Tag: colmore row

Colmore Food Festival 2017

brum bites, brummiegourmand, cocktails, multi, pop-up, pub grub, restaurants, Streetfood

It seems to be coming around quicker every year.

The Colmore Food Festival is one of the highlights of Wifey and I’s year. Bringing the cream of the Colmore BID‘s bars, restaurants and cafes in a showcase over a Friday and Saturday.

You can read previous years’ posts here, here and here.

My photography skills seem to have forgotten about anything but food and drink this year but it was a similar set up to last year, with the stage next to the Town Hall and a central seating area with the stalls looping around it.

Wifey and I went both days (of course!) and we tried a fairly decent selection, photos below:

Day 1

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My first dish of the day (prior to Wifey’s arrival) was the Slow Cooked Ox Cheeks from Purnell’s Restaurant accompanied with watercress puree, pickled shallots and wasabi crumble.

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Chicken Katsu Curry, breaded chicken, mild katsu curry sauce and sticky rice from the lovely chaps at Chung Ying Central.

We tried both dishes from Nosh & Quaff , usually found on their starters list, The Rib Tips (a very popular dish for the festival), deep fried lumps of pork belly tossed in their house BBQ sauce, and their Buffalo Wings, Free-Range Cotswold Chicken Wings with a smoked butter and Habanero sauce.

After that much food, it was time for a beverage so we popped over to the cocktail maestro from Purnell’s Bistro, Gary Anderson (on what we learnt was our last time getting a cocktail from him, prior to his move to The Meat Shack as their new GM). We had a Strawberry Feels, Bombay Sapphire Gin, Elderflower, Lemon, Apple & Mint, and Pineapple & Sage Daiquiri, Bacardi Rum, Lime, Pineapple, Sage & Pink Peppercorn.

And that was the end of Day 1

Day 2

After a fun day in the radio studio (for Geeky Brummie, it’s worth a listen, I promise!), it was time for more food and booze!

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First stop of the day was Opus  / Bar Opus Wifey had the Pork Belly with spiced cherries and I had a Parma Violet with gin, creme de violette, lemonade and parma crystals.

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Next it was time for our now traditional Colmore Food Festival must-have from Jojolapa, the Momo’s (chicken dumplings).

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My next stop was Gaucho and their Beef Empanada and (not pictured) Vacio (bavette) steak which came accompanied with Humita Saltena (creamed sweetcorn).

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Then it was a return to Purnell’s Bistro, and another Strawberry Feels, Bombay Sapphire Gin, Elderflower, Lemon, Apple & Mint, the third variety of cocktail we had was their Summer Lovin with Grey Goose Vodka Peach, cranberry, Orange and Lime.

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Wifey also popped to Purnell’s Restaurant, with the Ox Cheek swapped out for Beef Blade accompanied by watercress puree, pickled shallots and wasabi crumble.

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There was also time for a bit of Dim Sum, from Chung Ying Central.

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The final dish of the day was Black Forest Cake from The Bureau, and some Tom Collins from The Jekyll & Hyde (not pictured) we were pretty much done for the year. and with that, it’s on until waiting for 2018’s Food Festival!

When: 30/06/2017 – 01/07/2017

Where: Victoria Square, Birmingham City Centre

Who: Colmore Business District, Purnell’s Bistro / Ginger’s Bar, Chung Ying Central, Nosh & Quaff, Opus, Bar Opus, Jojolapa, Gaucho, The Bureau and The Jekyll & Hyde

 

Mâcher at Miss Macaroon

brum bites, brummiegourmand

Great Western Arcade is attracting a lot of food highlights to its Victorian arches. From some of the world’s best sandwiches in Anderson & Hill deli, fresh sushi in Sushi Passion, great coffee with York’s Espresso Bar, award winning Loki Wine, vegetarian speciality restuarant 1847 and soon to be opening The Charter Rooms (Langley’s Gin‘s cocktail bar), it’s turning into a foodie destination rather than just a walkway.

 

Newest member to the throng is Miss Macaroon and Wifey and I were lucky enough to be invited to their launch night. Founded by former Purnell’s Patisserie chef Rosie Ginday, this is a business with a heart, as well as a sweet-tooth.

 

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Created not just to sell sweet treats combined with prosecco, it’s also a social enterprise. They provide employment and training programmes aimed at youngsters, who may have slipped through the education system, are care leavers or find themselves homeless, through every macaroon sold in the shop or their online store with even customisable options available.

 

 

Whilst Rosie talked to us about Miss Macaroon’s mission to make the world a better and sweeter place, we munched on some of the delicious treats, with Salted Caramel, vanilla and dark chocolate. Light yet packed full of flavour, they were delicious and went well with a glass of prosecco.

 

We also had chance to have a go at decorating our own with edible cold paint and some very delicate painting brushes. I had a go at the Twitter bird but failed, whilst Wifey did better with her geometric pattern.

 

We also had an opportunity to create our own recipe and whilst I was waiting, I grabbed a few snaps of possibly the world’s most colourful counter. The decor in such a bijou shop was artfully done, with a beautiful window display.

It was then my turn to lend a hand with my creation, and choosing my ganache from the spinning record desk display!

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I went for:

  • Chocolate Shell
  • Tiramisu Ganache
  • Smoked Sugar
  • Poire William Syrup

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I named it  Café Gourmand in honour of the French combination of mini desserts and coffee, to match the chocolate and tiramisu combination.

Whilst Wifey went for:

  • Matcha Green Tea Shell
  • Dark Chocolate and Passionfruit Ganache
  • Smoked Sugar
  • Mango Syrup

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For her fruity  combination, it was Matcha Made in Heaven.

It’s  great to see something different from the normal cafe or bar. The Miss Macaroon shop currently seats eight customers inside, and a further six alfresco are to be added in spring next year.

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To keep those customers occupied, 30 different flavours of macaroons, all freshly hand piped, baked and hand filled at its dedicated kitchen in Hockley will be available. On the beverage side, Prosecco, carefully matched to the sweetness of the macaroons by Connolly’s Wines, is available, along with hot chocolate by Valrhona and ‘Aurelio’ golden artisan beer by Two Fingers Brewing Co, who direct their profits to Prostate Cancer UK.

With a world first ‘personalised’ option, where customers can have logos, words or even their face printed on their macaroons in under one hour, they even can do a pantone colour matching service. It’s great to see Birmingham being their first location and I look forward to many more with their aim of 100 stores  by 2021.

Disclaimer: For this evening, I was a guest of Miss Macaroon, 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: 28/10/2016

Where: Miss Macaroon,  Great Western Arcade, Colmore Row, Birmingham. B2 5HU

Who: Miss Macaroon