564. GULP The Reading Table.

 

 Kaye Winwood is a remarkable figure on the Birmingham food scene and her Jewellery Quarter-based  business GULP equally is a remarkable enterprise in this neck of the woods. I reported my first visit to GULP in April 2023 (Blog 308) and time has hastened on since then and I have dined at Kaye’s establishment several times since then. One of the regular events Kaye has established more recently is her Reading table where guests come along and share, if they wish, a themed piece of literature of their choosing and meanwhile have a good nosh. The day of the latest event was the fifth anniversary of the founding of GULP and the reading table event was doubling as a celebration of the notable anniversary and so, quite logically, Kaye had chosen the subject of ‘Parties’ as the theme for the evening. 

  It was fun to join the other diners, only one of whom was known to me, around Kaye's table, laden as it was with numerous hors d’oeuvres which, as our hostess pointed out, were very much piscaterian in nature, and none the worse for that, including as it did beluga caviar-laden crisps, some very fine olives, sweet and tangy pickles, and toothsome candied fruit which, by the look of it, conjured up an expectation of smoked trout or salmon (a bit of a trompe la langue there). As we nibbled, we read our five easy pieces.

  I had given it some thought and after deciding not to read the Bible’s account of Belshazzar’s Feast or its description of the wedding at Cana where Christ turned water into wine or even The Last Supper, all of which may have been too portentous, I was inspired to read the piece on Mr Fezziwig’s ball in Dicken’s A Christmas Carol which, it seemed to me, was just about the most influential party in literature history given that it set the pattern for Christmas parties right up until today.

  Unfortunately, or perhaps, fortunately,  Fezziwig’s Christmas efforts went unremarked upon as I chose, at the last minute, to read instead an altogether lighthearted piece I had suddenly thought of on the tram from New Street station to the Jewellery Quarter. The lyrics from Jona Lewie’s You’ll always find me in the kitchen at parties went down a storm and everyone joined in the repeating choruses  and thunderous applause followed the final stanza where Lewie finally found himself out of the kitchen and happy with his new girlfriend.

  The Hors d’oeuvres were followed by a resoundingly good and satisfying meal centred on a large and perfectly cooked baked salmon with some delightful accompaniments.For dessert there was a fabulous table full of a meringue fantasia, breathtaking to see and naughtily delicious to eat. 

  Well done to Kaye Winwood on setting up the unique GULP and happy birthday. I am soon to return to GULP for an Italian Futurists evening with some friends which Kaye is curating. Can’t wait!

10 September 2026

Rating:- 🌞

560. Folium.

 

   Ben Tesh’s Folium remains at the top of my list of my favourite Birmingham and West Midlands restaurants. It remains as comfortable as it ever was, Lucy Hanson remains as perfect in front of house as ever and Ben Tesh continues to serve very fine dishes, meticulously prepared from very fine, seasonal ingredients. For a Friday night dinner, I was pleased to find the restaurant busy and Ben busy in the kitchen working with an accompanying chef while Lucy had front of house support from young waiters who were able to give a good description of each dish brought out as part of the August tasting menu. Let’s waste no time - here there was the signature chicken liver parfait imported from Elysium and served in the familiar crispy, intensely onion flavoured tube; there there was a little crab and brown butter tart - the flavour of crab coming through nicely and injecting some pleasure into life and of course there was Ben Tesh’s magnificent sourdough loaf with his cultured butter, the bread crust so crispy, the interior so soft and fresh and tasty.

  And so to the main dishes - noodles made from Tesh’s signature biodynamic grains in a lovely broth full of umami derived from shitake mushrooms. Then came slow cooked St Ewe’s egg (which for me was the yolk only as I can not bear egg white) coupled with crispy summer brassicas which was exquisite in many ways. The St Ewe’s eggs originate from a Cornwall family business wbich works with farms in Devon, Wales and Northern Ireland and which produces eggs with intensely yellow yolks.

  Then the fish course which brought delightful smoked trout to the table, the richness of the fish balanced by preserved Isle Of Wight tomatoes. Next was beautifully cooked Staffordshire lamb, bringing the true gentle flavour of quality lamb meat and nicely paired with the familiar sweetened chicory which Ben Tesh likes to serve always successfully with these gorgeous meats. The dish was of course finished off with a fine, silky lamb sauce.

  All too soon, the savoury courses were giving way to the desserts - first a clever intermediate dish using beetroot and seasonal plums which was nice as plum crops have not been good this year and then a piece of light, pleasing flaky pastry with apple and the nutty and vanilla flavour of woodruff. Two enjoyable mignardises rounded off the meal and I and my dining companions departed happy with the thought that we had dined well on very fine food created by a very talented, hard working and accomplished chef. Let us hope that Ben and Lucy get their rewards in the pages of the Michelin Guide.

28 August 2026.

Rating:- 🌞🌞🌞

  For lunch, wishing to eat something tasty but light given that I was visiting Folium for dinner that evening, I took the short walk down Church Street from the Grand Hotel, where Lucy the Labrador and I were staying, to Tiger Bites Pig, and enjoyed a pleasingly moderately spicy roasted Suchuan lamb served on a soft, billowing bao, the meat happily accompanied by slices of pretty scarlet coloured chilli peppers, the whole cooled by soothing cucumber and enlivened by rich, nutty sesame. It’s always a pleasure to visit Tiger Bites Pig and be momentarily whisked away to Taiwan by TBP’s delicious food.

28 August 2026

Rating:- 🌛🌛🌛.

  During my dinner at Folium I was delighted to bump into Sonal Clare, formerly Maître d’hotel at Purnell’s and The Wilderness, who was there with his partner, Laura Kimber, formerly Head Chef at Salt in Stratford-upon-Avon (personally I thought the food served there was never better than when Laura was in charge of the kitchen). Sonal was kind enough to treat me and my companions to a lovely glass of wine and I was able to ask Laura about what she is doing now that Salt is closed. I was delighted to hear that Laura is to open at the beginning of November, her very own restaurant, The Lloyd, in the Shropshire town of Shifnal. I am sure it will be absolutely marvellous and I’m very much looking forward to dining there as autumn quickly marches into winter.

561. Sæl Opens At Last.

 

  It doesn’t seem to me that anyone has really put two and two together and come up with the four that recognises that Birmingham’s Jewellery Quarter is really the place for food dudes to hang out, to use what is now probably prehistoric terminology though the term ‘food dude’ is brand new because I just came up with it.

 ‘JQ food dudes’ have within walking distance two Michelin-starred Opheem, one Michelin-starred The Wilderness, Michelin-listed Albatross Death Cult, Michelin-listed Folium, Kaye Winwood’s unique GULP, Vieni, Txiketio, and now Jonny Mills has finally opened his 8 cover restaurant, Sæl, much anticipated by local food dudes, in the Goodsyard after many delays. Food dudes, generally older than you might expect in this cool inner city suburb, have been flooding there as the restaurant breathes its first breaths; even Stu Deeley, Head Chef of The Warwick at Mallory Court was there the other day as he so reported on Instagram. 

  So, it seems that the two plus two of the question, “Where is the dining out capital of the West Midlands region?” arrives at the correct answer of four in the form not of Lichfield nor Cheltenham nor Malvern nor Ludlow but The Jewellery Quarter, which for food at least seems to be to Birmingham what The Vatican City is to Rome. 

  Having occasionally hung out with some of the old food dudes over the past couple of years or so, usually as a result of coincidental encounters, I was alerted to the intense interest they were experiencing in anticipating the opening of Sæl and of the delays Jonny Mills was suffering in getting his 8 seater restaurant opened to the public. Over the passing months, I have dined at two or three of the pop ups Mills has staged in venues in Stirchley and noted that he has acquired an elite food dude fandom (some of whom had made donations to a crowd funding effort to fund the new restaurant) who are enraptured by his cooking. Mills finally achieved his goal of creating his own food in his very own dining establishment when Sæl opened its doors to diners on 12 August 2026. Naturally it was necessary to go to the Birmingham Vatican at an early stage and see, from the diners’ points of view, if the wait had been worthwhile. And so it came to pass.

Jonny Mills at one of his pop ups in Stirchley

  Though I have visited The Goodsyard, the large complex nextdoor to the Jewellery Quarter railway station, a number of times, it took me some time to decide where precisely Sæl is located and I discovered an area of the Goodsyard of which I had previously been unaware. Most of the units surrounding it were empty and awaiting someone to open a business in them. I felt I would not like to be there on a wet, cold, dark night. However, there was some solace, the cocktail and wine bar, Passing Fancies, was already open around the corner from Sæl and made the area a little more welcoming with some of its customers sitting outside in the pleasant late summer evening air.

  Arriving early before any of the other diners, I was seated very comfortably at the smart counter along which were spaced 8 stools and greeted warmly by Asher Beardsmore who works with Jonny Mills in the role of sommelier/mixologist having previously gained experience at Couch in Stirchley as well as Opheem and Tropea - a fine local curriculum vitae. Asher asked about the current well-being of Lucy the Labrador who, I was pleased to inform him, was in good health and served me a glass of sparkling wine which was apt given that this was the restaurant’s first evening of service following the short soft opening last week. The atmosphere was soon brought to life when, to my surprise, a couple of my old friends crossed the threshold to take their places and all seemed set with a fair wind for a fine evening which, as it turns out, is precisely what we all experienced.

  The first item to be served was a tasty beetroot croustade with crème fraiche and a ‘hot sauce’, the hot meaning spicy rather than having a raised temperature. This started the ball rolling and was followed up by one of Jonny Mills’ signature miniature scones made from JQ flour (no, as Mills pointed out, JQ does not stand for ‘Jewellery Quarter’), nicely textured and served with his own, delicious cultured butter made from Grovewood Farm cream (the farm is just a short distance from where I live) and a lovely whipped chicken liver and smoked mushroom parfait.

  Then on to a remarkable dish which used sweet leeks in aerated Hollandaise and roasted Maris Piper and Charlotte potatoes to create a green hill top rising above a snowy field and walnut chutney to add flavour. Then a brilliant thinly spiced scallop ceviche - gorgeous, as wonderful a scallop dish as one may wish to be served - delightfully textured with hazelnut.

  Next a fabulous dish of exquisite cured trout with the spicy, gingery hit of magnolia which also brought cardomon with it and the full flavour of tomato. And so to the main - supremely well-cooked, gorgeously tender and flavoursome lamb matched with alliums and elderflower.

  Dessert was alive with novelty with an artichoke-flavoured crème brûlée with the discernible taste of tonka - very clever - and finally a dessert using very pleasingly, a fruit I have not seen all summer - the welcome sight (and taste) of gooseberry with a yoghurt and the honeyed vanillaness of meadowsweet. Quite, quite gorgeous.

  So very, very good was my experience at Sæl that I returned the following week while it was still possible to get a reservation there and ate the same dishes and enjoyed them just as much as on my first visit. It may have taken a long time and Sæl’s eventual arrival had involved a lot of patience and anguish for Jonny Mills, but he has established Sæl as one of the very best restaurants in Birmingham in just a matter of days. Clever, original and delicious British/European fine food remains out there for us all to enjoy even if some of the old masters have moved on although happily, great young chefs like Jonny Mills are stepping up to take up the baton of fine dining here in Birmingham and the West Midlands.

20 August and 27 August 2026

Rating:- 🌞🌞🌞.