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Ep.8 Little Blackwood, A Little Gem In The Heart Of Moseley

To listen to this episode just press play on the player above, alternatively you can listen on your favourite podcast app, just select from the drop box on this link https://anchor.fm/breakingbreadpodcastuk

The beautiful Little Blackwood

Recently when discussing the best places to eat in Birmingham with a few of our podcast guests and other foodie friends, a common answer has been emerging. Little Blackwood.

Little Blackwood opened in Moseley just under a year ago and the little gem of a restaurant, has rapidly established itself as a firm favourite.

The recommendation became impossible to ignore, and we booked for dinner. We definitely were not disappointed.

Offering beautiful seasonal dishes with more than a hint of Asian inspiration, in a relaxed laid back atmosphere. Little Blackwood is a must visit.

We arrive a bit early for our booking, but are immediately shown to our table in the cosy restaurant, where we get cracking with a round of cocktails. I am very happy us non drinkers are catered for with a few Seadlip cocktails to choose from.

Little Blackwood’s menu is extremely reasonably priced, with diner costing £26 for two courses, or three courses for £32.

Pig Cheek/Langoustine/Black Olive

The menu isn’t massive, a choice of four starters, five mains and three desserts.  However, it still presents the painfully tough challenge of narrowing it down to three dishes, eventually I manage it.

For starters I have the pig cheeks/langoustine/blackolive.

Slowly braised pig cheeks that at the very sight of my fork, fall apart faster than the Aston Villa back four. The pig cheeks bathing in a langoustine bisque are so comforting, they have me remonising of bitter winter days spent slurping a deep bisque or chowder with a hunk of soda bread. Usually beside a roaring open turf fire in Donegal. The black olive tapenade ties everything together perfectly.

Mushroom/Lemongrass/Shallots

My wife very happy with her starter of mushroom wontons, which comes in a delicate mushroom and lemongrass dashi. I thought the fork full I managed to steal when she wasn’t looking, was very good.

Carl’s wife Siobhan opted for the specials board which was three of the biggest scallops I’ve ever seen.

scallops

The langoustine bisque still has my mind travelling to a far off place, when our main arrives. Strictly adhering to my, if there’s pork belly on the menu, stop reading, and order pork belly, philosophy. I have the pork belly. Delicious soft slightly sweet pork belly with a joyfully crisp skin, a spiced carrot puree, sharp pickled carrot, fermented cabbage, an excellent earthy black pudding bon bon finished with a generous sprinkle of smokey little crunchy puffs of pork skin. A dish so deeply comforting I’m nearly kicking my shoes off, and putting my feet up.

Pork/Black Pudding/Cabbage

The rest of our party have the Fillet of beef with a potato coquette, a bordelaise sauce, topped with bone marrow and for a £4 supplement, foie gras.

The monkfish and king prawn curry with sauteed sea vegetables, butternut squash and banana leaf sticky rice. All these dishes emphasise the greatness of this place. A restaurant that uses exceptional ingredients to create top class comfort food in a serene chilled atmosphere.

Time for dessert, I have the Little Blackwood chocolate bar. A salted caramel moose topped with sweet droplets of strawberry gel, in a glossy smooth milk chocolate case with a creamy scoop of peanut butter ice cream. Not too big or too sweet, it is just the right way to finish a delightful relaxed evening.

Little Blackwood Chocolate Bar

Judging by the the clean plates and wide smiles, the others enjoyed their desserts too. Maria had the chocolate brownie, with white chocolate ice cream, popcorn and burnt white chocolate. She loved the ice cream but found the brownie a bit underwhelming, I tasted and agreed it could be more gooey.

Carl and Siobhan both choose the Asian influenced honey and yuzu cake, simply garnished with chantilly cream, fresh honey and pistachios.

The simply quality dishes, that make you want to eat everything on the menu, along with the relaxed nature of the dining room makes Little Blackwood the kind of place you will want to visit regularly. I’m already planning my next visit, maybe for their famous Sunday lunch. Mainly because Little Blackwood appears on nearly every list of Sunday lunch recommendations, a true gem of a restaurant in the heart of Moseley.

Get Social

website- http://www.littleblackwood.co.uk/

Instagram-http://instagram.com/littleblackwoodmoseley

facebook-http://facebook.com/littleblackwoodmoseley

Twitter-http://twitter.com/LittleBlackwd

If you enjoyed this episode why not take a look back at our episodes about

Purnells-https://breakingbreadpodcastuk.blog/breaking-bread-review-show-purnells/

Nocturnal Animals-https://breakingbreadpodcastuk.blog/nocturnal-animals-by-wilderness/

Breaking Bread Podcast- The Podcast All About Food

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Ep.7 Literally Breaking Bread, with bread Baker Seb,from bakery On The Bread Line

Just click play on the above player to listen to my interview with baker and owner Sebastian Clough from OnTheBreadline in Sutton Coldfield. Alternatively listen on itunes here https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/breaking-bread-podcast/id1442035103?mt=2&uo=4

HELLO FOODIES, 

This episode I have a chat with massively talented, great guy Sebastian Clough. Sebastian is a Baker and owner of Four Oaks bakery Onthebreadline. The bakery creates quality handcrafted baked goodies and breads. An interesting chat where we discuss taking a talent and skill, and turning it into a business. 

One of the big reasons i wanted to speak to Sebastian on our podcast, is because i’m a huge fan of his food. His fresh bread and baguettes are fantastic and the flavoured muffins are a real treat. Especially the Kinda and the M&M muffins. If you find yourself over this side of town be sure to pay him a visit, but get there early as they do tend to sell out.

A Quick Note About The Sound Quality Of This Episode

Unfortunately when we organised a date to sit down and record this chat, i failed to notice that i had organised it for November 5th. Bonfire night. To make things worse, Sebastian’s bakery is across the road from a school which was holding a giant fireworks display. So a complete rookie error on my part, but its a learning curve. Thankfully the display finishes four minutes in, and we have a great little chat.

Onthebreadline Social

Instagram.com/OnTheBreadLine

Facebook.com/Onthebreadline

Breaking Bread Podcast Social

Instagram.com/breakingbreadpodcastuk/

twitter.com/PodcastBread 

facebook.com/breakingbreadpodcastuk 

Website https://breakingbreadpodcastuk.blog/

Logo designed by cardiff based artist now accepting commissions instagram.com/arlunydd/ 

music is royalty free track i will not let you let me down by joshwoodwardfreemusicarchive.org/music/Josh_Woodward/ edited by liam Haughey under creative license 3 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/   

If you enjoyed this episode, go back and listen to past interviews like our chat with Oli from street food favourites The Brownie Bus https://breakingbreadpodcastuk.blog/breaking-bread-podcast-episode-1-the-brownie-bus/

Or our interview with head chef Mark Walsh from the amazing Pint Shop in Birmingham https://breakingbreadpodcastuk.blog/ep-3-chef-mark-walsh-pint-shop/

Breaking Bread Podcast, the podcast all about food

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#10(ish)YearChallenge Have you been to Kings Heath Lately?

The Best Places To Eat In Kings Heath

The Birmingham suburb of Kings Heath is a place with many happy memories for me, not many of them food related though. The main reason for this, is that there just wasn’t much to get excited about food wise in Kings Heath back then. Sausage, beans and chips from the greasy spoon at the back of inshops was the highlight of a long day being dragged around Woolworths, Safeway and other shops that are now long gone.

Now Kings Heath is a completely different place and there are so many seriously good places to eat, it would be tough to choose the best place to eat in Kings Heath.

One of the best places to eat in Kings Heath

It was 2014 when I first sat up and took notice of the first hint that Kings Heath would go on to be the little foodie paradise it is today. My sister phoned me to say, “have you seen that French bakery in Kings Heath & Moseley?” When I told her, I hadn’t she pointed me in the direction of an ITV Series called ‘Britain’s Best Bakery’ where a little bakery called Maison Mayci had made it all the way to the final, and I really needed to try it.

So, I did, and Maison Mayci has been a favourite of mine ever since. Great coffee, fresh pastries, several different kinds of freshly baked bread and some of the best little tartlets I’ve seen, what’s not to love? Maison Mayci’s ‘Tarte au Citron’ is sooo good I find it near impossible to walk past the charming little shop without being tempted in.

Kings Heath wasn’t the first place that came to mind when considering somewhere to get a decent hearty brunch, but with the modern and stylish Bloom, that has changed. We finally got around to trying Bloom on a cold Saturday in December, and the hot aromatic coffee and warming comfort food soon took our mind off the weather outside.

Duck Hash

The menu has a great little selection of dishes which changes regularly, ranging from the traditional fry up to the less conventional eggnog porridge. So much so that choosing what to eat became a very difficult decision, and after all the studying I eventually ordered two dishes. Crispy but succulent duck, on a bed of creamy smooth sweet potato mash topped with crispy onions and a fried egg with a yolk just waiting to erupt and perfectly finished off with a dense fragrant broth that I enjoy so much I nearly take the pattern off the plate trying to scrape up every drop of it.

Eggnog Porridge

I could quite easily have settled our tab and left a very happy fatty, but there was no way I could pass up the chance of trying eggnog porridge. Probably more a dessert than brunch, its impossible not to smile when presented with this creamy porridge with a hazelnut puree, prunes and mini gingerbread men that instantly drew jealous glances from the other diners.

Pour Over Coffee

Bloom is well known for its excellent coffee and after a few flat whites I can vouch for that. Carl who was with me opted for a coffee I’d not seen before, ‘pour over coffee’ a drink that took coffee to a whole new scientific level. It made for a lighter more delicate drink but just as delicious.

Good Food X Good Coffee is the proud headline on their website, this is way too modest. Bloom is one of the first places that comes to mind when thinking of the best places to eat in Kings Heath.

Another one of the best places to eat in kings heath

There are other places on my list to visit in Kings Heath that I haven’t got to yet. Byzantium serves Mediterranean style tapas and comes very highly recommended by some of my foodie friends. Also recommended is bar & bistro Fletchers. With home cooked food and a great selection of drinks and cocktails in a relaxed environment, Fletchers is somewhere I will be trying very soon. Fletchers is the sister venue to one of Kings Heaths favourite places Kitchen Garden Café. Kitchen Garden is a cracking little cafe serving great home cooked food, and regularly hosting pop up events and live music. They also have an amazing deli so you can take their excellent food away with you.


Fresh on the Kings Heath foodie scene, and instant favourite of mine. is the incredible The Early Bird Bakery. Created by pastry chef Tim and two business partners, The Early Bird serves delicious cakes, pastries and savouries baked in house daily, using the finest ingredients sourced locally where possible.

Another great place to get coffee in an area where we are now spoilt for choice, for great coffee. I enjoyed a cracking flat white. I strongly recommend the apple and custard brioche muffin and the lemon and lime meringue with the perfectly balanced citrus, that covers a short and delicate pastry base topped with a cloud like meringue.

Another little favourite of mine is The Rainbow Cantonese restaurant at the bottom of Kings Heath. No airs and graces just tasty Chinese food in a relaxed, friendly restaurant, just a good little neighbourhood place worth a visit if you’re in the area.

The food scene isn’t the only thing that’s changing in Kings Heath, with a couple of new openings adding to the legendary Hare & Hounds. There’s never been a better time to go drinking in Kings Heath.

One of those recent openings being The Juke, a cosy little bar on York Road offering a fantastic selection of real ales, lots of them from the expanding number of Birmingham breweries. They also have a classic style juke box, and often host food pop ups like the great folks from Indian grill Zindiya and Ramen hero’s Koba-Ko.

Another recent addition to the independent bars in Kings Heath is Hop & Scotch situated just off the high street, serving great real ale and craft beers from local and national breweries. With a bottle shop promised for early this year.

If you’re not keen on beer, and wine is more your thing, then Grace + James is for you. The bar has an ever-changing wine list that focuses on natural and organic wine and a small deli menu of olives, cheese and breads to accompany the wine. Grace+James is another fantastic addition to Kings Heath.

There’s far more food and drink related things to do and explore in Kings Heath, more than I can list here. We have done a podcast episode to accompany this, about everything we like about Kings Heath which you can listen to by clicking the play button at the top. Hopefully we’ve done enough to entice you all to visit Kings Heath and its amazing places to eat and drink, and maybe you will be more successful then I, in deciding the best place to eat in Kings Heath.

Websites

Bloom-

https://www.bloomkingsheath.com

Byzantium-

http://www.byzantiumtapas.co.uk

BlackLab=

https://black-lab.co.uk

Early Bird Bakery

https://theearlybirdbakery.co.uk

Fletchers bar & eatery

https://www.fletchersbarandeatery.co.uk

Grace + James

https://graceandjames.xyz

Hare & Hounds

http://hareandhoundskingsheath.co.uk

Hop & Scotch

https://www.hopscotchbrum.com

The Juke

https://m.facebook.com/thejukebars/

Kitchen garden Cafe

https://www.kitchengardencafe.co.uk

Maison Mayci

https://mayci.co.uk

Marmaris

https://marmarischarcoalgrill.business.site

Rainbow Cantonese

http://www.rainbowrestaurantkh.com

The Station

http://www.stationkingsheath.com

If you enjoyed this, why not check out some of our other posts.

Like our review of fine dining restaurant Purnells https://breakingbreadpodcastuk.blog/breaking-bread-review-show-purnells/

Breaking Bread Podcast Social

  http:// twitter.com/PodcastBread

http://Instagram.com/breakingbreadpodcastuk/

http:// facebook.com/breakingbreadpodcastuk 

Logo designed by cardiff based artist now accepting commissions

 instagram.com/arlunydd/ http:// instagram.com/arlunydd/

Breaking Bread Podcast, the podcast all about food

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Episode 5 Julia & Beatrice From Ju Ju’s Cafe

To listen to this episode of Breaking Bread Podcast, just press play on the player above, alternatively you can listen on your favourite podcast app, just select from the list on this link https://breakingbreadpodcastuk.blog/listen-to-our-podcast/

HELLO FOODIES, This is one of the nicest chats i’ve had since starting this podcast. Julia, Beatrice and their team welcome all who visit their restaurant Ju Ju’s Cafe as long lost relatives. That’s exactly how i felt after finishing this podcast there. 

The famous unicorn Julia bought Beatrice

It was so good to hear their story, their love and passion for what they do really shines through. A real and genuine family run restaurant serving fresh home cooked comfort food in the heart of Birmingham, Ju Ju’s is somewhere you have to visit.

Ju Ju’s Social

Twitter- http://twitter.com/JuJusCafe1

Instagram-instagram.com/jujuscafebham

Facebook- https://facebook.com/JuJusCafeBirmingham

Website- https://jujuscafe.co.uk

Breaking Bread Podcast Social

 Follow us at twitter.com/PodcastBread
Instagram.com/breakingbreadpodcastuk/
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Logo designed by cardiff based artist now accepting commissions instagram.com/arlunydd/
music is royalty free track i will not let you let me down by joshwoodwardfreemusicarchive.org/music/Josh_Woodward/
edited by liam Haughey under creative license 3 creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/  

Breaking Bread Podcast, the podcast all about food

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Breaking Bread Review Show Purnells

Nostalgia, it’s a strange thing. I’m in one of the most famous Michelin starred establishments in Birmingham. Yet the third course of our nine-course tasting menu. A dish of slow cooked mouth-watering pork belly with turnips, pickled onions and a welcome crunch coming in the way of the smoked potato crisps, has transported me back twenty(ish) years.

I’m coming home from school on a bitterly cold day to a warm dining table where I find a gigantic bowl of stew, the kind that warms deep to your core. The kind that has been cooking so long the meat softly falls apart, struggling to keep it together under the weight of the light gravy that covers it. This was slow cooking before slow cooking became a big thing.

Now I’m not comparing my mom’s cooking, to the cooking of Purnells talented brigade of chefs. I’m nostalgic not delirious. Not that my mom was a bad cook by any stretch of the imagination, just that her unfussy, simple and wholesome food which I loved and miss dearly, was a million miles apart from the refined, delicate dishes I’m sampling today.

As it goes, a sense of fun and nostalgia seem to be the two key ingredients to the magic of this great restaurant. I wouldn’t expect anything less from a restaurant created by Glyn Purnell. A chef who talks so fondly about his early years experimenting with food he cooked for his younger siblings. His fun and mischievous personality won him fans nationwide when he appeared on BBC’s Great British Menu. This was the first time that I had seen a chef on TV who made me really take notice of what top level cooking could look like, I wanted to try his food instantly.

The fun begins with the gifts from the kitchen, smoked eel filled with what I believed to be a squid ink wafer cone topped with a delicate mousse giving it the appearance of a mini ice cream cone.

 The other gifts were some super fresh mackerel on a crisp crouton with an olive tapenade that escalated the whole thing to another level.

The final treat was a delightful potato bon bon that was cleverly made to resemble a lump of coal, and if all lumps of coal tasted this incredible, I’d be praying to be on the big man’s naughty list this year.

Warm hearty home-made bread arrived with our first course, a dish I have desired since I first got Glyn’s book. Cheese and Pineapple – “Emotions of Soixante-Dix” A fun dish of salt baked pineapple covered in a warming blanket of parmesan mousse topped with frozen pineapple with two mini bread sticks to act as the tooth pick from the old buffet favourite.

‘Mushrooms on Toast’ was the title of our next course, a dish that for me was the highlight of the night. Everything on this dish the crisp toast, foie gras, runny quail egg, sweet pickled mushrooms and a deep broth all cooked perfectly and combining in harmony to create a real autumn treat.

There was a change to our menu for the next course, instead of the halibut we would be having his curried monkfish dish that was from the Great British Menu. This was a good swap. Subtly spiced meaty monkfish, topped with fermented carrot, served with some beautifully spiced fragrant curry lentils, finished perfectly with some coriander emulsion. This is a very good and clever dish that manages to take what Birmingham is famous for, curry, but turns it into something sophisticated and very worthy of a Michelin star restaurant.

‘Nice to MEAT you’ the name of our main course, a course which follows the same high standards set by the previous courses. A visually beautiful dish of roast Balmoral venison loin which is pink, and succulent absolutely cooked to perfection. The generous chunk of venison comes with a sweet butternut squash puree, some sour citrus flavours provided by blobs of orange and ponzu, and a piece of crispy nori, a Japanese seaweed which brings a brilliant interesting texture to this fantastic dish.

The first of our desserts ‘Shy babies get no sweets’ is a zingy refreshing pallet cleansing genius of a dish that matches deliciously balanced lemon balm with liquorice. Not a combination I’ve had before but one I will be having again, they go together amazingly, and I absolutely loved it.

‘Burnt English Egg Custard Surprise 10/10/10 GBM 2008’ The most iconic and famous dish on the menu, and one that I have wanted to try ever since I first seen it on the Great British Menu TV programme. A heavenly dish that has a real sense of fun, it did not disappoint. A creamy, smooth, silky custard with a vanilla gel, and burnt sugar topping inside a hollowed hens egg shell. As a bonus this was served with a caramel baked apple, topped with what tasted like a stroopwafle and a quenelle of vanilla ice cream which put together actually tasted like a great apple straddle.

The final curtain came in the form of ‘Mint Choccy Chip’. A rich chocolate and mint mousse, with a chocolate crumb topping. The dish presents a giant helping of theatrics, provided by dry ice being poured over dried mint engulfing the whole table in a menthol fog. It’s by far the best after dinner chocolate I’ve ever had.

It’s easy to take the level of service provided at restaurants such as Purnells for granted. It’s all too easy to just dismiss it with a comment such as “it’s what you would expect”, however it really does make the difference to the whole experience. Its all well and good that the food is of the highest quality but it’s the warm friendly, attentive and knowledgeable front of house team that can really make an experience memorable, and on this occasion all the people who looked after us were excellent. Everybody, lead by restaurant manager Sonal had a smile on their face, made us feel welcome, introduced every course with passion and enthusiasm, kept our glasses permanently full, and advised us on which wine to order. All small simple tasks that were consistently done all night and contributed to this being a special experience and not just a normal dinner out.

Breaking Bread Podcast, the podcast all about food

Purnell's Menu, Reviews, Photos, Location and Info - Zomato
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Asian Feast At Caneat Cafe

We all know what going out for dinner usually involves. Usually a romantic couple, or some friends, or a family sit at a table in a restaurant, and even though the restaurant may be full of diners, your focus is on your immediate company paying no attention to other diners

Not on this occasion, at Caneat café in the Birmingham suburb of Stirchley. An ‘Asian Feast’ pop up by the extremely talented chef Lap-fai Lee has brought a room full of strangers together. The whole dining room is buzzing as dish after dish brings a bigger smile to all our faces and gives us a reason to turn to the stranger on the opposite table to proclaim our love for the latest dish. The social importance of food in Asia is obvious when you look at countries like Thailand where eating alone is thought to attract bad luck, China where people regularly treat others to meals to make new friends or enhance established relationships, or even Korea where the Korean word for ‘family’ means ‘those who eat together’. I really shouldn’t be surprised by the inclusive nature of this Asian Feast.

I have admired Lap’s food for a long time on Instagram, his cookery classes at Loaf that look amazing and his legendary pop up feasts, so I jumped at the chance to join him for his latest pop up and took the other member of the Breaking Bread team Carl with me. The dining room was made up of tables of four so if you came as a pair, like us, you were put with another couple which helped add to the communal feast spirit.

The first course we were treated to some of the plumpest oysters I’ve ever seen. Topped with homemade lap cheong which is a slightly sweet Chinese sausage that is delicious, and works excellently with the oysters and the double brewed soy sauce used to dress the dish, which brings the whole thing together perfectly.

Next up is crab so fresh it could have swum to the restaurant, juicy prawns, lychee, topped with fried vermicelli, with a tiny gem of XO chilli jam wrapped in a crispy lettuce leaf.

One of my highlights of the night was up next, ‘Satay Chicken Hearts’. Chicken hearts are something I’ve never tried before, but after eating them here I have no idea why I’ve never tried them before. The satay marinade and accompanying sauce were delicious, but it was the chicken hearts themselves that really stole the show. Chicken hearts taste how I always hope chicken to taste, before being let down by the bland reality that is chicken breast. Strong and meaty the hearts stand up brilliantly to the delicately spiced satay. If the feast was to end here, I would have left a happy man.

As it turns out just when I thought Lap had peaked, a tidal wave of amazing food was about to engulf our table. For the main course we discover why the pop up was called a feast. Strong meaty monkfish tails that resemble giant white cliffs shooting out of the sea of slightly sour Assam stew, some giant deeply smoked beef cheeks relaxing in a perfectly spiced indulgent massaman curry, some freshness coming from the squid and charred aubergine salad, pickled cucumbers finished with an egg that has been marinated in a sweet master stock and served with as much white and red jasmine rice as you can manage. This is comfort food on a whole new level. The dishes all served in huge serving bowls inviting the whole table to just get stuck in and pile it high, which we all do. None of the usual tepidness that’s usually involved with sharing with strangers, Lap’s incredible style of food has ensured a family like atmosphere on the warm dining room.

To finish this delightful feast is a Matcha baked cheesecake. The Matcha is subtle and the cheesecake surprisingly light, which is a relief after the amount of food I’ve eaten. This truly was a feast and I roll out of Caneat exultant but absolutely fit to burst. I really can’t begin to imagine the amount of work that goes in to cooking a meal as great as this, I can only congratulate the chef on creating a meal where every component of every dish on every course was outstanding and the whole atmosphere, he managed to create was superb. I think the pop up is bi-monthly but keep an eye on Lap’s social media (http://instagram.com/oishinboy http://twitter.com/oishinboy and be sure to go experience this for yourself.

Breaking Bread Podcast, the podcast all about food

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Ep.3 Chef Mark Walsh Pint Shop

Welcome to the third episode of the Breaking Bread Podcast.This week we’re back with an incredible interview with head chef Mark Walsh from an excellent new Birmingham pub called Pint Shop.

Pint Shop is a welcome addition to the Birmingham pub scene with its ever-changing selection of real ales, an excellent choice of spirits,and a dining room serving a fresh seasonal menu of pub favourites cooked with a ton of care and love by a talented kitchen brigade lead by our guest today, Mark Walsh.

Marks passion and love for his profession and the food he produces shines through in this interview. I’m very grateful to mark for being so open and sharing his story, and I really do hope you enjoy listening to our chat.

Mark recomended some books in his interview. these were

Social Media

Chef Mark Walsh Twitter- http://https;//twitter.com/firstonemark

Instagram- http://instagram.com/firstonemark

Pint Shop Birmingham Twitter- http://twitter.com/PintShopBrum

Instagram- http://instagram.com/pintshopbrum

facebook- http://facebook.com/pintshopbrum

Pint Shop Twitter-http://twitter.com/PintShop

instagram-http://instagram.com/pint_shop

Facebook-http://facebook.com/meatbreadbeer

Pint Shop Website- http://pintshop.co.uk

Breaking Bread Podcast, the podcast all about food

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Nocturnal Animals

I have a quick glance around the dazzling dining room and for the fourth time during the six courses I’m wandering to myself ‘could I be booted out for licking the plate clean?’.  Such bad manners wouldn’t usually cross my mind, particularly when eating in a fine dining establishment. However, this is not like any other fine dining establishment I’ve been to. This becomes glaringly obvious right from the beginning of the Nocturnal Animals experience.

Head straight to the bottom of Bennet’s Hill towards New Street, just look for the crowd huddled with camera in hand to catch a snap of what must by now, be one of the most photographed neon illuminated restaurant frontages in the City.   Enter the warm welcome of the bar to be presented with the funky drinks menu by a knowledgeable waiter who goes on to explain the menu in depth and takes our order. This is not your traditional drinks menu as you might expect from such a unique bar.

With some help from our waiter my wife decided on a bottle of Moulin de Gassac wine.  She reliably informed this was excellent and judging by her slight ‘Bambi on ice’ walk after it was a winner!

As the sensible half of the Breaking Bread team I was thrilled to see a whole page of non-alcohol cocktails on the menu, and even more jubilant that the cocktail I chose “Ginger Spice”tasted like a proper grown up drink. Nothing like the standard excessively sweet undiluted and cordial-like non-alcohol cocktail usually served up.

After 15 minutes of sitting in awe of the fantastically outlandish bar interior whilst taking in the fun atmosphere, we were taken to our table. This was an experience in itself, down one of the most iconic of corridors I’ve seen. You would be forgiven for thinking you’ve stepped onto the set of a music video, more suited to a strut than to walk and impossible not to stop and take a photo.  A member of staff mentioned they have had a lot of people come in for a drink and demand to know where the’ corridor is.  Down a few steps and we’re into a truly wonderful dining room. I couldn’t help but feel a rumbling of excitement in anticipation of Birmingham’s newest joint.

The décor of the dining room is a must see. Dark black walls with cream, sky blue, royal blue and blood red triangle and hexagon shaped tiles cover the floor.  Yet another funky neon lit corridor leads to the restrooms which are a statement in themselves.

On to the reason we’re here –the food!  I really wanted to find faults in the six-course tasting menu, but I just couldn’t.

 My favorite part of every tasting menu I’ve eaten is the deep elation I feel when eating a dish that completely takes me by surprise.

Moments after reading the menu and thinking this next course of Duck & Foie Gras Gyoza is a dead cert to be on my least favorites list. However, I’m declaring it to be one of the best dishes I’ve ever eaten. Soft tasty moon shaped dumplings swimming in a deep, aged duck broth with crunchy cashews.

This dish hammers at all my senses like an invading army smashing at the doors of an enemy castle. It looks, smells and tastes incredible.

As soon as it is presented to me, the smell puts an instant smile on my face. It’s the accompanying broth, smoky and fragrant, like a magnet pulling me in and compelling me to eat it.The dish is served on what looks like a razor clam shell and I’m more than half tempted to pick it up and tip the remains of the broth into my mouth.

The whole meal is superb, the texture of the velvety smooth creamy chicken liver parfait, meaty monkfish in a delicate tempura with a garlic aioli, super fresh yellow fin tuna tartar with punchy wasabi and the incredible katsu quail dish. With juicy quail covered in crispy panko crumb, quail spring roll and puffed wild rice in a pool of aromatic katsu curry sauce.

To finish the meal a visually stunning dessert of rich chocolate goes amazingly well with the blobs of yuzu which are a perfect balance of both sweet and sharp and takes this dessert to a whole new level. The colored chocolate shards that match the floor add a real fun element to this dish. Its good REAL good.

There’s so much to admire about Nocturnal Animals and its two fingered attitude to what is perceived as ‘fine dining’.  It would have been far easier to go the tried & tested traditional fine dining restaurant route. Make a beautiful but bland pastel colored restaurant with non-offensive “elevator music”.

Thankfully Alex Claridge (Owner& Chef) dared to be brave and go against this.  Instead choosing to put himself out there and make a restaurant that truly reflects his personality and philosophy.  I truly believe in the vision portrayed by Nocturnal Animals. World class cooking and quality food, should be the focus of the whole experience irrelative to surroundings or décor.

The focus of the dining room is the open plan kitchen situated at the front of the room, where Alex and his team are in full flow. It has a bold statement in red neon lights above the pass declaring “Its Only Fucking Food”.

 Well it is only food, it’s not life or death but judging by the amount of love, passion and attention to detail that Alex pours into every morsel on each and every plate, combined with all of the detailed elements of his stunning new restaurant, It’s obvious to see that to Alex, it’s far more fucking important than that.

Breaking Bread Podcast, the podcast all about food

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Rowheath Christmas Market

Had the following conversation with my wife last Saturday morning:-

wife: where you going?

me: the Christmas market

wife: but you don’t even like the German market.

As always, my wife was right. I do dislike the over crowded sorry excuse of a German market.

It’s not just the sheer volume of stalls all selling the same tat, or the fact that it doesn’t really benefit any of the amazing local independent bars, coffee shops or restaurants that bothers me most. It’s the quality (or lack of) of the food available that bothers me.

So with that in mind, I visited a favourite place of mine Rowheath Pavillion to see what was on offer at their Christmas market.

A fantastic place to visit, not just for the peaceful surroundings but because there’s usually some kind of market or event that offers a friendly atmosphere and decent food.

Their Christmas market didn’t disappoint. I arrived an hour after kick off, and already there was a nice buzz about the pavilion. Friendly customers conversing with passionate stall owners creating a warm welcoming vibe.

When I decided I wanted to start a podcast and a blog, it was because i really loved talking to people about food. Local markets like this excite me as they present a great opportunity for me to get chatting to passionate local food producers.

My first stop was at the great folks from jam vs custard. A Birmingham based bakery created by local pastry chef Adam Cross. that specialise in wholesome handmade bread and yummy doughnuts. Eighteen hours of love and care went in to making the doughnuts available at the market today. Jaffa cake, chocolate custard, vanilla custard, raspberry pavlova, Apple crumble and plum crumble was the selection of doughnuts vying for my attention today and took all my willpower not to take all of them.

Bag of doughnuts in hand I moved on to the next stall, where I met the very bubbly pip (of pips hot sauce fame) Pip encouraged me to try the different sauces helpfully talking me through each one. Being a bit of a wimp when it comes to chilli heat I didn’t stray too far up the scale, but the ones i did taste were delicious. I  just HAD to buy the three award winning sauces to take home with me.With my stomach rumbling (what’s new) I decided to seek out the source of the aromatic spice smell that was lingering in the cool November air. My search brought me to the stall of hibiscus grove. Where a gentleman named Philip was freshly frying lamb samosas and chicken pakora.I took two of the pyramid shaped parcels of joy and proceeded in discovering if the taste was as good as the smell.

It was, and then some!! Perfectly spiced meat and vegetables covered in a surprisingly light delicate pastry. So good I demolished the two I’d bought and went straight back to get more. I didn’t mind waiting for a fresh batch to cook as it was great chatting to Philip and hearing all about how he quit his job in the professional world to follow a dream of cooking.

Unfortunately time got the better of me as I had somewhere to be, so i grabbed a gingerbread man for my little one from the Rowheath cafe and made my exit.

Unfortunately I was unable to get to some of the other talented producers that were at the market. Luckily most will be at Stirchley community market, at Stirchley baths on Tuesday 4th December. So I will catch them there.

Breaking Bread Podcast, the podcast all about food

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Breaking Bread Podcast Episode 1- The Brownie Bus

Hello foodies, this is the very first episode of the Breaking Bread Podcast. Our first ever guest is Oli Ashworth from the suppliers of chocolaty goodness The Brownie Bus.

The Brownie Bus is a street food business that sells the most amazing brownies all made from scratch, from a vintage Renault Estafette affectionately named Etty.

The street food scene just keeps on getting better and better, and Oli really gives us a great behind the scenes sneaky peek into one of these businesses, and an insight into the hard work that goes into them.

We had a fantastic chat which i thoroughly enjoyed, and i’m extremely grateful to Oli for his time. We recorded this podcast from the lock up where Etty is kept and Oli makes his amazing brownies. In my complete naivety i failed to realise that although it would be quite exciting to record the podcast from the brownie cave, it would not be the best for audio quality. as a result the audio has a slight echo in places and a few noises creep in. hopefully its nothing too distracting.

Be sure to catch The Brownie Bus at

  • Digbeth Dining Club 24th November
  • Lordswood Night Market 1st December
  • Ashby Gusto Festival 2nd December
  • Shrewsbury Dining Club 8th December
  • Cheese Toastie Festival Digbeth 9th December
  • Street food Social 14th December
  • Digbeth Dining Club 22nd December
  • New Years Eve Digbeth Dining Club 31st December

Follow The Brownie Bus

Logo

Our logo was hand drawn and painted by Cardiff based artist and very good friend Ellwyn Male. The artist is currently accepting commissions, you can find him at http://twitter.com/arlunydd/ http://instagram.com/arlunydd/

Listen on your favorite podcast app

Breaking Bread Podcast, the podcast all about food