This was the second year of The Great Brummie Menu, held at the Birmingham School of Food, part of University College of Birmingham, which was a charity event on behalf of the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. I had been unable to attend the first event but was delighted to go this year’s which featured Liam Dillon of The Boat in Lichfield, Luke Tipping of Simpsons, Jonathan Howe of Lumière in Cheltenham, Glynn Purnell of The Mount in Henley in Arden and Darryl Collins, pâtissier at Resorts World at the National Exhibition Centre who had previously worked at the Lygon Arms in Broadway among other locations. The event was attended by about 90 diners and preced by a sparkling wine reception with some decent canopés.
Liam Dillon was the first chef to present his work to the diners and it took the form of some passable Isle of Wight heritage tomatoes served nicely with an unaggressive goats cheese, herbs from the garden of The Boat and, most delicious of all, some very toothsome smoked eel. A good start though heritage tomatoes served nicely dishes are a great risk unless every presented tomato is packed with flavour.
Luke Tipping served up a remarkable scallop dish - a variant on the numerous scallop dishes I have enjoyed at Simpsons over the years. The plump and well cooked scallop was served with the mild bitterness of chicory, the invigorating thrill of lemon, the savouriness of sauce épicée and sesame. A very fine dish, the best course of the whole meal.
In contrast, I am sad to write that the main, a particularly small piece of nicely cooked Creedy Carver duck (though I can see that some might have felt it was somewhat over) served with a terribly soggily coated bonbon of dry and almost inedible duck meat (how lovely it might have been with a nice crispy coat on the bonbon) along with Cheltenham beetroot about which it was difficult to build up any enthusiasm and various purées, one of which was said to be fennel but which I found difficult to identify. I don’t think Jonathan Howe was having the best of days. Next came Glynn Purnell’s ‘10-10-10 Egg surprise’ alongside its ideal companion - strawberries and tarragon including a lovely strawberry ice cream. Purnell, I felt, had not lost his touch.
Finally from Darryl Collins a chocolate dessert which is best described as “safe” though nicely done.
To close, five different mignardises including a macaron, a well made pate de fruits, a cracknel, a truffle and a Turkish delight. Each petit four was thoroughly enjoyable and the same could be said for the accompanying wines which were donated by Arch 13 Wine Bar.
This was a happy evening held for a good cause with the guest chefs donating their precious time and energy. Matt Davies played a large part in making the event occur. He had been cmployed as Andreas Antona’s first apprentice at Simpsons after it had moved to Edgbaston. He eventually became Executive Chef for the Lewis Partnership in Staffordshire which included the Moat House at Acton Trussell where unfortunately in 2018 he was seriously injured in an electrical accident necessitating long running treatment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. He was now the Vice President of the British Culinary Federation. The Great Brummie Menu was a way for him to thank the hospital for the treatment he had received there and a sum of £17,000 was raised during the evening to support the Queen Elizabeth.
I was saddened by a note on the back page of the menu which stated, “In loving memory of Wayne Thomson 22/09/1971 - 12/04/2025”. I had dined very happily a number of times at Wayne Thomson’s excellent Michelin-listed No. 9 Church Street in Stratford upon Avon. He was a hard working man who cooked extremely enjoyable dishes and his small restaurant was a charming delight. It was a sad event when the restaurant failed to reopen after the COVID-19 lockdowns though Wayne continued to work in the catering industry. Ars longa vita brevis.
Finally, for the record - the first Great Brummie Menu was held at the School of Food on 21 May 2024 with the guest chefs being Luke Tipping, Adam Bennett of The Cross in Kenilworth, Jonathan Howe, Thom Bateman of the Flintlock at Cheddleton in Staffordshire and Louisa Ellis.
