant”, its philosophy is based around bringing foraged and unusual cuisine to the fore.

Founded by Alex Claridge (formerly of The Warehouse Cafe and development chef at Bistro 1847), it spent most of 2014 and 2015 as a pop up at locations all over the city. Since winter 2015 it has had a permanent home on Dudley Street inside BOM.

After our previous experience at Simpsons, Simon S of Birmingham Breakfast Club (reviewer of breakfast locations far and wide around Brum) had arranged a special one-off surprise breakfast menu and how could I miss out on that opportunity!

Sitting down with a cup of tea and a mead cocktail (which consisted of English Mead Wine, Honey and Torello Cava) I had the opportunity to catch up with other bloggers and tweeters on our table, namely Laura from award winning FullToTheBrum, Ellen and Jamie from EatWithEllen, Coral and Phil from Travelling Coral and Mark from Cybrum.

Whilst we sipped our assembled teas, coffees and mead cocktails, we had a good chinwag about all things Birmingham and then our first surprise dish arrived.

Our ‘starter’ consisted of Eggy Bread with Tansy, Reindeer Moss with Bacon, Eggs and Coffee a wonderful piece of Forest of Arden Honeycomb served with fresh homemade yoghurt.The eggy bread had a delightfully light and fluffy texture to it, which was counterbalanced by the gooey honey and crunchy moss. Combined with the tart yoghurt, it gave a very complex, yet simple, textured dish.

To whet our appetite for the next course, we were treated to another cocktail, Sea Buckthorn Mimosa; the Sea Buckthorn gave a tartness to the flavour that didn’t last long.

The mimosa was a hint to our ‘main’ dish: Pearl Barley and Spelt Kedgeree with a Poached Egg and Sea Buckthorn sauce. As you can see from the picture, the presentation was exceptional. The grains were perfectly cooked, tender with a tiny bit of crunch, the fish fell apart with a touch of the fork and my egg was perfectly poached and the Sea Buckthorn sauce adding tartness.

Another beverage break, this time with a fresh pressed chilled apple juice.

The final course, our ‘dessert’, was a caramelised milk mousse and mixed cereals and a free toy!

There was an extra special ingredient too. High in magnesium and iron and ounce for ounce, one of the best sources of protein.

They were, of course, roasted crickets which went well with the crunchy cereal! If I hadn’t known they were there, I would probably have not noticed them. The milk mousse was creamy and sweet and I made short order of working through the dish.

It was a stunning introduction of Nomad to me and I’ll be back again with Wifey for a meal soon.

I also can’t wait for the next Birmingham Breakfast Club event either and can’t imagine what Simon has planned for next time…

When: 13/03/2016

Where: Nomad Restaurant, 1 Dudley Street, Birmingham B5 4EG, England

Who: Birmingham Breakfast Club, Nomad Restaurant

Rofuto @ Park Regis – New Venue at Five Ways

aroundbrum, brum bites, brummiegourmand, caffeine, restaurants, Uncategorized

I’m always on the lookout for something a little different in Birmingham, and have watched with interest as the Park Regis Hotel has transformed the former Auchinleck House, the most stunning change being the glass ‘sky bar’ taking over the sixteenth floor.

The main occupant of this will be Rofuto a Japanese izakaya-style restaurant, serving a range of dishes and partnered with a cocktail lounge and sake bar, Kurabu.

Des McDonald will be running things on the food side. He honed his culinary skills and built up his knowledge cooking in 5-star hotels including The Ritz in London. In 1992 he got his big break with Caprice Holdings working as head chef at the legendary Ivy Restaurant, and had a very successful 20 years with the Caprice Group. In May 2013 Des opened his first solo venture, the critically acclaimed Fish & Chip Shop on Upper Street, N1. Following its success, in February 2014 he launched Holborn Dining Room, a classic British brasserie at London‘s five star hotel, Rosewood London. A new barbeque restaurant concept: Q Grill Chalk Farm followed and Des also had the opportunity to launch many successful pop ups in combination with Selfridges.

Des McDonald says: “I am delighted to be opening my first modern Japanese restaurant Rofuto, with my partners at Park Regis Birmingham. I love rooftop spaces, having opened four successful restaurants on the roof of Selfridges in London. I fell in love with the unparalleled dramatic views from the 16^th floor, Birmingham is a great, vibrant city and I’m excited to become part of it’s dynamic and diverse dining scene.”

Park Regis Birmingham will be open from on Tuesday 29^th March 2016 and boasts 253 deluxe bedrooms, two junior suites, the largest presidential suite in the city, an executive level complete with conference and meeting space, and a business lounge with executive check-in facilities. The £50 million hotel is the brand’s first Park Regis in Europe and has created over 200 jobs for the region.

Rofuto will be open for lunch and dinner on Tuesday to Saturday and Sunday for lunch. The restaurant will serve modern Japanese cuisine, made using world-class fresh ingredients, from traditional sushi to yakitori from the grill. The menu is divided into six sections: Sushi and Sashimi, Tempura, Robata Grill, Mains, Sides and Desserts.

Signature dishes include Foie gras nashi pear gunkan Chinese truffle; Confit duck and raspberry sunomono; Saffron gindara with razor clams, Chinese sausage, kohlrabi puree and sea herbs; Sesame tuna tataki and soft shell crab with wasabi puree and black garlic crumble and Miyazaki Wagyu beef served with gobo crisps, avocado puree, garlic ponzu and truffle salt. Desserts feature twists on European classics such as Matcha tiramisu and wasabi macaroon and Cardamom and coconut panna cotta with passion fruit.

The restaurant’s interior, designed by Tibbatts Abel (Interior Designer for Jinjuu Soho and Buddah Bar) is a fusion of urban, industrial and warehouse design inspiration alongside a fun and vibrant cocktail lounge style. Warm rustic timber is used throughout, with industrial tones and a palette of neutrals, warm taupe’s, greys and blacks.

Kurabu Cocktail Lounge will offer an array of wines, beers and soft drinks, along with a bespoke cocktail list and unique sake offering to perfectly compliment the Japanese cuisine. Fresh Sake from Takashimizu Brewery in Northern Japan will be on offer, alongside Koshua aged Sake from Shiraki Brewery in central Japan. The cocktail list includes highlights such as the Red Lotus which combines Shochu, Tequila, Cranberry and Lychee Sorbet and Kietsu which is an exotic combination of infused Raspberry Sake, Passionfruit liqueur, Apple and Pineapple. Rofuto’s wine showcases some more unusual varieties such as Pecorino, Gewurtztraminer and Pinot Blanc in the whites and a particular focus on low alcohol, low tannin reds.

Bookings are now open and you can call on 0121 369 8888 or via e-mail at reservations@rofuto.co.uk, more information on their website at Rofuto.co.uk

Texan Tasting – Low ‘n’ Slow @ Bar Opus, a menu inspired by travel

aroundbrum, brummiegourmand, Streetfood

Before you start, no, this isn’t a repeat of my Magnum Meat post (read it here), this is more of a part 2.

It’s been just over 6 months since I had the pleasure of visiting one of Low ‘n’ Slow’s takeovers at Bar Opus and since then, Andy and Donna (head honchos) had a trip over to the good ole USA and came back with some ideas for tasty food…

Now into his third year on the Birmingham street food scene, Andy has popped up at a few venues over the past few months including Brewdog and Hare & Hounds. This one was a little bit special and sold out quickly.

Wifey again couldn’t attend; luckily an old friend managed to find space in his belly to join me! We also had a lovely surprise having Vicky from brumderland on our table, accompanied by the March Hare.

Whilst we chin-wagged over a few pints of Opus Lager, our first course of Barbacoa Ox Cheek with Grits

The grits were stunning! Like a comforting savoury corn porridge and warmed from the feet up. The ox cheek melted away in the mouth with the pico de gallo adding a beautiful piquancy to the dish. I was tempted to lick the bowl but managed to resist.

The next course was a triple plate of Oak smoked Black Angus Brisket, Jalapeno Cheddar Hotlinks and baby back ribs, accompanied with BBQ Beans, Jalapeno & Bacon Potato Salad and Lemon Vinegar Slaw.

The brisket had the delicate woodiness of the oak permeating through. The baby back ribs were plump and meaty with a beautiful flavour, a low burn coming through afterwards. The star of the show was the Hot Links. A nice taut skin stuffed with juicy meat and spice with a gooey cheesy high note, absolutely delicious!

The fixings we great too: a glossy crunchy slaw with a zingy bite, sweet BBQ beans with the savoury meatiness of the oxtail a hit of umami . The potato salad was sweet and smokey and reminded me slightly of coronation chicken in it’s colour!

Whilst fetching more beers, I stumbled upon the special drink for the evening! I didn’t partake as I had work the following morning but I was sorely tempted to see what it was like.

Back with more beers and a blended Mojito from Bar Opus’s excellent cocktail menu (you can read about some of those here too!), it was time for pudding. A slice of Pecan Pie with Chantilly Cream:

This was A-maz-ing! A delicious thin crust, a nice sticky sweet pie laced with a touch of bourbon and sweet light whipped cream. It was definitely sweet and sticky enough to knock my socks off, I was even tempted to see if I could bag a second slice.

Oh well, I will just have to wait until next time…

When: 10/03/2016

Where: Bar Opus at One Snowhill

Who: Andy Low’n’ Slow

Gluttony – Vodka at The Rose Villa Tavern

aroundbrum, brummiegourmand, pub grub

It’s hard to believe I’ve done four of the seven sins (+ 1) with Bitters ‘n’ Twisted, and hosted by the wonderful Vicky Osgood of Brumderland. Previous events can be read about here:

Greed Wrath Inferno Lust

Tonight was going to be a boozy evening as we were treated to a vodka pairing tasting experience to celebrate their large range of exciting vodkas.

We began with a Winnie the Pear cocktail, with Grey Goose Le Poire, organic pear juice runny honey, spicy fresh ginger and lemon juice! The combination was nice and tart with a rich pear taste (as expected!). After catching up with the other bloggers attending, we settled down for a talk by Ian the manager.

We were to be taken on a European tour with a varied selection of vodkas on offer, along with some bar snacks ready for pairing and a peruse of the cocktail menu:

Whilst we had a nibble, Dave from Brumhour discovered the sausage went very well with the honey at the bottom of our Winnie the Pear cocktails!

Readying our palates with a few pickles, a traditional Polish palate cleanser, then it was time for our first neat vodka of the evening:

Five Vodka is a new(ish)comer to the market via Penderyn Distillery making it Welsh. It was developed whilst they were waiting for their first whiskeys to mature and is made from Brecon water from an aquifer below the distillery, which gives it a distinctive flavour. Slightly overproof at 43%, it had a little bit of a burn to begin with but developed into a delicious fruity note.

Next along was an English vodka from the guys at Chase Distillery, (also the minds behind Tyrrell’s Crisps) and made in the tallest still in Europe. We were treated to a chilled and a room temperature sample to see the difference in flavour. A significant amount of the edge was taken off with the chilled sample, however, the roundness of the flavour was dulled. It was actually very sweet in flavour and much more noticeable in the room temperature sample.

For pairing, we munched down on the cousins of the vodka with some Tyrrells crisps. Then another palate cleanser with some beetroot.

To take a break from the alcohol, we had a break with a St Clements Mocktail, possibly one of the first ever mocktails. Created in 1981 by Lt. Keith Freeman, this was a delicious twist with a sugary slice of orange.

Reyka Vodka, as you can probably guess for the name, is an Icelandic vodka which likes to bill itself as the greenest (ecologically) vodka in the world and is made with glacial spring water. All ingredients at present come from within a square mile of the distillery. The taste was very clean and smooth with a mild spice to the finish.

Time for a cocktail break! This time, for a Polish twist on a South American Classic with a Capiroska! It was super tasty with Luksusowa Vodka combined with lime and brown sugar.

The next vodka on the list was Belvedere billed as “The Whiskey Drinker’s Vodka” served room temperature in a chilled glass. It is an apt description for the drink which had a sweet and spicy peppery taste.

Our final drink of the night was the ubiquitous Vodka and Coke but this time made with quality ingredients. This was a combination of Skyy Vodka and Fritz Kola. This ‘super premium’ American Vodka is distilled four times then filtered 3 times, giving a clean and crisp taste. Fritz Kola is a vegan German cola with a not insubstantial 25mg of caffeine per 100ml. It was a great way to finish off our boozy evening.

To help soak up the excess of alcohol, RVT even laid on a few treats for us to sample from their American Diner style menu:

We were treated to nachos, sliders and my personal favourite chicken wings!.

If you want to try vodkas in Brum, RVT are well on their way to building up to 100 different brands and would be a great place to start!

Disclaimer: For this evening, we were guests of Brumderland and Rose Villa Tavern who provided all food and most of my drinks; this provides no bias to the review. This blog is my own personal opinion and strives to provide an independent view, promoting, enjoying and reviewing the range of exciting food and venues in and around Birmingham.

When: 02/03/2016

Where: Rose Villa Tavern, Warstone Lane, Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham

Who: Brumderland, Rose Villa Tavern, Bitters & Twisted

In the run up to Michelin starred maestro Glynn Purnell’s Friday Night Kitchen on October 7th at Villa Park’s Holte Suite, Twitter followers are being given the chance to win a pair of tickets!

The #FridayNightFoodie competition runs from Friday 1st April and every Friday afterwards and Twitter followers are encouraged to send in a picture of their Friday night dinner using the hashtag #FridayNightFoodie and tagging @GPFNK

The ultimate winner gets two tickets to the event in October, in aid of CureLeukaemia and their winning dish will be in the cookbook. Here’s how it works:

Starting 1st April, @GPFNK followers need to send in a picture and short description of their Friday night dinner using #FridayNightFoodie (FRIDAYS ONLY!)

Each week will have a theme, giving people the chance to challenge themselves to make something out of their comfort zone, rediscover an old favourite or find a new favourite recipe

The first theme is nice and easy to get started – your signature dish! Whatever it may be, it’s your chance to show them what you’re made of

Each week they will pick a winner. The top dish will become one of their finalists and will automatically make it into this year’s cookbook – to be handed out at the event (here’s a sneak peek at last year’s book!)*

Glynn himself will pick the overall winner from all the weekly finalists and that person will win two tickets to the event

There’s no limit to how many times you can enter – the more weeks you try, the more chance you have of making the list of finalists

They’d love for you to join their quest this year to find their new #FridayNightFoodie, last year had over 100 entries which they’d love to beat!

If cooking isn’t your thing, tickets are now on sale for the fun-filled, live show-cooking event that over the last two years has gained the reputation of being the best Friday night out in the Birmingham social calendar.

The ‘Yummy Brummie’ will be joined by X-Factor winner Sam Bailey.

The East Londoner, now living in the Midlands, will join Glynn on stage to assist with the cooking along with other celebrity friends of Glynn, before performing for over 400 guests at the prestigious Midlands venue.

The one and only raffle prize on the night will give guests the chance to win a meal cooked at home by Glynn and his Purnell’s team for up to six people a money can’t buy experience. Glynn and his team will turn up, cook Sunday lunch and clean the kitchen up before they leave!

To round off the evening, guests will be treated to live music from The Subterraneans, the resident band from The Jamhouse, and Heart FM DJ Russ Morris until 2am.

You can book now at gpfnk.co.uk/shop/. Tickets cost £135 per person and VIP tickets £155. Tables of ten can be secured for £1350 and VIP tables for £1550.

Share this:

Nomad don’t do things by halves. Described as “Birmingham’s most unusual restaurant”, its philosophy is based around bringing foraged and unusual cuisine to the fore.

Founded by Alex Claridge (formerly of The Warehouse Cafe and development chef at Bistro 1847), it spent most of 2014 and 2015 as a pop up at locations all over the city. Since winter 2015 it has had a permanent home on Dudley Street inside BOM.

After our previous experience at Simpsons, Simon S of Birmingham Breakfast Club (reviewer of breakfast locations far and wide around Brum) had arranged a special one-off surprise breakfast menu and how could I miss out on that opportunity!

Share this:

I’m always on the lookout for something a little different in Birmingham, and have watched with interest as the Park Regis Hotel has transformed the former Auchinleck House, the most stunning change being the glass ‘sky bar’ taking over the sixteenth floor.

The main occupant of this will be Rofuto a Japanese izakaya-style restaurant, serving a range of dishes and partnered with a cocktail lounge and sake bar, Kurabu.

Share this:

Before you start, no, this isn’t a repeat of my Magnum Meat post (read it here), this is more of a part 2.

It’s been just over 6 months since I had the pleasure of visiting one of Low ‘n’ Slow’s takeovers at Bar Opus and since then, Andy and Donna (head honchos) had a trip over to the good ole USA and came back with some ideas for tasty food…

Share this:

It’s hard to believe I’ve done four of the seven sins (+ 1) with Bitters ‘n’ Twisted, and hosted by the wonderful Vicky Osgood of Brumderland. Previous events can be read about here:

Greed Wrath Inferno Lust

Tonight was going to be a boozy evening as we were treated to a vodka pairing tasting experience to celebrate their large range of exciting vodkas.

If you want to try vodkas in Brum, RVT are well on their way to building up to 100 different brands and would be a great place to start!

Share this:

In the run up to Michelin starred maestro Glynn Purnell’s Friday Night Kitchen on October 7^th at Villa Park’s Holte Suite, Twitter followers are being given the chance to win a pair of tickets!

Starting 1^st April, @GPFNK followers need to send in a picture and short description of their Friday night dinner using #FridayNightFoodie (FRIDAYS ONLY!)