Canapes of beetroot, pitta and humus, fennel salami,a selection of cut pork and parma ham.
Mackerel served with shreds of apple
Scallops with fennel, onion and caramel sauce
Marinated beetroot and Gorgonzola salad, walnut crumble, rocket and red chard
Black pudding and oxtail sausage with wild and fresh wood sorrel
Crispy prawn and vegetables, served with harissa and guacamole
Good old fashioned pork, mash, caramelised apple and apple sauce.
Chickpea Dahl with Quails Eggs
Chestnut Mont Blanc, champagne and strawberry jelly with fizzy froth and deconstructed lemon meringue
On Wednesday I was lucky enough to attend a tasting session at the
Centenary Bar and Brasserie which is located at
Birmingham’s Repertory Theatre. The Head Chef is Michelin-stared chef Paul Welburn whose credentials include the private members club at the top of the Gherkin. Along with his head chef Steve, they have devised a fantastic menu of simple, unpretentious food.
When I arrived I was whisked off to a blogger suite where I was met with canapés and champagne. The suite overlooked the bottom end of Broad Street and the new Library of Birmingham which I’ve still yet to visit. The General Manager Terry greeted us warmly and spent a lot of time getting to know us and making us feel welcome. He spent some time describing his vision for the restaurant; that it would not just be a theatre restaurant but a destination for Birmingham where everybody would love to eat, oh and lots of candles!! After a quick mingle with other bloggers it was time to go downstairs and sample the menu.
It was absolutely fantastic to have each course brought out to us by Paul or Steve who then proceeded to tell us the thought process behind each dish and the ingredients involved. My favourite dish (apart from the puddings) was the crispy prawns with roasted cucumber and guacamole. I only discovered that I loved prawns in America and now i cannot get enough of them. I’m quite please with myself as I tried lots of different foods that I have never tasted before including mackerel, quails eggs (which were the perfect consistency of runny) and oxtail.
I can’t wait to go back and sample some of these meals at full size. I think this will be a great place to people watch as there are plenty of people coming and going to the newly opened theatre and also an outdoor terrace for when summer comes back around. My boyfriend was insanely jealous, especially because of Paul’s reputation and his love of good food. They’re also going to be putting on afternoon tea and don’t forget you can just stop by for a quick coffee and a slice of cake if that’s what takes your fancy. It’s great news for Birmingham that there is another fine restaurant for people to eat out at. I’m not saying Birmingham is short of great restaurants (3 with Michelin stars) but you can never have to many right?
If you want to check out the menus you can see the Brasserie one
here and the pre-show menu
here.
♥
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push([‘_setAccount’, ‘UA-31086060-1’]);
_gaq.push([‘_trackPageview’]);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement(‘script’); ga.type = ‘text/javascript’; ga.async = true;
ga.src = (‘https:’ == document.location.protocol ? ‘https://ssl’ : ‘http://www’) + ‘.google-analytics.com/ga.js’;
var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push([‘_setAccount’, ‘UA-31086060-1’]);
_gaq.push([‘_trackPageview’]);
(function() {
var ga = document.createElement(‘script’); ga.type = ‘text/javascript’; ga.async = true;
ga.src = (‘https:’ == document.location.protocol ? ‘https://ssl’ : ‘http://www’) + ‘.google-analytics.com/ga.js’;
var s = document.getElementsByTagName(‘script’)[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();
