Category: nonfood

News – New cook book is launching to support refugees around the world

Brum Bloggers, brummiegourmand, multi, nonfood

I love food, not so much cooking, but if I do. I usually have a cookbook to hand, and this one supports a charitable cause so what more could I want?

cookbook

 

“This Cookbook Belongs To Us”, compiled by Bearwood and Kings Heath Action for Refugees, brings you stories of food – of making, sharing and enjoying – to show the importance of welcome, friendship, tolerance and love for refugees in our community. The book is dedicated to all the people who call Birmingham and Smethwick home, and to those fleeing their homes and seeking refuge in new ones.

Birmingham and Smethwick have welcomed those escaping conflict and persecution since the early 19th Century, offering sanctuary to individuals and families. Fostering a culture of welcome and extending a hand of friendship to those forced to flee their homes, where it is most deeply needed. The region is home to individuals and families from Afghanistan, Somalia, Eritrea, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Central America.

This Cookbook Belongs To Us is a collection of recipes; from Birmingham to Damascus, each with a different and personal story behind it. It is for everyday home cooking but can also be used to find inspiration for those special occasions – rustle up a quick post-school/work dinner with Mujadarah, Arabian Buttered Eggs for a lazy Sunday brunch, creating “The Best Lamb in Ethiopia” for a dinner party with friends, or baking up some delicious Syrian Toffee Apple Cake for a special birthday treat or just plain old elevenses (any day!).

Food plays a vital and powerful role in migration and in welcoming new communities. The familiar smells and tastes of a favourite dish providing comforting replenishment – a reminder of cultural ties to home but also a potent way of connecting with new and undiscovered places and in constructing new identities.

The sharing of new tastes, ingredients and techniques cannot be seen more clearly than in Birmingham and the Black Country. They have diverse, multi-cultural neighbourhoods with many different communities and with a wealth of ingredients and cuisines available locally in supermarkets and restaurants: from fine dining (Birmingham has no less than five Michelin starred restaurants) to street food and cafés celebrating cuisines from South Asia, the Middle East, Europe and beyond.

The book can be pre-ordered online now:

http://actionforrefugees.bigcartel.com/product/this-cookbook-belongs-to-us,

the book will be available to buy from 25 November from a range of stockist across Birmingham and the Black Country and will be sold at craft fairs in time for Christmas. The pre-order cost is £10 (£12.50 afterwards) with all profits going towards the Aegean Solidarity Network and the vital projects they support.

The official Kings Health launch will take place at ENKI gift shop, (Kings Court, B14 7JZ) on the 5th December, 10am – 5pm where you can sample sweet treats from the book and festive refreshments; there’ll be some fun crafts for the children too. The Bearwood launch will be on the 2nd December, 7.30pm – late, at the charity Barn Dance at the Corks Club (Bearwood High Street, B66 4BT). Tickets can be purchased on the door (£5 / £2.50 concessions) for a night of fundraising, fun and Flying Scotsmen, featuring The Ceilidh Band. All money raised goes towards supporting refugees.

ACTION FOR REFUGEES

Bearwood and Kings Heath Action for Refugees were set up in September 2015 in response to the current crisis and are part of the Action for Refugees network. They are volunteer-led groups engaging local individuals, groups and schools in helping refugees and asylum seekers through fundraising, awareness raising and advocating for refugees locally. They fundraise for the Aegean Solidarity Network and proceeds of this book will support refugees in transit through the grassroots projects they fund.

For more information visit https://actionforrefugees.org

AEGEAN SOLIDARITY NETWORK

Aegean Solidarity Network Team UK (ASN), a UK registered charity, launched in September 2015 after witnessing first hand the desperate plight of refugees and people fleeing conflict arriving on the Greek island of Leros. The group is dedicated to supporting all people escaping life threatening conflict landing in Greece by supporting safe places to stay, safe spaces to talk, provisions of food, dry clothes, and education amongst many other needs.

The ASN team are passionate about what they do and have all spent time working “in the field” or have been involved in refugee support extensively since summer 2015.

Funded solely by donations, ASN seek out volunteer-run initiatives. They ensure that the projects they support are volunteer run so that donation has maximum positive impact in supporting refugees.

For more information visit the website https://asnteamuk.org/

News: The BEAST Comes to Birmingham

brummiegourmand, multi, nonfood, pop-up, Uncategorized

So, there’s something Bouncy and Beasty coming to the neighbourhood, so I thought I’d let you know.

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THE WORLD’S LARGEST INFLATABLE OBSTACLE COURSE LANDS IN BIRMINGHAM

FRIDAY 8th – SUNDAY 17th DECEMBER, 10.00am – 11.00pm

#TheBouncyBeast

Tickets are now on-sale today for the world’s largest inflatable obstacle course, The Beast returning to the UK at the NEC, Birmingham this December. At an unbelievable 272m long, The Beast is the ultimate nostalgic bouncy castle experience for adults. Unleash the beast this December and run, bounce and dance your way around the phenomenal 32 obstacles open to the public for eight days only – the perfect office, family or group party!

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Take on The Beast and enjoy a feast of Birmingham’s finest street food vendors washed down with craft beer, cocktails and prosecco on tap. Live DJs will combine with an extraordinary sound and lighting show that will complete the most ridiculously fun day out you could possibly imagine.

The Beast is the brainchild of UK promoters Nick Zuppar & Joe Arditti. Nick and Joe said:  “The Beast London was such an unbelievably huge success with 20,000 bouncy revellers through the doors, we’re bouncing with excitement to bring it to Birmingham for the first time ever for the ultimate party occasion this December. You have to see it to believe it!”

Tickets are limited and expected to sell out very quickly so don’t miss out by booking yours today. The Beast sessions are ticketed and will run throughout the day in 30 minute blocks from 10.00am to 11.00pm, with morning sessions for kids, from Friday 8th December – Sunday 17th December. Spectator tickets are also available and will gain access to the food, drink and party areas which will be open throughout.

 TICKETS ARE AVAILABLE HERE: www.ilovetobounce.com and www.theticketfactory.com

Date: 8th-17th December 2017 (not 11th and 12th Dec)

Venue: NEC, Birmingham

Address: National Exhibition Centre, Halls, Marston Green, Birmingham B40 1NT

Prices: £20.00 (+ £2 booking fee)

NOTE: This is not a sponsored post or endorsement, just news of something happening in Birmingham you might want to know about.

Talk: Squaring Up with Gizzi Erskine

aroundbrum, brummiegourmand, nonfood, Sponsored

Something rather Square and American has come to Great Western Arcade in the shape of Square UK’s  first ever pop-up shop,  and follows in the footsteps of Square’s first physical store in New York, which opened last month.

To celebrate opening in Birmingham they have also had a few speakers over the last few days including Ree Ree Rockette (lifestyle blogger) and Paul Hardwood (Birmingham Brewery Company), who’s talking on Thursday 14th September.

 

I had chance to hear the amazing Gizzi Erskine talk about her life and career with Birmingham’s own amazing Full to the Brum (Laura)

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It was a fantastic talk, covering her bohemian upbringing, and her mothers introduction of world food to her diet at a different age. Her difficulties with completing her normal education and then moving in to being a trained body piercer.

We then moved on her enrolment at Leith’s Cookery school being the most intense and fulfilling experience of her life and balancing cooking in professional cooking with completing her course.  She was also lucky to work at St John with Fergus Henderson  provocateur of ‘Nose to Tail Eating’ and her first day at work boning a goat.

This led to her becoming a pioneer of Pop-Up cookery with her friend and fellow St John employee Abby at an art gallery in Brick Lane in 2001. With three course dining and a pay what you want ethos.

Gizzi also won the intern prize at Leiths to work at Good Food magazine and was lucky to go to the Good Food show in Birmingham as a warm up act for Jamie Oliver and Gordon Ramsay, and from then on was being chased to become a TV Chef, starting behind the scenes on Full on Food with Heston Blumenthal and Richard Corrigan, and then on to Ready, Steady, Cook. She found her feet on the second series of Cook Yourself Thin and the battles between being an authentic chef and meeting TV’s demands.

She’s now taken her early inspiration of Eastern cuisine into her latest show (Gizzi Erskine Seoul Food airing now on the Good Food Channel), and her love of Bao buns via way of Dave Chang (Momofuko), and the amazing boiling pot of fusion cuisine in New York.

We also learnt about her experience in setting up K-Town,  a pop-up eatery inspired by New York’s Korean quarter in Shoreditch in 2012, the story of how Korean Fried chicken came to be, and how she’s now looking to Malaysian and Thai food and how that wave will soon hit the UK.

 

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An hour wasn’t long enough to hear her talk and was great to see the warmth, wit and genuine passion for food coming through and I’ll be attempting to make food from her books at some point in the near future, where she gives lots of technical advice.

A big thank you to Square for giving me a heads up about the talk (free and open to the public).

IF YOU POP DOWN BEFORE SATURDAY 16TH SEPTEMBER AT 6PM

Local business owners will also be able to pick up a free Square Reader if they visit the pop up shop and sign up for Square in September.

OPENING HOURS:

Square’s pop-up shop will be open from 4th – 16th September from 09:00 – 18:00 Monday to Saturday and 11:00 – 17:00 on Sundays.

There’s one more free masterclass being held (tomorrow at the time of writing) and I urge you to get down if you have chance.

FREE EVENT

  • Thursday 14 September at 18.30: Birmingham Brewery Company’s Paul Hardwood will talk about the challenges and joys of giving up your job to follow your dream – in his case to launch a ‘Brummie Beer’ range – a tasting of which will be held after his talk

WHERE: The Great Western Arcade, Unit 6, Colmore Row, Birmingham, B2 5HU

With the Square card reader, businesses can take card payments with no monthly contracts or hidden fees, and get their money the next business day. It takes minutes to get started, and sellers can quickly and securely begin accepting chip & PIN and contactless payments from Visa, Mastercard and American Express.

Square’s card reader costs £39 +VAT, but to celebrate Square’s first UK pop up shop, local business owners can get a free Square Reader if they visit the pop up shop and sign up for Square in September.

For more information visit www.square.com/westmidlands

 

When: 11/09/2017

Where: Square UK Pop Up Shop, Great Western Arcade, Unit 6, Colmore Row, Birmingham, B2 5HU

Who: Square UK, Gizzi Erskine,

News: Birmingham Gin from Langleys hits Selfridges & Bar Opus

aroundbrum, brummiegourmand, NEWS, nonfood

It’s no secret I’m a gin fan, and it’s nice to see the local chaps at the Langley Distillery have partnered with Selfridges and Bar Opus to make a Birmingham exclusive gin, named Birmingham Gin.

This London Dry Gin is carefully brewed with coriander, angelica root, liquorice and orange peel at the Langley Distillery in Birmingham. The chic bottle is decorated with copper foils dots, which are inspired by the iconic Selfridges discs and the 150-year old copper still in which the spirit is distilled, and is avilable exclusively at Selfridges Bullring for £44.99.

Bar Opus at One Snow Hill is now the first bar in town to be serving the Birmingham Gin. The expert booze technicians have created three bespoke Birmingham inspired cocktails to match this new flavour.

Brummie Mary 
Birmingham Gin, tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, volcano salt, ground black pepper, sriracha sauce, fresh lemon
£6.50
Brumtini 
Birmingham Gin, dry vermouth, grapefruit bitters, grapefruit garnish
£6.50
Midlands Mojitio 
Birmingham Gin, fresh lime, sugar, mint, ginger ale
£6.50
Both Gin and Cocktails are available now.

NOTE: This is not a sponsored post or endorsement, just news of something happening in the food scene in and around Birmingham you might want to know about. Pictures supplied by Clive Reeves PR.

Wifey Writes – Sakerol Spritz at Rofuto with #BrumHour

aroundbrum, brummiegourmand, Hotels, nonfood, Wifey Writes

A couple of weeks ago, I was invited to accompany Dave Massey aka #Brumhour to try a new summer cocktail at Rofuto in the Park Regis.

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If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll already be aware Ryan has visited a few times to sample food and whisky. As I’m not a big fan of whisky so it was interesting to see how I would fare with this sake based cocktail.

Rofuto is based on the 16th floor of the Park Regis Hotel, at the Five Ways end of Broad Street.  It offers lovely views of the Birmingham’s skyline, which is best seen at glittering night rather than the many cranes and scaffolding during the day.

They have created a Japanese inspired twist on the classic summer drink Aperol Spritz with Sake, peach liqueur and yuzu juice.

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Whilst catching up with Dave, our mixologist got to work on the cocktail.  Sadly no pictures of the creative process but you can happily enjoy the video shot by Rofuto:

 

For someone who doesn’t like Sake, this was actually perfect for me because the peach liqueur and yuzu juice added a lovely sweetness.  I also liked the Vog prosecco that was used to make our drink.

The drink is on their current cocktail menu and available now.

IMG_20170806_224633

Disclaimer: For this event, I was a guest of BrumHour and Rofuto who provided the drink; this provides no bias to the post. 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: 05/08/2017

Where: Rofuto, Park Regis Hotel, Five Ways, Birmingham

Who:  Rofuto, Park Regis Hotel

Preview: Rosies Birmingham

aroundbrum, brummiegourmand, multi, nonfood

If you’ve been down the clubbing centre of Birmingham recently, you may have noticed 6 on Broad Street has disappeared and has instead been replaced by Rosies, Broad Streets newest Super Club. Wifey and I were invited to pop down and have a preview prior to opening tomorrow (with their launch party hosted by DJs Scott Mills  & Chris Stark off of that Radio 1).

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Owners Stonegate Pub Company have sunk £1 million into the refit to split the venue into five themed rooms over two floors.

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Downstairs is the Montana bar with a large cocktail menu of Martinis and Mojitos with exposed lighting and bare woods giving it a rustic, relaxed feel, and streetfood style stuffed crust pizza on sale throughout the afternoon and into the evening.

Perhaps the biggest room upstairs is DAO (A Chinese proverb for  the way). It takes it’s inspiration from a combination of Las Vegas and Pan Asian influence with an Asian inspired cocktail menu and LED “chopstick lighting”.

 

For those who like their clubbing a little more nostalgic there’s Retro with neon paint a light up dance-floor and a cheese filled party playlist.

 

Playing R&B will be The Vault which we sneaked into as it’s getting ready for its big showing tomorrow night and there’ll be hidden ‘VIP Bourbon booth’s overlooking the DJ and dancefloor.

 

And the final room is the Laundrette, a speakeasy bar with the illusion of being a laundry with a touch of quirky character and even a roof terrace to look out over the city skyline.

 

With one of the biggest investments in Stonegate Pub Co’s history they’re hoping to show their dedication to Birmingham’s clubbing scene and look out for more happenings over the weekend.

 

Disclaimer: For this preview evening, I was a guest of Stonegate Pub Co. & Lucre PR, wifey and I enjoyed a couple of complimentary cocktails and got a goody bag to take home. This provides no bias to the post.

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: 17/08/2017

Where: Rosies Birmingham, 259-262 Broad St, Birmingham, B1 2HF

Who: Rosies Birmingham, Stonegate Pub Company

#McDeliveryDay – A tale in being cautious about hype.

brummiegourmand, nonfood, restaurants

McDonalds and UberEats have been shouting a lot about their partnership, even coining the 26th July Global #McDeliveryDay. A celebration of how you can order your MaccyD’s online via their McDelivery service.

There are now 150 locations across the UK where you can get your food delivered for £2.50, and you could even win some natty merchandise too on this special day too! From a cursory search, a lot of local and national press picked up the story, a few examples:

From this level of press, you’d expect it to be a national campaign across all 150 locations? I certainly did today, when I ordered lunch for Wifey and I.

The food finally arrived (after the delivery driver went to the wrong entrance and in lukewarm fashion). I was a little bit miffed there was no freebies included but ho hum, it’s a lottery and not everyone’s a winner. That’s when I went online to check the number of participating restaurants that were participating?

 

5

Yup, that’s right FIVE:

McDelivery Participating.PNG

For a population of 65 million, with more than 1200 restaurants and 150 that offer delivery, 5 were participating in the giveaway!

My day job involves lots of statistics so I thought I’d have a bash to see how this compares with some of the other countries featured in #McDeliveryDay

This is in comparison to:

UK unsurprisingly does the worst with 1.3m per store, whereas Amsterdam comes out best with 102,500 population per store.

The delivery radius is 1.5 miles so with a bit of old math (remember πr squared?), I worked that out to be roughly 35 sq miles of the UK covered by this global event, out of 94,060 sq miles out of our glorious isle (or 0.04% of the country covered).

That’s being a little bit unfair though, they only have 150 stores that deliver remember? But that’s still just 3.3% of the UK stores who could participate who did.

But maybe that’s still unfair,  these are dense urban areas so surely that’s weighted in these 5 stores favour? Going from the nomis website (2011 census) the population density of the five locations is:

  • London W2 – 48,372
  • London SE1 – 67,037
  • Basford, Nottingham NG7 – 58,012
  • Nottingham NG1 – 12,897
  • Leeds LS2 – 10,120

Now postcode area is probably disingenuous as some delivery areas will not cover the whole area but some will cover more.  It’s a fairly good guess and gives us about 200,000 people close enough to qualify for the free #McDeliveryDay swag.  Now 200,000 divided by 65 million is… 0.3%

Hmmmm….but again that’s unfair, there’s only 150 shops with delivery. So, I was sad enough to calculate the total population reach of these 150 stores (excluding commuters too, this is just residents) is 4.05 million. So out of the reachable population, that’s 5%.

This is just a bit of fun remember and I make no claims to any kind of accuracy. I just feel it’s a bit unfair for a ‘Global day of Celebration’, covered in the UK national press, to be only accessible to a small part of the population, and the number of locations kept hush hush until 24 hours before launch.

There’s been a bit of  a backlash on Twitter under the #McDeliveryDay hashtag feed, as the list of restaurants only went live yesterday (25th July). To be fair to McDonalds, they’ve also given some away on Facebook (15 or so by the picture they put up), who were outside the delivery areas.

Now, this is not meant to be sour grapes; just a bit of a tale to make sure you read everything fully before buying into the hype of two global brands, perhaps not expecting those to check beforehand.

Anyway, back soon with an actual food review. Toodles!

 

 

 

 

 

Belinda Carlisle meets The High Field for a Charity Dinner

aroundbrum, brummiegourmand, cocktails, nonfood, pub grub, Uncategorized

I’m no stranger to The High Field, so on hearing they’re having a very spacial musical guest next month, I thought I’d let you know, especially as there’s only 250 tickets so likely to sell out soon!

 

On Saturday 15th July 2017, The High Field will be hosting a very special evening in aid of charity when Belinda Carlisle, one of the biggest selling female global artists of all time, makes a one-off appearance at the Edgbaston venue.

 

This exclusive event, which is limited to just 250 guests, will feature a short acoustic set of songs from Belinda as well as drinks and dinner in a glorious garden setting. It will raise money for Belinda’s own co-founded charity ’Animal People Alliance‘ and the UK Charity Branch of ’Her Future‘.

Tickets for this special event are now on sale and include fizz and canapés on arrival, followed by a three course vegetarian or vegan dinner with a menu created for the night by The High Field’s head chef Ian Meek.

After enjoying good food and drink in the stylish surroundings of The High Field, which was named the Best Gastro Pub in Birmingham at the inaugural Birmingham Food Drink & Hospitality Awards, guests will enjoy a short acoustic performance of Belinda’s songs. There will also be a silent auction with some brilliant prizes to be won, special guests and even the opportunity to win breakfast with Belinda herself at a secret location the next morning.

All the proceeds from ticket sales will be given to the two charities close to Belinda’s heart to support the vital work they undertake. Animal People Alliance’s mission is to offer high quality care to street animals in need, alongside robust employment opportunities to survivors of human rights abuses and other vulnerable populations in South Asia.  Her Future UK provides shelter, education and high-wage employment to survivors of human trafficking and extreme abuse so that they may remain forever free; since 2005, the charity has helped thousands of women and children to build a bright and independent future.

 

Launching the evening, Sarah Robinson, General Manager of The High Field, says, “This is a fantastic opportunity to support these two amazing charities whilst enjoying good food and drink in a unique venue.  “We are thrilled to be joined by Belinda Carlisle and to have this unmissable opportunity to listen to her music in such an intimate setting,” says Sarah.  “As lead singer of the Go-Go’s, the most successful female band of all time, and one of the world’s biggest selling female artists, she is a true pop icon, and we are honoured that she will be performing here in support of these two great charities.

“It’s going to be a wonderful evening full of excitement and surprises, and we hope that as many existing and new guests will join us to help raise as much money as possible for charity,” she says.

Belinda Carlisle, says, “Animal People Alliance is a charity, based in Kolkata India, I co-founded with Paul Suit in 2014. Whilst still in the early days, we are starting to have a real impact, with our mission to provide quality care for India’s street animals, employment for survivors of human rights abuses and other vulnerable populations. We want to change the future generation’s consciousness towards animals, and raise awareness of the need to treat animals humanely.

“I’ve always dreamed of having an animal sanctuary and I have such a love of India. I had an idea on how great it would be to combine both with the invaluable help of Her Future, of which I’ve seen first-hand the work they do, and I’m humbled even to be in the same room as Sarah Symons (the co-founder of Her Future Coalition and inspiration of Her Future UK), as she does the work of angels.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be part of the charity evening at The High Field, and grateful to all the generous people and businesses who are making this event happen. I will be performing a short acoustic set of my hits as music is still a big part of my life, as is Animal People Alliance,” she says.

There are just 100 tickets for this special evening costing £150 each, to include fizz and canapés followed by a three-course vegetarian or vegan meal, and a further 150 tickets at £75 each for those not wishing to dine, with a silent auction and some amazing raffle prices from sponsors.  To book, please email event@animalpeoplealliance.co.uk to request tickets.  Full payment will be required by 11th June 2017. For updates on Animal People Alliance follow us on Facebook @animalpeoplealliance

The charity evening at The High Field with Belinda Carlisle takes place on Saturday 15th July 2017 from 5pm until midnight.

The High Field is at 22 Highfield Road, Edgbaston, B15 3DP.  Tel: 0121 227 7068.

www.highfieldedgbaston.co.uk/

Highfield@peachpubs.com

@TheHighField

www.facebook.com/TheHighFieldEdgbaston

Victoria Square hosts a play with a food theme – The Hand That Feeds

aroundbrum, brum bites, brummiegourmand, nonfood, pop-up

As regular readers are aware, I love food and theatre, so I thought it’d be nice to tell you about something coming up for free!

‘The Hand That Feeds’ is a theatrical song cycle about food crime. Food crime, which involves fraud at any stage in the production or supply of food or drink, is a widespread and growing problem that affects us all. The project was conceived of by Kate Cooper, founder of The New Optimists: a forum for regional scientists.

‘The Hand That Feeds’ is composed by Sara Colman,written by Mez Packer and directed by Graeme Rose.

It follows the story of Robbie, “a hardworking family man” raised in Birmingham who comes to realise the impact of his role in the food supply chain and the difference he can make.

The project aims to raise public awareness of the issues and the widespread implications of food crime — both locally and nationally — and to create a platform for discussion. The New Optimists’ conviction is that a fun arts-based events can have a big impact in enabling a wider audience to engage in social matters, such as food crime, where the role of science, here the forensics of food fraud, play a big part in making our world a better place.

The content was built with people from across the food supply network in Birmingham, the largest economic sector in the city. As well as the core professional actor- musicians, The New Optimists are working with Castle Vale Community Choir, who will be the ensemble for the piece.

Professor Chris Elliott, who led the Government review into the integrity and assurance of our food supply network after the horsemeat scandal, and who coined the term ‘food crime’, is the Scientific Advisor on the project.

The free, outdoor performances of ‘The Hand That Feeds’ are taking place on / at:

Saturday 10th June: 12pm near St Cuthberts Church, Caste Vale, B35 7PL

&

Tuesday 13th June at 1pm in Victoria Square, B1 1BB

Audiences are encouraged to follow the conversation both in the run up to and during the live shows with #StopFoodCrime.

Founder Kate Cooper said: “The New Optimists is a forum of top-notch regional scientists from diverse scientific disciplines, keen to make our world a better place. Their work matters and The New Optimists is about getting their work — and their informed perspective — in on decision-making. This musical is one of many ways to do so.”

Follow them online at:

http://newoptimists.com

Facebook:  newoptimists

Twitter: @newoptimists

 

Summer Sizzlers at thestudio Birmingham

aroundbrum, brummiegourmand, cocktails, multi, nonfood, pop-up

A few Fridays ago, enjoying a rare day out of the office, after popping down to Birmingham Social Media Cafe, I made my way over to thestudio Birmingham on the promise from East Village PR of a bit of BBQ food a G&T and the hope of sunshine.

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The front door of thestudio is a bit unassuming, taking over a double shopfront, it doesn’t look that big from the front, however it takes up the majority of the building with 22 rooms over three floors, including an atrium and patio, where I planned on chilling for the next few hours…

And the sunshine was on point, it was a glorious afternoon and the hubbub was already starting.

The reason for my attendance was the launch of their new Summer BBQ packages, with BBQ maestro Richard Holden showing off his flare over the charcoal and a few beverages of the alcoholic kind to soak up the sun, in the company of the award winning Mr David Massey, aka #BrumHour.

First stop, as usual, I was inexctriacably  born closer to something shiny, in the form of Copper Head Gin bottle, from Belgium and paired with East Imperial Burma Tonic, from New Zealand. Both brands were new to me and it was truly an intercontinental cocktail!

A G&T always reminds me of a nice sunny day so this was perfect.

Next up, was one of my favourite brewers in the Midlands, Purity Brewing Company, they had their full range on display with their new lower 3.5% abv Pale Ale Bunny Hop.

None of that for me though, Longhorn IPA is an opportunity I’ll never miss and one of my favourite all time IPAs, it’s quite citrusy, but always refreshing.

Our final stop on the way round was to Richard Holden’s BBQ tent, which we quickly invaded as the sun was getting too much for us!

Richard was cooking some tasters of his BBQ Masterclass menu, including Salmon with Pesto, Beer Can Chicken, Wings and Flat-breads with Humus, all smelling equally delicious. It was also great to have a quick chat with thestudios Commercial Director Julian, who was helping out with service.

The heat was starting to get to me however, so BrumHour and I nipped inside to enjoy the atrium (and their free WiFi!) whilst having a refreshing beer to cool off.

It was nice to see a different side to thestudio as I had previously attended for ICE (International Comics Expo) Birmingham which just shows the varied clientele they do have!

When: 26/05/2017

Where: thestudio, 7 Cannon St, Birmingham, B2 5EP

Who: thestudio, Richard Holden’s BBQ, Copper Head, East Imperial Burma Tonic, Purity Brewing Company

 

The BBQ Masterclass can be booked through thestudio by calling 0800 028 6694 which displays a range of BBQ and kitchen skills from £50 per head for 3 hours through to £70 per head for a 6 hour course, with food included, for groups between 10 – 20 in size.

Disclaimer: For this visit, I was a guest of thestudio and East village PR (who also sent me a natty apron), this provides no bias to the post. 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.