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Inviting friends around for dinner is a lovely thing to do, but so often it ends up being a stressful experience trying to balance the cooking; entertaining your guests; and clearing up afterwards.  What if someone else would do all the hard work for you, allowing you to concentrate on your friends rather than the practicalities?  This is what happened when La Belle Assiette arrived, in the shape of chef Jegan Bobb, to feed us for the evening.

Jegan arrived a little before my guests with some all the ingredients needed to create his dishes, so all the shopping is done for you.  The chef had done a lot of the preparation in advance, but obviously some things need to be cooked or prepared just before eating.  I was impressed by how organised Jegan was.  We’d talked on the phone, ahead of the event, to decide on a menu and agree that he would use my tableware as well as pots and pans.  Within a few minutes of arriving the kitchen was a hub of activity and dinner was soon on its way.

Most of us were having a starter of Pan Seared Scallops, Chard, Pickled Cucumber, Crushed Peas and Pancetta Crisp.  But, a few of the party wanted to avoid shellfish, so Jegan provided a mushroom-based alternative dish for them.  One of the advantages of having a private chef is having this degree of flexibility, without having to create different options yourself to cater to individual dietary requirements.  I had the scallops as they are one of my favourite foods.  They do have to be cooked correctly, as if they are overcooked they can be a bit rubbery.  I was very pleased to find that these scallops had been cooked perfectly and they were complimented by the other elements of the dish.  The peas and the pancetta worked well with the scallops and the pickled cucumber added another dimension, with the pancetta crisp providing a pleasantly salty garnish.

It was lovely not to have to clear the table between courses or dash into the kitchen to make sure that the main course was ready on time.  Instead I was able to relax and enjoy the evening in the company of my friends.  As each course was served Jegan came in and explained what we were eating.

The main course was a triumph.  Everyone loved it.  We had Confit Shoulder of Lamb, Beetroot and Potato Terrine, Cabbage Parcel, Butternut Squash Puree and Red Wine and Rosemary Jus.  Incredibly tender and melt in your mouth soft, the lamb was the star of the dish.  We all loved the beetroot and potato terrine too and the cabbage parcel added a fun creative touch.

Meanwhile in the kitchen Jegan was beavering away getting dessert ready to serve.

For dessert there was a Classic Panna Cotta, Mixed Berries Compote, Tear Drop Meringue and Buttered Shortbread Biscuits. The panna cotta had that distinctive wobble; the meringue added some sweetness and crunch; the berries were rich in flavour; and the shortbread biscuits added another texture.   As we finished off our meals Jegan was busy clearing up and at the end of the evening I had a clean kitchen with everything washed up and put away.  No need to dread the morning after clean up or spend time away from your guests sorting things out that evening.  A stress free experience!

Disclosure: I had a chef come to my house and cook for myself and my five guests.  My opinions are my own.

Sadler’s Brewing Co. has announced the launch of Brewer’s Social Harborne, the third venue in its expanding roster which includes Sadler’s Brewhouse & Bar in Lye and Sadler’s Taproom Quinton. Alongside Sadler’s award-winning ales and spirits, the all-day venue will offer collaborative and special edition brews; craft spirits and cocktails and well as a wide range of food.  From brunch and morning coffee and cake, through lunch to an exciting evening menu featuring unique slow-cooked and BBQ dishes, sourcing and provenance of ingredients will be at the heart of everything.

I was invited along to try out the new food range and sample some of Sadler’s fine beers.  The Brewer’s Social in Harborne is on the same premises as the pop-up, but a number of changes have been made to the decor, plus there’s a new kitchen and the upper floor is now open to provide extra seating.  There’s a good mixture of hard and softer surfaces which is great for comfort and means that noise levels don’t get too high.  This a place that you can while away an afternoon or an evening very comfortably.

Sadler’s offer a wide range of beers from lager, through IPAs, to the bitter and stout end of the spectrum.  There’s a wide array of choice at the lighter end of the beer range. But there’s less to choose from at the darker end of the continuum.  I’m a bitter drinker and the most obvious choice for me was the Worcester Sorcerer, which is a very decent pint indeed.  I really hope Sadler’s will expand this part of the range in time, as they clearly know how to make a good quality beer.  It’s not just about the beer though as they offer a wide selection of other drinks, both alcoholic and non-alcoholic.  There’s a wide range of wines on offer as well as Sadler’s own range of spirits including their Peaky Blinder Gin.

I had the Grilled Lamb & Sweet potato as my main course.  It’s pictured above at the bottom right. It’s a chargrilled lamb leg steak, with sweet potato wedges, tenderstem broccoli and cumin aioli.  You need to be hungry for this as there’s a lot of meat to eat, but it was very tender and it almost melted in the mouth.  I loved that the quality of the ingredients stood out and that they were well prepared, well cooked and well presented.

My guest for the evening had the brunch which would be a real treat for a lazy weekend.  The poached egg was perfectly cooked and satisfyingly runny inside.  Again it’s a very generous portion and it would certainly fill you up.

Sadler’s Brewing Co. managing director, Chris Sadler, said: “We want the ‘social’ part of the name to really mean something and for Brewer’s Social to appeal to everyone, with special community events, brewing collaborations and fundraising for local charities.

“Following the success of the Harborne Pop-Up, the logical next step was to install a kitchen and expand the offering; we’re really excited about this new chapter – with lots more in the pipeline.”

For more information on Sadler’s venues:  https://www.sadlersbars.co.uk/

I bought a Groupon deal for Marco Pierre White’s Steakhouse Bar and Grill, BirminghamMarco Pierre White’s Steakhouse Bar and Grill, Birmingham and I’d recommend looking for a deal as they often seem to have them.  It’s a more limited menu, but still a good selection and it proved to be good value.  It’s a great way of getting a bit of a treat without having to spend too much money.  I was booking a table at quite short notice (the day before) so I didn’t want to buy a voucher from Groupon until I’d got my table confirmed, but the restaurant like to have the voucher codes before you arrive.  This meant I had to contact them twice about the booking which I could have done without.  I struggled to get through on the phone the second time and sent an email instead.  Then it turned out that I hadn’t sent both codes (it wasn’t clear), so they didn’t get the second till I arrived.  I did hand over my Groupon voucher on arrival though so they could check before we were served if they wished to.

Marco Pierre White’s Steakhouse Bar and Grill, Birmingham has amazing views over the city, in fact I don’t think there is another restaurant in the whole of the city that can boast views as good as this one.  We were seated one table in from the windows which was slightly disappointing, but we did book late on and the restaurant was quite busy as it was the tail end of Sunday lunch.  You can still see the view reasonably well and we both had views out of the window due to the positioning of the chairs.  I’ve been before and sat right by the window, but found that one of us had our back to the view, so there are some advantages to being sat a little further in.

As we were there on a Sunday we had the Sunday Lunch set menu.  There’s a reasonable amount of choice on this as long as you don’t have dietary requirements or aren’t too hard to please.  There were 4 starters, 5 main courses and 3 desserts to choose from and we had no problem picking out a dish or two in each course.  I had the Crispy Devilled Whitebait With Homemade Tartare Sauce.  Whitebait is a bit of a menu favourite for me and I enjoyed these.  They are simply done, but the homemade tartare sauce complemented them perfectly.

My companion had the Ham Hock Terrine with Sourdough bread and piccalilli .  Again this went down very well, but there wasn’t really enough bread for the terrine. It’s quite a common mistake I find to have the proportions of bread/toast and terrine/pâté wrong and it would have been a nice touch if they’d offered to bring more bread when they served it.

My fellow diner had 28 Day Aged Scottish Roast Striploin Beef with Roast potatoes, seasonal vegetables and Yorkshire pudding served with gravy.  As you’d expect the beef was very flavoursome and tender.  I chose the Classic Chicken Kiev with Pommes frites, roast vine tomato and garden peas.  It did take the humble chicken kiev and elevate it to another level.  Very moist and full of flavour, it’s a dish I’d very happily order again.

For dessert we went for the Brownie and the Ice Cream.  The ice cream was delicious and of good quality and the brownie was delicious too.  Neither of the puddings really stood out as innovative, but they were of a good standard.

We had cocktails included with our meal and they were very refreshing – you can choose from a limited range again.  We had the Mojito and the Daiquiri.  We also ordered drinks – expect to pay over £5 for a bottle of beer. On the bill at the end we were charged for these extra drinks and a 10% service charge which didn’t seem to be voluntary.  As we paid the service charge we didn’t leave a tip on top.

I fancied trying out something a bit different and Rodízio Rico with its Brazilian offering seemed like just the thing, so I popped along to try the food and experience the restaurant as it’s been somewhere I’ve been thinking of going for some time.  Rodízio Rico has a fun concept: there’s a buffet with salads, side dishes and even full blown meals.  You can go help yourself as many times as you like and they keep refilling it.  You get given a disk for each person at the table.  On one side it’s red and the other green.  When you have the red side up you don’t want any more or just want a bit of a break, but when it’s green you get offered meat by the servers who move around the restaurant.  They bring out a range of meat on skewers and you can try as many as you have room for.

As we arrived we were asked if we had a voucher or a code and there are often Groupon deals or similar for this restaurant, so it’s worth checking in advance. We were seated and given the drinks menu.  I asked for a pint of Bass which I was encouraged to see on the menu, but it seems that they didn’t have this on and didn’t have a suitable alternative either really.  I had to have Guinness instead which isn’t really the same at all, so that was disappointing.

The buffet was well presented with a wide range of dishes from simple bread rolls, vegetables and salad ingredients to more complex salads, side dishes and even complete meal like lasagne.  You can eat very well off just the buffet to be honest, although its the meat that is the star of the show and certainly what you are paying for and expecting.  The buffet was well kept (it looked fresh and appetizing) and kept refilled.

After we had our buffet salads and accompaniments, we started to get approached by the waiters with their large skewers of meat.  They carve it at the table and serve it straight to your waiting plate. I really enjoyed the meats especially the beef steaks and cuts.  I was less keen on the sausages and felt that the chicken could have done with a little in the way of flavouring.  There was plenty to go round and we had no problem at all getting enough to eat.  The dinner menu has more expensive cuts of meat and more variety, but is more expensive than the lunchtime deal.

It’s a fun place to eat and there are good views over the canal if you are lucky enough to get a window seat (in fact I would ask for a window seat if you book in advance).  There’s so much choice there should be something to suit all meat eaters and vegetarians can have most of the buffet food and pay a reduced price (not sure I’d be that keen on coming though as a vegetarian because the meat is very much the centrepiece).