BRIGHTON & HOVE FOOD AND DRINK FESTIVAL

Wednesday 1 September till Thursday 7 October 2010

Yes ladies and gentlemen – it’s that time of year again, and I, for one, can hardly wait.
The reason for my unbridled excitement is not only is it the start of the Food and Drink Festival, but the 1st of September signals the return of the glorious West Mersea and Loch Ryan Native Oysters.

To help you celebrate, just get the voucher out of any of the ‘Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival’ promotional magazines which will entitle you to a free glass of Muscadet Sevre & Maine sur lie when ordering six native oysters (terms and conditions apply).

If that wasn’t enough to tempt you we have a new two course menu for £14.95 – details will be on our website in due course.

Look forward to seeing you soon.

Ta
a

Interesting Facts About Oysters

Well now – after the overwhelming response to my previous post ‘Those delightful bubbles’ I have decided that this is obviously a recipe that works and so follows another article of mildly interesting information diligently plagiarized from the internet.

1. Oysters were cultivated long before the Christian era and have been an important food since the Neolithic period. The Chinese were the first to raise oysters in artificial ponds. They used the crushed shells for medicinal purpose.
2. Apparently nearly two billion pounds of Oysters are eaten every year – not all at English’s but mostly

3. If you have ever wondered (as I’m sure you have) how to tell a male Oysters from their female friends (please insert any number of sexist joke here) … oysters have the ability to change their sexes, which they do, at least once

4. To any of those skeptics out there: they might not look it – but they’re good for you as they contain a whole raft of Vitamins, including C, D, B1, B1, B2 and B3 and if you eat just four medium-size oysters every day, you'll get the recommended daily allowances of calcium, copper, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, phosphorus and zinc – your next visit can be for medicinal purposes!!

5. The ancient Romans prized oysters for being aphrodisiacs. The 18th-century lover Casanova, in particular, is said to have eaten fifty oysters for breakfast every morning to make him virile – so maybe we don’t need medicinal purposes as our excuse!!!

Please remember (shouldn’t think it too difficult to forget) – I am no expert. The information in my blog updates are gathered from the internet but not researched (I feel I takes away some of the fun!!) – so don’t quote me – though in fairness you’ll probably be quoting someone ells!!

Ta
a

Those delightful bubbles

I thought it would be interesting to talk a little about Champagne, but then decided it would be far more interesting to see what other, more interesting people, had to say on the topic. Without too much trouble on my side I came up with the following quotes – (but don’t quote me!)

No government could survive without champagne. Champagne in the throats of our diplomatic people is like oil in the wheels of an engine. ~ Joseph Dargent

I drink champagne when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I'm not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it - unless I'm thirsty. ~ Madame Lilly Bollinger

Come quickly, I am tasting the stars! ~ Dom Perignon, at the moment he discovered champagne

Champagne and orange juice is a great drink. The orange improves the champagne. The champagne definitely improves the orange. ~ Philip, Duke of Edinburgh

Some people wanted champagne and caviar when they should have had beer and hot dogs. ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower

A single glass of champagne imparts a feeling of exhilaration. The nerves are braced, the imagination is agreeably stirred; the wits become more nimble. A bottle produces the contrary effect. Excess causes a comatose insensibility. So it is with war: and the quality of both is best discovered by sipping. ~ Winston Churchill

Remember gentlemen, it's not just France we are fighting for, it's Champagne! ~ Winston Churchill, WWI

No government could survive without champagne. Champagne in the throats of our diplomatic people is like oil in the wheels of an engine. ~ Joseph Dargent

To sea and be scene

As I’m sure you are all aware, over the years we have had many famous guests dining at our restaurant, including Joan Collins, Lauren Bacall, Sir Ian McKellen etc. etc (for a more complete list of names, or if you feel your name should be mentioned in this update, please feel free to leave a comment).

I just thought I’d take a minute to update you on the most recent glitterati to have graced us with their presence. I had the pleasure today of serving Nicholas Parsons OBE, and it certainly was our pleasure. Other recent notable names include Lord Alan Sugar who recently lunched with us, taking advantage of the outside seating area (having voiced my concerns about the lack of any recent additions to our autograph collection, I felt compelled to ask Sir Alan Sugar for his autograph – not quite the task to be entrusted to a novice autograph hunter like myself. Needles to say it was a disaster, I was so embarrassed and groveling that I could not quite finish asking him and proceeded to shove a menu cover and a pen in his direction hoping he would get the message – he did and was quite gracious about it. Of course the pen did not work, at which point it was all I could do to stop myself from uttering the question – ‘am I fired?’)

And last, but certainly not least, we recently enjoyed the company of David Walliams and friends – from what I understand a charming and good humored guest (whilst I would have liked to have been here at the time I am quite pleased not to have had to ask him for an autographed photo – however – in the likely event that you are reading this – please could you [or your PA] send us an autographed photo? We would be ever so grateful).

Please stay tuned for another thrilling update of ‘To sea and be scene’ on its way in due course.

a

Our new Spring Two Course Menu

Our new Head Chef, Gavin, has designed this spring two course menu taking inspiration from local ingredients to produce light spring fare to please any pallet

To Start

Caesar salad with white anchovies

or

Confit of salmon risotto with mascarpone, fennel and almonds

or

Salt cod fritters with sour cream, chilli and lemon

Main Courses

Roasted Scottish mackerel, rice pilaf, pickled vegetable salad

or

Pan-fried local skate wing with asparagus, salami and lentil vinaigrette

or

Local lemon sole in fresh breadcrumbs, radish salad, English’s dill mayonnaise

£14.95 for two courses

Time is running out!!!!!!!

As you may or may not know – the season for native oysters is coming to an end – the end of April sees the last of our beloved native oysters neatly nestled in crushed ice, till early September – so don’t say you were not warned!

Book a table now to avoid disappointment.

Tel: 01273 327980/328645
Email: book@englishs.co.uk

Some good news though – the rock oysters are available all year round so we'll have something to tide you over till September.

See you soon
a

The sun is out

Yes, Ladies & Gentlemen – it seems, after far to long, that summer is finally on it’s way, and with that in mind all our outside furniture is out and ready. We also have out door heating just to take the edge off.

Take advantage of the live music on the square and soak up the laid back ambiance that is typically Brighton.