Kings Old Ale wins national award

Horsham-based brewery WJ King today won the Silver Medal at the National Winter Ales Festival in Manchester for its Kings Old Ale, in the old ales and strong milds category.

Head Brewer Ian Burgess, who joined the WJ King team less than a year ago, leaving Harveys of Lewes where he brewed for 19 years, created this beer, which won the Champion Beer of Britain, London and South East Regional Beer in March 2010, taking it through to the national awards this week.

Said Ian Burgess: ‘After 30 years of brewing, this is my first ‘individual’ award and it is a tremendous honour and achievement after only 6 months of taking on my very own brew house. I accept this award as part of an amazing team surrounding me and I hope together we will have more awards to come and enjoy seeing customers across the South East of England enjoying WJ King’s traditional hand crafted ales.’

“Kings Old Ale is a multiple award winning dark brown Old Ale with an intense dry, coffee and slightly smoky aroma. There is a delicious and satisfying mouthfeel of silky viscosity before the taste of coffee and molasses covers your tastebuds. The aftertaste of liquorice from the malt and slight spice from the relatively light use of hops complements the preceding flavours very well and forms the perfect end to this beautiful beer.

Nigel Lambe, Chief Executive of WJ King, who together with Head Brewer Ian Burgess, bought the brewery in June last year, said: “We are excited to be winning awards so soon after taking on the brewery. Ian is a true master of brewing, so we are really lucky to be working with him and plan to bring out many more innovative and popular beers, like our Brighton Best, Horsham Best and Red River.”

With a 200 year tradition of brewing some of the most respected and enjoyed Sussex ales, WJ King has evolved into a new style of micro brewery, using only the finest natural and local ingredients and traditional brewing techniques to produce the finest quality local ales.

The brewery recently opened a Brewery shop at its Horsham address in Foundry Lane, selling a range of beers from single bottles up to 70 pint casks. It is open 9am-5pm on weekdays and 10 – 2 on Saturday, and their beers can also be bought online at www.kingbeer.co.uk.

Sussex Young Chef of the Year finalists announced

Six talented young chefs from across the county fought it out in the hotly contended Sussex Young Chef of the Year ‘cook off’, sponsored by Blue Spark Organisation, as part of the Sussex Food & Drink Awards 2010/11.

The six shortlisted chefs were selected by public vote and faced enormous pressure this year having to produce a full three-course menu, based on local and seasonal ingredients, as opposed to the one course in previous years.

The cook off was hosted by City College Brighton & Hove and the young chefs faced a nail biting wait before having to perform against the clock, producing each dish under the watchful eyes of the expert judging panel chaired by Clive Beddall OBE, Chairman of the Sussex Food & Drink Awards.

After much deliberation from the judging panel, organisers are delighted to announce the top three going through to the final are two young chefs from South Lodge Hotel in Horsham, 24-year-old Steven Edwards, Sous Chef for the main hotel and 23-year-old Hanna Payne from The Pass Restaurant; and joining them is the youngest candidate this year, 20-year-old Simon Duncan from Sam’s of Brighton.

Dhrutee Davé, Director of Haywards Heath based food recruitment agency, Blue Spark Organisation, said: “It has been a fantastic experience to be sponsors of this very popular category this year. The six candidates truly proved themselves in a very intense cook off and all were worthy of a place in the final – it was an extremely difficult decision for the judges to choose the top three as all the dishes were outstanding, but Simon, Hanna and Steven were exceptional and their dishes were truly delicious.”

Said Clive Beddall OBE, Chairman of the Judges: “This year the quality was the best we have ever had – the young chefs were calm and extremely professional and the food was unbelievably good. I’m very excited about the future of food in Sussex with these young chefs making their mark here. We want the three who didn’t make it through this year to please come back again next year as they were excellent and picking the three finalists was a very hard decision.”

Runners up, Will Stanyer from Hotel Du Vin, Brighton; Daniel Whittle from Temptation café, Brighton and Bradley Jordan from Restaurant Tristan, Horsham fought a close battle against the other three finalists. Steven, Simon and Hanna now face another two months of waiting to see who the overall winner is which will be announced at the Sussex Food & Drink Awards dinner, to be held at the East Sussex Golf Resort & Spa on 27th January 2011 and hosted by Danny Pike from BBC Sussex.

Organisers have already opened sales for tickets to attend the awards dinner, now dubbed the ‘Sussex foodie event of the year’. This black tie event promises to be the best yet, celebrating the awards’ 5th birthday and includes a Sussex bubbly and ale reception, sponsored by Harveys; a stunning seven-course banquet dinner using the very best Sussex produce, created by the talented Andy Wiles, East Sussex National’s head chef; lots of entertainment; and a lively Oscars-style awards presentation.

Visit the website www.sussexfoodawards.biz to find out how to buy tickets for this fabulous event or call Natural PR on 01273 857242 for more information.

PAVILION ICE RINK RESTAURANT OFFERS TASTY EXPERIENCE

Brighton's AA Rosette-awarded Due South - named Best Seaside Restaurant in Britain by the Observer Food Monthly – will serve their award winning cuisine at a ‘pop up’ fully-licensed 200-seater rinkside restaurant in a beautiful glass orangiere overlooking the twinkly Royal Pavilion Real Ice Rink for the next two months.

Known for its commitment to locally-sourced ingredients and exquisite cooking, the Due South team will serve passing skaters with warming, seasonal dishes including Castle Farm steak & real ale pie, South Downs venison curry with rice and poppadom, seasonal fruit crumbles, cakes baked daily and luxurious ice creams. Pies and snacks will start from £5.00.

The menu will also offer a range of scrumptious party menus and Christmas dinners - for work and private parties - with menus to suit a range of pockets, from extravagant four-course menus with possible options such as pan-seared Brighton scallops, roasted Brill fillet, three bird roast and pear panna cotta at £35 per head, or wholesome and hearty three-course menus with options such as game or farmhouse terrines, honey roasted ham hock and Sussex apple pie with custard, or, of course, Christmas pudding, for £17 per head. Christmas options start from £7.50 a head for mulled wine and canapés.

Drinks will include a huge range of stylish cocktails, local wines and ales and warming mulled wine, hot chocolate and a range of quality coffee options. Parties & groups can pre-book by calling 01273 821 218. The ice rink restaurant will be open daily, except Christmas Day, from the 13th November to 14th January, 9am to 10.45pm.

Royal Pavilion Ice Rink tickets cost from £9.50-£11 for adults and from £6.50-£7.50 for children under 12 and the one-hour skate times run from 10am to 10.15pm daily, on sale online at www.ticketmaster.co.uk or by calling 0844 847 2352.

Rushfields Farm Shop free hog roast and pumpkins!

The brand new Rushfields Farm Shop, which sells everything that is delicious in Sussex, is inviting families and customers to join them for a free hog roast and kids pumpkin give-away on Saturday 23rd October. Never mind the weather - the outdoor area has a roof!

A formal opening ceremony will be held at 11am, toasted with Sussex bubbly, and several Sussex producers, including High Weald Dairy, Ringden Farm, Bolney Vineyard and Home Cakery, will be on hand giving out tastings of local food – but the fun will continue all day, running from 10am to 5pm.

Rushfields Farm Shop is on the Henfield Road, at Rushfields Plant Centre, which has been in business for 26 years, has been purpose built as a large, barn-style shop, traditionally constructed with Sussex oak timbers by conservation craftsmen.

Owners Pam and Colin Langridge have made Sussex a huge focus for the shop and have tried to stock everything that is great about Sussex, with a top quality butchers, selling meat so local that you can see it grazing on nearby fields, ably managed by butcher Paul Channon. It also sells classic Sussex cheeses from local dairies, including the High Weald Dairy, local sauces and chutneys from Sussex Valley and even local chocolate, from Cocoa Loco.
Shop manager Rachel Fletcher said: “The shop offers more than most farm shops because you can buy everything you need to eat or drink there, including staples such as bread, milk, butter and vegetables – and all at reasonable prices - so local food lovers have welcomed it with open arms.”

‘Brighton Best' beer already a city trend

A new quality ale, Brighton Best, by award-winning Sussex Brewery WJ King, is already becoming the beer of choice for young people in the city, according to publicans.

The beer, now available in over 30 pubs in the city, was formally launched at The Hampton on Upper North Street and has been hailed by locals as both a delicious beer and a welcome tourist attraction.

Tom Dabin, 22, assistant manager of The Open House, said: “It’s very easy to drink – a lovely all round easy drinking beer, which is already catching on fast. Most of my customers are young people and I like to offer a little taste to people who haven’t tried it before and they always go for it.”

Lilli Murdock, 24, manager of the Ancient Mariner in Hove, said: “It’s already one of the most popular beers in our pub after being on tap for just a week or so.”

Over 100 publicans, local dignitaries and media attended the launch and got through at least four barrels of Brighton Best in just one hour, washing down delicious local food including the beer as an ingredient, including sausages, fish in beer batter and vegetarian goulash.

Head Brewer Ian Burgess, who recently left Harveys of Lewes, where he served as number two brewer for 19 years, to join the W J King team, has created the light to golden ale to meet the growing demand from younger and more discerning drinkers for handcrafted cask beers, which can be enjoyed all evening. He gave a masterclass to guests to explain how and why Brighton Best was created.

Commenting, Nigel Lambe, Chief Executive of WJ King, who bought the brewery in June along with Ian Burgess, said: “We really felt that there was an opportunity to create a beer specifically for the younger and more knowledgeable ale drinker in Brighton who really cares about the provenance of the food and drink they consume and are looking for local products, such as Brighton Best.

“The new beer will fit in alongside our existing range of award winning Sussex ales including Horsham Best Bitter, Red River and King’s Old Ale, all of which will be undergoing a makeover in the new WJ King style.”

Adam Bates, Head of Tourism & Venues in Brighton & Hove said: “As a tourist city, we hugely welcome this beer, which will provide yet another reason to visit the city and enjoy our wonderful food and drink offer.”

Whilst Steve Gullon, bar manager at The Hope, a local real ale pub, said: “I like it a lot and my customers are giving great feedback. It is a session beer at 4 per cent and has a crisp, fruity taste – perfect for sitting in and enjoying two or three of an evening.”

With a 200 year tradition of brewing some of the most respected and enjoyed Sussex ales, WJ King has evolved into a new style of micro brewery, using only the finest natural and local ingredients and traditional brewing techniques to produce the best quality local ales.

See www.kingbeer.co.uk to find out where to taste the new beer.

Sussexonline.tv celebrates Brighton Foodies

Catch the Brighton & Hove Foodie Awards 2010 highlights on www.sussexonline.tv - after the introduction, skip to nearly half way through for the main feature.

Winners celebrate at Brighton & Hove Foodies 2010

The winners of the Brighton & Hove Foodie Awards 2010, chosen by almost 5,000 public votes, received their trophies at the grand finale event of the Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival at the 106 Bar of Brighton Hilton Metropole.

Terre a Terre scooped Best Restaurant 2010, closely followed by runners up Hotel du Vin and The Gingerman.

The Ginger Pig won Best Food Pub 2010, followed by Pub du Vin and the Sussex Yeoman.

The winner of Best Café 2010 is Ground, followed by runners up Bill’s and Temptation.

Best Food Shop 2010 is Infinity Foods, followed by Taj and Angel Food Bakery.

Awards were presented by DJ Andrea Fox from Juice 107.2 and Latest7 foodwriter Andrew Kay, dressed in Gresham Blake attire, at the party which was sponsored by new environmentally-friendly, socially responsible coffee brand ‘ecoffee’ and Martin Searle Solicitors.
“We can’t quite believe what a success this first year of the awards has been, since we launched it at Brighton & Hove Food and Drink Festival’s Spring Harvest event,” said Paula Seager, MD of Natural PR who manages the awards.

“The food outlets in the city have got totally behind it and have been wonderfully competitive with each other, whilst the public has just embraced the opportunity to tell us which their favourite outlets are. Thank you to everyone who participated.”

Find out more at http://www.brightonfoodawards.com/