Marco Pierre White's Restaurant Birmingham (c) 2011/12 ETM

The New York Times today declared Birmingham UK to be the 19th most desirable places to visit ‘in the Universe’ - beating outer space! (at number 20) - largely down to Birmingham’s food pedigree, as highlighted in Olive Magazine in 2011, as Britain’s food capital. It also highlighted some of our top chefs including Akar Islam, Andreas and Luke of Simpsons Restaurant, Richard Turner of Turners Restaurant, Steve Love and Andy Waters of Edmunds Restaurant - well done all. With the recent additions of Marco Pierre White, and Jamie Oliver, the city and region are set to grow throughout 2012. The extract from the new York Times Below…Need we say more!

19. Birmingham, England
Could England’s second city be first in food?

Olive, the BBC’s food magazine, recently startled British gourmands when it declared Birmingham, England’s second largest city, the United Kingdom’s “foodiest town,” ahead of London and Edinburgh. The award came last October, just as Birmingham was hosting an annual festival, the 10-day Birmingham Food Fest, which featured such local talents as Aktar Islam of Lasan Restaurant; up-and-comers like David Colcombe of Opus, Andy Waters of Edmunds Restaurant and Steve Love of Loves Restaurant; and a troika of Michelin-starred chefs: Glynn Purnell of Purnell’s; Andreas Antona, Luke Tipping and Adam Bennett of Simpsons Restaurant; and Richard Turner of Turners of Harborne.

The chefs are building on an already rich dining scene. Birmingham is famous in Britain for its Balti Triangle, an area of town that is home to a beloved Pakistani-Kashmiri curry dish invented here; it is also birthplace to such classically British food items as Typhoo Tea, Bird’s Custard and HP Sauce.” Read the full article in the York Times by ALEXANDER LOBRANO

The Chair People

Miss Julie Rawlings – wholesale sales manager and Order processing
Miss Samantha Antonic – Domestic sales manager
Karl Owen – Contract sales manager

Shropshire based Bespoke Seating Supplier Supplies Closer to ‘Home’

2012 looks to be an exciting year for Successful National supplier to many of the UK’s finest Hotels and Restaurants has recently expanded into the domestic market, due to demand from diners.
Telford based ‘The Chair People’ who supply bespoke seating throughout the UK, this month launched their new @home service – creating the opportunity for home diners to generate their own creations from any fabric, and apply it to any style of chair – for either dining or relaxation, from their thousands of styles and fabrics. “It’s as easy as one two three”, comments Director Karl Owen, “we have been supplying bespoke pieces to the hospitality industry since 2004, and therefore have to create quality long lasting furniture,  as obviously businesses such as restaurants and hotels experience high usage of their furniture, but increasingly we were being approached by diners, who had enquired in their favourite restaurant or hotel where certain items were supplied from, and who wanted something similar in their own home.”  Karl continues “With the trend of more home dining as peoples budgets are being squeezed, they now prefer to invest the money in quality furniture that will last them a long time, and to save money by entertaining friends at home”.
The Chair People have created a dedicated area on their extensive website for potential domestic customers to brows fabrics, colours and chair styles to create their own and order on line, or if they prefer a more personal touch, they can visit the showroom on Halesfield in Telford, where Karl’s  domestic team, headed up by Samantha Antonic (pictured with Karl) can talk them through all the options, and bespoke any item for them, in a very easy process. Sales executive Samantha Antonic (pictured) comments “We have offered a very simple process for busy restaurateurs and hoteliers to use, when choosing their preferred styles, and fabrics, so we thought it sensible for the same tried and tested system to be adopted for our domestic customers – they can even bring in their own fabric, and if available, we can match it to suit any chair style”
Delivery within the month! Certain styles can even be manufactured from order to delivery within four weeks “sometimes customers want a particular chair for a restaurant or hotel opening, and often leave it to the last minute, so we can supply many items within four weeks” Karl comments “I am sure our home customers will be planning parties and events at short notice and will want to benefit from the same rapid service, we will have to see”
More information on the Chair People: visit their NEW website: www.thechairpeople.co.uk

The Chair People's New Showroom

Phill shares his knowledge with some of his favourite cocktails, including the Elderflower Martini, classic Cosmopolitan, and his unique Peepo Belini, great for any party and New Years Eve celebrations. More Cocktail Mixing Videos and tips Here