Colors: Green Color
Colors: Green Color

The All Saints Community Development Company launches a new event in Birmingham this month. The event, in Kings Heath, will be held in the Village Square on the third Saturday of each month.

Historically, the Arts & Craft Market has taken place on this day but the organiser now recognise the need to add another dimension (or two) to this event. This will include multiple street food traders, seating, music and activities for kids.

Initially trialled as a one off event in the summer, the team found that the format worked so well that that have decided to introduce it as a regular event.

With the monthly Street Food Market being held on the second Saturday of the month, this means that there are now two consecutive weekends of street food in the Kings Heath. However, there will be differences. The Street Food Market features live DJ’s, bar and established food traders. The Art, Craft and Food Event will be a much more relaxed affair allowing visitors to sample food from some of the newest traders on the street food scene, chill with family/friends, and do a little shopping at the same time (just in time for Christmas!).

On the retail side, visitors can expect to find an eclectic mix of work from local artists, handmade items, gifts and, on occasion, genuine antiques.

Upcoming Art, Craft and Food Events will take place on Saturday October 21 and Saturday November 18.

The Street Food Markets will take place on Saturday October 14 and Saturday November 11. There will be a special two day Christmas Market taking place on December 9 and 10, incorporating elements from both of these events and more.

 

Birmingham’s favourite dish will be celebrated at a new exhibition open at Birmingham Museum & Art Gallery, which explores the histories of the city’s famous curry houses.

Birmingham is home to hundreds of Indian restaurants, but most are unaware it was the Bangladeshi community that pioneered the ‘curry culture’ in Britain.

Running from 23rd Sept 2017 until 7th Jan 2018, Knights of the Raj, is part of Soul City Arts’ project funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, and aims to showcase the untold stories of those who pioneered the historic trade, tracing its origins back to the 1940s.

The exhibition includes furnished interiors, images, films and recorded histories. Augmented reality will be used to enhance the visitor experience through their mobile phones. One of the stand-out artefacts on display is a booth from the interior of the well-known Birmingham City Centre curry restaurant, Koh-i-Noor, giving visitors a truly authentic experience.

The restaurant opened on Horse Fair in the 1960s, making it one of the oldest curry houses in Birmingham, and one of the ‘first wave’ of curry houses to open in Britain. The booth, along with associated items, including menus and a prayer hat belonging to the restaurant’s former owner, have also been acquired by Birmingham Museums Trust to become a permanent part of the city’s collection.

The items have been acquired through Collecting Birmingham, a three year Birmingham Museums Trust project which was created to develop a collection of museum objects which tell stories of growing up, living and working in the city.

Initially formed of two adjacent restaurants, the Bengal Rooms and Star of India, Koh-i-Noor closed in 2016 for refurbishments. It has since reopened with a much more contemporary décor and a focus on modern dining.

Similar changes have been made by many other Indian restaurants as they attempt to attract new visitors and survive in a changing and competitive market. As a result, the classic interiors of the original curry houses of the 1960s, 70s and 80s are disappearing and so the objects were recognised as being of significant regional importance.

Rebecca Bridgman, Curator of Islamic & South Asian Art at Birmingham Museums Trust said: “The curry house institution and the Balti dish in particular, are profoundly rooted in Birmingham’s history. As the first wave of these restaurants are vanishing or being demolished, it is vitally important that their story is preserved. We are thrilled that Soul City Arts have brought this exhibition to BMAG and that the Koh-i-Noor restaurant booth will become a permanent part of the city’s history.”

As the first generation of post-war curry house owners are now reaching the end of their lives, this exhibition offers a vital insight into the people behind the industry, and how the trade grew and became integral to the life of Birmingham's Bangladeshi community.

The Knights of the Raj project is a partnership with Soul City Arts and Future Seed CIC, which is supported by Heritage Lottery Fund and Giro Cash and Carry. The exhibition is part of the Birmingham’s Year of South Asian Culture, celebrating the rich heritage and cultural diversity of Birmingham.

Mohammed Ali MBE of Soul City Arts, said: The untold stories of the Indian restaurant trade give us a fascinating insight into the curry trade. The narrative brings out unexpected stories of struggle and conflict, determination and perseverance, and hope and aspiration. These stories need to be heard to help us understand one another in the complex world we live in.”

The buzz around Dartmouth Food Festival is building with only a few weeks left to go. Kingswear based Manna from Devon Cooking School is gearing up for its tenth consecutive year of involvement with the festival.

Commenting on behalf of Manna from Devon, co-owner David Jones says: “The Food Festival is a highlight in our calendar. Not only does it offer a fantastic opportunity for everyone to experience the incredible array of produce and cooking available here in Devon, it also attracts great names from across the nation from the culinary world. For us it's a great chance to catch up with our friends in the industry, including Romy Gill, Mitch Tonks and Richard Bertinet.” David continues: “Having previously held the position of Chair of the Food Festival for seven consecutive years it's great to be still hugely involved.”

A testament to their popularity, many of the workshops in the Manna from Devon Cooking School theatre are already sold out. Visitors are advised to book in advance to avoid disappointment and if no places are left you should pop along early in case of any last minute availability.

Dartmouth Food Festival is now in its 16th year and continues to be recognised as one of the leading food festivals in the country. This year there will be a varied cross section of producers ranging from festival sponsor Salcombe Gin, award winning Lyme Bay Winery and Luscombe Drinks on the drinks side, South Devon Chilli Farm and Cootealicious offering tasty treats, to festival newcomers River Amble Creamy and Sandford Orchards. In addition, there is the main festival cookery demo theatre where highlights include Allister Bishop from South Sands Hotel on Sunday at 2pm.

A rare and unique gourmet variety of avocado is to be exclusively launched by Tesco across the UK.

The GEM® avocado which has eye-catching, natural gold flecks on its outer skin offers customers a smoother and creamier taste than regular varieties because it remains on the tree much longer.

It is also slightly sweeter than other varieties and has a thicker skin making it easier to scoop out with a spoon.

The launch should cause a stir for the growing number of UK avocado fans with demand so strong in the last few years that the fruit has even overtaken sales of oranges for the first time ever.

At Tesco, avocado demand is up by more than 30 per cent in the last year alone because of the current interest in healthy eating.

Tesco avocado buyer Andrew Pattison said:

“This outstanding avocado stands out from other varieties because of its rich taste, melt in the mouth texture, smooth creaminess and slight nuttiness.

“But it is also notable for its eye-catching golden lenticels or speckles which appear on the dark skin of the ripe fruit and which make it stand out from other avocado varieties.

“It's not the kind of avocado you will want to mash up and turn into guacamole but rather show off as a special treat at a dinner party as either an exotic entrée or part of the main dish.”

The GEM® will be supplied from a number of countries, but specifically South Africa at the moment.

It is currently farmed by an elite group of licensed growers around the world. The ones Tesco are getting are grown in South African and are hand-picked to ensure the fruit remains in top condition.

Tesco recently sold two other rare varieties of avocado – a mini version called Zilla Eggs and a giant sized one called the Avozilla, which is roughly five times the size of the regular type.

National Cocktail Week – the week we've all been waiting for – is finally arriving on 2nd October 2017, so put your wine glasses aside and get ready to drink minty mojitos and delicious daiquiris to your hearts content. There has never been a better time to sit back and relax with your favourite drink in hand, or why not break with routine and try something different? Anyone for a Copa Verde, an unusual mix of tequila, lime juice, water, agave syrup and avocado?!

For cocktail lovers who want to celebrate the week in style, head to GBR, Mayfair's hottest new opening, part of the award-winning five-star hotel, DUKES LONDON.

Enjoy a classic cocktail made by GBR's highly trained bartenders who have learnt their tricks from DUKES' world-renowned bartender Alessandro Palazzi, or for those looking for something different, why not ask for a personalised cocktail made to suit you.

During National Cocktail Week, GBR will select a specific cocktail each day from its extensive cocktail list, including the Cosmo Daisy, Little St Sour and St James Manhattan.

British apple farmers are to be given a helping hand by Tesco after frosts earlier this year hampered the growth of this autumn's crop.

Unseasonal temperatures dropped to -4C at the end of April in parts of Britain and caused a fruit blemish known as 'frost ring' which leaves a ring mark around the circumference or a large blemish on the skin.

For some growers it will mean a struggle supplying apples to supermarkets because of crop specifications set by retailers governing the overall look and quality of fruit and vegetables.

But to help growers and prevent otherwise perfectly good apples from going to waste Tesco has now widened those specifications to ensure they will still go on sale.

And the move by Tesco will mean that a variety of different apples, including 300 tonnes of Bramley variety, will now end up on supermarket shelves across the UK.

John Worth, Tesco's apple expert said:

“We're working with our apple growers to use as much of the crop and prevent perfectly good fruit from going to waste.

“We want to support our growers wherever we can – and although some apples might be smaller or blemished, they still have the same great taste our customers expect.”

Slightly blemished apples will be sold as part of the supermarket's standard range whilst the more blemished fruit will be sold as part of Tesco's 'Perfectly Imperfect' range.