Festive Food Bank Time

Today we have a guest post from one of our longest members of Midlands Food Bloggers, Charlene from No Love Sincerer. At this time of over indulgence she highlights a cause that should be close to every foodies heart. 

A couple of months ago, Edwina Curry, a former Conservative minister, stated that she did not believe that people in this country go hungry. Do you agree with her comments?

As food bloggers we are, as a breed, usually well-fed. We cook good food, eat in nice restaurants and even get sent food for free to review a lot of the time. It is easy to forget that there are people in this country who do not have the luxury of being able to afford both heating and food. Food poverty is an issue in the Midlands, as well as a wider issue throughout the UK. This BBC article from earlier this year explains how a ‘Food Bank’ in Stourbridge saw a 45% rise in demand since 2010.

That’s why I want to tell you about Food Banks. Food banks have been set up throughout the UKby the Trussell Trust, a charity working to fight poverty. They have now launched over 100 food banks in theUK, which they report fed over 60,000 people who were experiencing food poverty last year.

You can help your local food bank by donating money, food or time. This map will allow you to find your nearest food bank along with their contact details and web address, so you can find out where and how you can help, should you wish to. There are already a number of food banks in theMidlands area, with more under development.

My nearest food bank is in Coventry , and we have been collecting tins of food for the cause at work. Supermarkets have also been getting in on the action, with non-perishable food donations being collected at most of the major supermarkets in the area. Here is an explanation of how the food bank works.

It being the season of good-will and all, I thought it would be worth highlighting this very worthy cause. I hope you will consider helping in whatever way you can.

Thanks to Charlene for this great article. 

Bite ‘n’ Write

We at MFB were very happy to hear of a food bloggers conference here in Birmingham, Bite ‘N’ Write, organised by one of our members – Annie Ko. We had managed to get a few of our lovely bloggers to go along and here is a quick overview of the day from Louise of Comida y Vida. 

An event for food bloggers right on my doorstop, a chance to learn to some information and get tips to improve my blog, and an opportunity to meet some of my fellow bloggers with whom I have tweeted with for a long time … well I couldn’t resist.

I booked the ticket for Bite ‘n’ Write so long ago, that by the time November 19th arrived I was too excited for words, if a little nervous at leaving Baby G with Daddy for the longest time yet …. 14 hours!!

So bright and breezy I jumped on a train to Birmingham and once in the lobby of New Street searched out a few of my fellow attendee’s. How to spot a blogger in a busy public place is perhaps a discussion for another day but I wouldn’t recommend walking up to a stranger and asking them if they are a blogger …. you will most certainly get a strange look!

Once the troops had gathered, including the my fellow MFB members Jules of Butcher, Baker, Julia of Wannabefoodie and Kath the Ordinary Cook, together with the very lovely Choclette of Chocolate Log Blog and Charlotte of Go Free foods, we set off for the venue. The event was held in the Old Library room at the Custard Factory.

I won’t go into detail regarding all the workshops that were held during the day as many other blogs have put it far better than I could including Louise at the Vegetarian Experience. I haven’t any decent photo’s to share with you either as was too busy taking in all the information, but here’s my highlights:

* The photography workshop by Craig Fraser of Frasershot was the best start to the day. An interesting look into how professional food photography is carried out and some simple tips to create stunning pictures at home. Who knew silver card and a tampon could be such useful tools?

* Judith Lewis of Mostly about Chocolate and SEO specialist gave an insight into optimising your blog which I found interesting but which was a tad too technical or not of interest for some of my fellow attendee’s.

* The tasting by Artisan du Chocolat was a particular high, a chocolate high that is! We got to learn all about chocolate and taste a wide range of their products. I particularly liked the mint one and the Masala Chai. I loved the look of the O’s too.

* Jeanne of Cook Sister gave a really interesting talk about writing and how to make your blog attractive to readers with tips on the design and content of the blog.

So those were my highlights, but for a fair review I must mention my disappointment with some aspects of the day. The main issue for me was the the lack of time and setting to mingle with the other food bloggers. Whilst I got to know the people on my table it was difficult to find time to meet everyone else. Also the venue was not the greatest with a serious heating problem leaving me drinking cups of coffee just to stop from turning blue, and the meaty non-indian lunch was a bit of a let-down.

I applaud Annie Ko for having the intrepidity to get up and organise something like this event, especially after such a short time blogging, and considering it was her first event it was good. However, there are many things to be improved upon and I would hope that these are put into place to make sure this can become an annual event.

I finished off the day with a get together with some of my tweeties for some delicious food and wine at Jamie’s Italian.

By Louise of Comida y Vida on behalf of MFB.

CellarVie Wines

In our opinion enjoying great food goes hand in hand with having a nice glass of wine (or two) so when we were contacted from CellarVie Wines to have a look at their new website well we couldn’t resist. There are many online wine retailers out there but CellarVie Wines stand out from the crowd with their interactive service and rewards scheme.

CellarVie Wines was set up in May 2010 by an experienced father and son team to offer a Wine Service with a difference, with their unique loyalty points system. Customers earn points for not only purchases but when registering on the site and using features such as the My Palette wine advisor. You also get points for reviewing wines and each time a friend you’ve recommended buys a bottle from us. And what do points mean? Free wine.

The other great service they offer is a food-wine matching. Tag a tweet to @CellarVieWines with hashtag #winewithfood and they will suggest the perfect drinking partner to go alongside whatever you are cooking.

So if you haven’t yet bought your wine for this year’s festivties then check out CellarVie Wines and the special discount code to our readers for an extra 30% off.

midsnov2011

Allow 30% off anything not on promotion.

• Can be used against products whose only promotion is loyalty point-based i.e. “double loyalty points earned on this promotion”
• Can be used once by each registered customer
• Expiry date 31^st December

Thanks to CellarVie Wines for this promotion for our readers and we’re off to stock up our wine rack!

By Louise of Comida y Vida on behalf of MFB

Home of Rossopomodoro – visit to Naples

Back in September we had a guest post from friend of MFB, James Day of Eat the Midlands, tell us about Rossopomodoro - a new Italian in Birmingham. Now James is back with a detailed look into where the inspiration for the restaurant comes from. 

“They taste great, but I bet they are not true authentic Neapolitan pizzas?” -  A comment made during a recent review of the new Italian Restaurant Rossopomodoro, in Selfridges, Birmingham.  Two weeks later, my bags were packed and I was off for a visit to Naples, the ‘birth place of pizza’ to see for myself!

A hair-raising trip through the busy streets of Naples to the rustic head office for a welcome briefing, and even more welcomed Neapolitan coffee – seeing as I had not slept at this point for 24 hours! The senses awaking coffee was  accompanied by Pastiera – Traditional Neapolitan cake with wheat, ricotta cheese and orange flower water.

The briefing was then followed by a whistle stop tour of their suppliers … jumping in their company 4×4, and off to the mountains we went, a climbing up the side of the dormant (we hoped) and imposing Mt Vesuvius volcano, up to where they had just harvested the last olives. “The best olives are picked by hand, and traditionally pressed within a few hours,” the farmer explained (translated from Italian!) “we have been harvesting in this area for generations, and this year has been one of our best for a long time.”  The hillside was densely packed with large, twisted olive trees, some up to 300 years old, covered in nets to catch the falling dark olives.

Nutty in flavour, and golden in colour, this was the ‘daddy’ of all oils the D.O.P. (Denomination of Origin Protection – monitored for picking to packing) with strict controls on horticulture and purity of process, which was evident in the flavour. We tasted variants, mixed with the local herbs, including rosemary, wild garlic, and even the lemon oil, which raised the flavour not to mention the potentials for usage to another level – of course Rosspomodoro only use the pure DOP for their salads, and buffalo mozzarella drizzle, and the extra virgin for their pizzas, topping with the aged black olives, sweet and firm in texture.

But there is more to pizza than great olive oil. Of course there is the base, and the toppings – not the now customary, ham, pineapple, peppers, and even eggs, and chicken Tikka as I have seen in the UK – but true authentic Neapolitan pizzas contain four simple ingredients: “00” flour for the base, tomato puree, mozzarella (Buffalo of course) and olives. So, Rossopomorodo olives – yep, wild flavoursome and hand-picked –  “Tick”, but what about the rest of the ingredients?

We headed back down off the side of Vesuvius and into the narrow cobbled ancient streets of Naples and found a small group of ladies or ‘Nonnas’ (grandmothers) who were tucked away at the rear of what I can only describe as a ‘volcanic cave’, which had been painstakingly carved out and had become the rear of the tomato packing plant with large Kilner jars stacked up to the roof on well used pallets containing rich red tomatoes, and fresh fruits, jams and preserves. The local San Marzano tomatoes, a variety of plum tomatoes, are considered by many chefs to be the best sauce tomatoes in the world – reputed to be a gift from ancient Peru – and grow on the sides of Vesuvius, to create a unique rich intense flavour and firmness of skin, and they certainly had both qualities.

The next day it was off to the lowlands of the region, about an hour from the City, just in time to see the last batch of the day’s Mozzarella “di Bufala Campana” from the DOP Compagna region being produced. Fresh straight from the Northern Hills, where the milk is tested on arrival for purity and authenticity of origin coming only from water buffalo on a farm in Paestum, Campania.

The factory consisted of stainless steel vats and white tiled floors, as ordained by the DOP institute (Mediterranean Institute of Certification) but the cheese makers had fought for one tradition of retaining their wood mixing vats to ‘retain tradition and remind our workers of the origin of their works” which I must say looked out of place, but certainly added to the contrast of the need for modernity but maintaining the origin of tradition.

 

Trying it at this stage was a complete taste sensation – a firm rich outer texture, and then on biting it revealed its inner intensity, creamy, warm, airy, and lush – still being able to taste the fresh grass the Buffalo were grazing only a few hours ago, like a savoury marshmallow that one could savour all day; the unique quality of Buffalo Mozzarella. The owner has been producing this mozzarella for many generations and is considered a master in his field – supplying only the finest outlets in Italy, and selected European destinations – including Rossopomodoro in Birmingham (even in their ice cream)! So, Buffalo Mozzerall….”Tick”

So, the perfect tour to make the perfect pizza. Do the ones at Rossopomodoro in the UK taste like “true authentic Neapolitan pizzas” do in Naples?  Well, returning to Birmingham, I went straight to Selfridges and ordered a margarita (the first ever pizza created for Princess Margarita, in, er Naples) and they come pretty damn close – fired in their authentic oven, at over 480 degrees, taking just 90 seconds, from heat to plate, they are a delight to eat

Rossopomodoro restaurant and products are available in Selfridges.

So thanks to James for giving us the low down on Rossopomodoro and the provenance of it’s ingredients and next time you get a trip like that ….. can we come?! 

Glynn Purnell’s Ginger’s Bar and The Asquith Restaurant

Did you see our favourite yummy brummie on Saturday kitchen this weekend with his Movember moustache? We loved his recipe and are so proud of his efforts in making Birmingham the UK’s culinary capital, as crowned by BBC Olive magazine, that we were so excited when he opened a second venue to add to the success of Purnell’s. 

One of theMidland’s finest Michelin star chefs, Glynn Purnell has fulfilled one of his many ambitions by opening his second business venture inBirmingham.

Ginger’s Bar and The Asquith Restaurant, which is located at 11 Newhall Street has been welcoming guests since opening in October.

After The Asquith closed its doors at the beginning of 2011, Glynn promised to re-open his second restaurant with the original team, setting his sights on a project that would open as a joint venture.

The massive 6,500ft site on Newhall Street, formerly occupied by Must dim sum bar and restaurant has been given a £150,000 refurbishment. The theme adapted from the Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire era, injects a touch of elegance and flamboyance into Birmingham’s bar and restaurant scene.

Glynn Purnell: “The concept of Ginger’s Bar complements The Asquith Restaurant perfectly. After identifying a gap in the marketplace, I explored opportunities within Colmore Business District and stumbled across this site. It was most definitely a momentous moment to finally see both ventures working alongside each other.

“The Asquith menu remains classically French, using the best produce and seasonal ingredients. The beauty of The Asquith is that if you choose to dine with us, you are not restricted to a set menu. Guests will be able to order a main course, or simply enjoy a dessert in the bar area if they wish.”

The original team at The Asquith Restaurant remains. Head chef Jason Eaves has worked closely with Glynn Purnell to create the classically French inspired menu for the 35 to 40 – cover restaurant, using the very best ingredients and locally sourced produce. Julie Tonsgaard continues as restaurant manager at The Asquith Restaurant.

Jason has trained alongside some of the UK’s best Michelin star chef’s, at restaurants which include Simpson’s, Midsummer House and L’Autare Pied. Working with Glynn for many years has given him the confidence and knowledge to progress to head chef at The Asquith, where he works tirelessly to create a gastronomic menu for diners. Speciality dishes include the Ballotine of Quail Egg and Ox Cheek Rossini, which are firm favourites since the restaurant opened.

Ginger’s Bar and The Asquith Restaurant is a welcome addition to Birmingham’s thriving business district and bar culture. Award winning bar manager and mixologist Chris Hoy is at the helm, with the vision to create an atmospheric buzz throughout the venue.

Chris, originally from Sutton Coldfield has travelled extensively to perfect his art and boasts an impressive portfolio of accolades, which includes Chase Vodka’s National Bartender of the Year 2011.

Chris Hoy, general manager: “Ginger’s Bar adopts the modern day “Design for Drinking” theory and is influenced by the golden age of the classic American cocktail bar.

“We want people to enjoy the experience, offering a taste of Manhattan in Birmingham’s Square Mile.  Customers can relax in the heavily influenced 1930’s surroundings, while sipping on re-mastered timeless classic cocktails or more outlandish drinks, to include vodka based autumnal tipples or a lamb and mint flavoured Sunday roast in a glass.”

He adds: “As well as classic cocktails, we offer ‘forward thinking’ creations such as the ‘Smoked Bacon & Maple Old Fashioned’ pioneered byNew Yorkbartender Eben Freeman. We also champion innovative techniques such as ‘grilling’ for the ‘Scorched Lemon & Vanilla Margarita’ which I highly recommend.”

Ginger’s Bar offers an extensive spirits list, a variety of local ciders, bohemian lagers and award winning cask ales. A fine wine list has been meticulously selected by Julie Tonsgaard, restaurant manager at The Asquith and Jean-Benoit Burloux, maître de at Purnells.

Glynn Purnell adds: “It is fantastic to have Chris involved to head up Ginger’s Bar, his experience and enthusiasm is mind blowing.  My faith in the original team at The Asquith has never been in doubt, so it is a pleasure to welcome back both Jason and Julie to create such an explosive formula, whilst working in partnership with Chris and his new bar team.”

If you go and try it we would love to read your review, or even better, write a review for this blog.

Bite ‘n’ Write

We have already mentioned Bite ‘n’ Write a few times on the blog as we’re so excited about a Food Bloggers conference right here on our doorstep!! It really makes us feel that having this group community page for Midlands Food Bloggers has had a positive effect on the awareness of Food Bloggers outside the capital. Yahoo!!

So on Saturday 19th November we will be attending this event along with a collection of our members and some food bloggers from all reaches of the country including Jam & Clotted Cream from Cornwall and Tinned Tomatoes from Scotland.

Time Slot                               Activity
10:40 – 11:00am   Welcome speech
11:00 – 12:00am   Food Photography workshop by Craig Fraser of Frasershot
12.00 – 1:00pm     Lunch
1:00 – 1:30pm      Promoting your blog with Social Media & SEO by J. Lewis
1:30 – 2:00pm     Finding your blogging voice by J. Horak from Cooksister
2:00 – 2:45pm      Chocolate Tasting by Artisan du Chocolat
2:45– 3:00pm      Tea & Coffee, mingle time
3.00 – 3.30pm      Recipe Developing & Food Allergy by GoFreeFoods
3:30 – 4:15pm      WordPress workshop by James Bolton from Derezzed
4:15 – 4:45pm      Video Blogging by Ben Frazer from Cupcake Artisan
4:45– 5:00pm       Thank you speech
5:00 – 6:00pm     Drinks

It sounds like such a fabulous day and not only will we learn lots to hopefully improve our blogging but it will give us a chance to get to know a few of our online friends. In fact there is a few of us heading out afterwards to Jamies Italian to continue chatting and enjoy some yummy food!

There are still tickets available, for the full day or half day and we have discount for our members. It would be lovely to see as many of you as possible. If you are going let us know – tweet us @midsfoodblogger

Poultry in Motion at Denstone Hall Farm Shop

Today we have a story from one of our local food heroes. Denstone Hall Farm shop in Denstone, located between Uttoxeter and Ashbourne in Staffordshire has decided to show their customers how the traditional festive bird should be raised. 

Customers visiting this Staffordshire farm shop will see a very different side to the nation’s favourite Christmas lunch following the arrival of a quartet of live turkeys.

The free-range festive foursome, named Len, Alesha, Craig and Bruno after the judges on BBC1’s Strictly Come Dancing, have taken up residence at Denstone Hall Farm Shop and Cafe, in Main Road, Denstone, near Uttoxeter.

They were brought in by farm shop owners Rupert and Emma Evans to mark the launch of their Christmas turkey season, which has already begun with scores of customers already placing their orders.

But the couple expect the birds to become a hit with visitors, who will be able to take a look at the gobblers at close quarters and watch them as they grow over the coming weeks.

Rupert said: “Because turkey is predominantly a Christmas dish and people don’t eat turkey eggs, we’re not as familiar with turkeys as livestock in their own right as we are with chickens.

“In fact, the only time most people actually see a turkey is when they’re pulling it out of the oven at Christmas, so we wanted to give our customers the opportunity to see some live turkeys at close quarters.

“We decided to name them after the Strictly judges because the show mirrors our turkey trade – it gets really busy and builds up to a great crescendo before Christmas, but then finishes just before the big day itself.”

Len, Alesha, Craig and Bruno, who have been supplied by Rupert’s brother James Evans’ Pastures Poultry Farm in Northamptonshire – where Rupert grew up – have been made to feel at home inside a specially built pen, where they are able to peck at the straw and have room to stretch their legs and wings.

But there is no chance of them making a quickstep to avoid their traditional festive fate – instead of the paso doble it will still be Paxo at the double for the foursome on Christmas Day.

Rupert said: “We want to see an end to the anonymous supermarket bird and believe people should know where their food is coming from and how it is produced.

“Hopefully Len, Alesha, Bruno and Craig will create a lot of interest and our customers will learn a lot about turkeys. It’s true that they are not exactly the most attractive birds, nor the most intelligent, but they are fascinating creatures all the same.

“And, if we can pass on our annual message about only buying turkeys that have been raised in humane conditions and have enjoyed a natural upbringing, then so much the better.”

The farm shop saw a 40 per cent increase in sales of fresh turkeys last year and is expecting demand to be high this year too.

Denstone Hall Farm Shop is run by Rupert and Emma Evans; the business was established in 2007 and is located in the old milking parlour which has been lovingly restored. The shop offers a wide range of fresh, local produce for visitors to choose from, including its own home-reared beef, locally sourced lamb and pork, regional cheeses from the deli as well as a wide range of dairy products.

The farm was recently crowned Small Business of the Year at the Burton Mail Business Awards and received a Highly Commended in the Business of the Year category. It was also mentioned in the Independent newspaper’s Saturday Supplement’s Top 50 Farm Shops.

It won the Taste of Staffordshire Awards’ Tea Shop of the Year Award for three years running – rules barred it from entering this year – and it has also picked up a host of awards for the quality of its sausages and bacon.