We’re loving teaming up with the best brands in the UK… and we’re enjoying our season of ‘Pop ups’ - Our Pop Up Dining Hall naturally has been king of the castle since we opened – but with the advent of Christmas and a little present sniper snapping at our heels we figured we should help everyone out by supplying on tap presents.
How?? Oh wonderous problem solver…is caught hanging in the air…
When we were approached to host said event… imaginations went on OVER drive… it’s literally a feast for the soul and senses in terms of delicious treats and on trend inspirations… (aside) sums us up rather quite nicely as well!!
You MUST check out this fab wedding blog for amazing pics of The Chimney House and the most divine bridal items! Also PH Weddings have immortalised the event so beautifully! Katy from Serendipity Photography was responsible for the pre event publicity shoot and the results are gorgeous!
So this is what the ladies have to say… (they really are the most fab bunch and totally and utterly recommended by us!!)
Four local wedding suppliers have teamed together to bring Sheffield its first Vintage Bridal Soiree at The Chimney House, Kelham Island on Thursday 30th September 2010 with all the proceeds going to help Sheffield Children’s Hospital.
Blanche Duggleby from Coco Catering, Jennie Beard from Hansley Beard, Anna Potter from Swallows and Damsons and Laura Green from Little White Book have come together to share their passion and appreciation of all things vintage, and will be showcasing some of the city’s most exclusive vintage wedding suppliers to members of the public.
Laura Green from Little White Book said “We wanted to create some hype around the vintage trends which are out at the moment within the wedding industry, and are continuing to show within the upcoming 2011 collections. The evening will showcase the current vintage trends including wedding cakes, a selection of vintage attire, vintage crockery, a candy buffet, vintage style bridal flowers and bouquets and a photo booth as well as local wedding planners, fairground food and mouth watering cocktails. There will also be a medley of entertainment including City Magicians, local jazz singer Emily West and caricatures by Richard Smith.”
Let us ponder carefully about this… would you 1. Love to get all of your coolest friends and dearest pals, colleagues together in your home or 2. Love to get all of your coolest friends and dearest pals, colleagues together in The Chimney House?
So far the polls have come back rather fondly in favour of the latter.
So lets Dinner Party!!!
We’re hosting some amazing dining events at The Chimney House… this is what happens…
The Meeting Room is transformed into a dining hall… ambient and sultry lights down low add in a stack of candles and beautiful stems of the most divine florals and you are catching the vibe.
Cool tunes naturally. Food which is tailor made to measure… menus which are created rather than printed out. We’re interested in doing nice things for you… and what better place to start than how to eat your way through the next 3 hours.
We’re into gastro feasting and work with the best chefs who make the most of the best locally produced and sourced delights that our Yorkshire can kick up at us. We especially love working with The Milestone as they get our crazy musings about what is possible. They source local and their food is not only multi-award winning – and Jay Rayner holds them in super high esteem as well!
The Front Room is the first port of call for a boho little drinks reception – room to circulate the room and of course to admire our lights (everyone admires the lights) You’ll probably get snacks as well… others call them canapés… we don’t – purely for that reason.
Onwards and upwards up a candle-lit stairwell for your grand entrance into your dining hall… the rest they say can’t be told… more to be experienced.
There is the small matter about guests leaving… they don’t ever seem to want to go… I guess we could do a pop up campsite as well as pop up dining… we’ve got a heated floor…. Mmmm deluxe camping….
The other point worthy of a tinny mention is that we’re rather booked up… I take it as a sign of appreciation for our zany lights… maybe everyone wants a peek…
Dinner Parties at The Chimney House start from £45 per head and are based on a minimum of 20 guests. For an informal light viewing (and a bite to eat) drop a line to info@thechimneyhouse.com
Happy Feasters from Irwin Mitchell!
CHEF: FIELD a 48 hour food festival for food lovers
Showcasing the finest food brands from around the UK. Our 2 tone festival explores the relationship between what comes out of the field and what happens after the harvest.
We invite you to leap through the FIELD festival experiencing exquisite tastes, flavours and textures celebrating food in its purest form fresh from the earth.
Then we ask you to succumb to the delights of CHEF as the ingredients straight from our land and sea are introduced to cooking styles, method and innovation to create an inspirational and educational festival for food lovers everywhere.
A bustling 2 day programme of cookery schools, demonstrations, lectures, masterclasses by The School of Artisan Food (‘Such Brilliance..an idea that will change the food culture’ Sheila Dillon BBC Radio 4 Food programme) and The Milestone (‘For me it is a rare and lovely find’ Jay Rayner) as well as specialist bars, restaurants, entertainment, cocktail bars from London’s biggest names and dedicated gourmet points for those needing quick fixes of champagne and oysters. A culmination of the first day’s food and cookery classes will be with the festival’s ‘garden’ dinner for guests, sponsors, press and brands.
With the aim of keeping the festival ethos as ethical, responsible sustainable, innovative and educational as possible brands and names taking part will use the festival as a platform that engages with an audience over 48 hours with these principles in mind.
The Marque: 93ft have created an ambigram for the festival. Once rotated Field becomes Chef and Chef, Field. This reflects the symbiotic relationship between the two as the transformation of field produce into chef delights is celebrated.
Location: CHEF: FIELD is a merging of the two experiences which also spells (in your mouth) the location of our first event. Exact location will be released soon.
When: Summer 2011
Who you can see: Some of the most exciting and forward thinking food brands in the UK. Please contact info@cheffieldfestival.com for more details.
Can you take part?: To find out how please view here. (PDF)
Please email info@cheffieldfestival.com for details
Tickets: Details released soon
Sponsorship: Limited availability please view here (PDF)
Please email info@thechimneyhouse.com to register your interest
Website and Programme: Coming soon. Due to popular demand there are limited spaces available. Please contact info@cheffieldfestival.com for more details.
Our site is currently under construction… almost there!! It is www.cheffieldfestival.com
Brought to you by: The Chimney House, The Milestone & 93ft
So you might know we are hosting a pop up dining hall at The Chimney House? Of course you do… we’ve been bleating on about it for a small while now… so you may think we are about to announce that the newly crowned ‘Worlds Best Restaurant’ winner (San Pellegrino decides) Noma is coming to be one of our pop ups. Sadly – although we did get a personal guided tour of his kitchens the delightful Rene Redzepi may not be tempted from his Nordic perfection just yet – but maybe for a short while if we plead… it’s only a little hop over the ocean…
This could quickly turn into pleading and lamenting – so I’ll tell the story instead of how I got to this point. Ok. So over in Copenhagen – rewind a month or so book lunch at Noma. Back in Copenhagen again we hire bikes for the morning and buzz around the city in the beauteous sun and deathly cold Nordic breeze. Realise it’s lunch time and take off hair-a- flowing down to the docks where Noma lives. Park bikes. Soon realise (within half a footstep) of approaching the door that ‘bike disheveled ‘ is not a look that is adapted or recognised in Noma. (this is a city where there are more bikes than humans…for Christ sakes )
But at least the Tom Ford a-like in breathtakingly suave attire possessing immaculate manners had the good grace not to point it out as he welcomed us with earth shattering poise and handed us over to an army of ‘take you to your chair’ characters. And that is just what they were… real characters of mystery, appeal and knowledge… fascinating to look at (be aware of you look at them too long they think you need to ‘go’ and try to escort you to the loo. Am sure they will be mortified by this as they are in fact supremely ‘not of this world’ – and don’t register bodily functions am sure . ) Team Noma are even better to chat to – one of the chefs was a super human Yorkshire creation called Sam Miller who was so disarmingly down to earth we pummeled him with Q’s. So settled at our table of exquisite Danish cool we were presented a series of ‘snacks’ the best bit was they came in biscuit tins, plant pots, hairy plates, smoking egg shells, which we devoured in a dainty snack eating fashion. My fav element was the fact the chef who had created each snack brought them over to explain what it was and why you were just about to eat the most theatrical morsel of pure creation and skill than you have ever seen before in your entire life and didn’t hang around long enough to see hours of work vanish in a heartbeat. The same pattern continued throughout the tasting menus and over the course of 3 hours we emerged triumphant and dizzy with expectation for more. You remember walnut whips? (I say remember as no one I speak to has ever eaten one after graduation into their teens, although I was given one last time I went to the Podiatrist and nearly fainted… ‘you need sugar’ cried the girl and raided her stash) Moving to languish on more Danish cool we were presented with a hat-box filled with tissue paper and the most stunning handcrafted work of art a bit like said walnut whip only a zillion times better and bigger and one for the fond memory cabinet. So after an impromptu kitchen tour and subsequent layering back on of bike attire we did a little jig of glee.
PS Note to reader. Since winning The San Pellegrino World Restaurant Award 2010 Noma’s site reportedly received 100,000 requests for tables so I’ve done another jig. This time of smugness.
Normally – I like to find the best suppliers and brands… you know, get to know them, find out how we can work together… blah blah…so one day I was plotting The Chimney House launch … and suddenly POW! Sarah Jackson darling of Le Bon Vin gets me on the phone… the next minute she’s sitting in front of me – delirious with excitement about The Chimney House and over flowing with immense passion and knowledge for her product.
Her enthusiasm is the best… her customer service is outstanding – before you know it I’m the biggest advocate for Le Bon Vin ever… and that’s saying something – considering we’d just met – and my afore mentioned careful selection process.
This is what happened along the way… We arrange wine selection over tea and shortbread – she leaves, I call Sarah… ‘can you provide wine glasses?’ Sarah ‘Yes of course no problem’… I call Sarah again ‘I’m worried we’re going to run out of wine, can I buy some more?’ Sarah ‘No problem…I’ve already thought of that and have put you another case in’ I call Sarah…’I’m worried we’re going to run out of wine glasses’ ….Sarah – ‘Don’t worry – already sorted’ She turns up – fab wine, pristine glassware first thing in the morning – sorts out temperature and leaves. Later – arrives to pour our wine for our guests…early – next thing I know she is wielding the Henry hoover around the stairs…and battling with dust…before our guests arrive… you couldn’t make it up…how to do super over and above and beyond the call of duty. Impressive stuff. Non pushy, non evasive and super pro…
So the Sarah Jackson experience aside… back to Le Bon Vin… so lets do some name dropping… The Dorchester, Claridges, Bolton Abbey for starters … all supplied by Le Bon Vin. An exquisite selection of over 900 wines lovingly sourced and immaculately kept in air conditioned rooms by Frenchman owner Patrick Jouan in Sheffield. Nutshell stuff for what I’ve gleaned… Passion, knowledge, product, help and advice in abundance…
The Chimney House suggests that you order your wine for your event from Le Bon Vin 0114 2560090
With thanks to Sarah Jackson and Becky Lord for their excellent help!!
Fancie is without a shadow of a doubt the best and utterly roll on the floor to have your belly tickled maker of cupcakes in the entire kingdom. She also likes small dogs called Mini and talking about The Chimney House (stealing my bits of stories…) toilet doors, lights and table… she’s got it off to a fine art… any hoo – back to cakes. Light as air and buttery to perfection cupcakes will feature as a part of afternoon tea for our visitors to The Meeting Room and The Front Room. They are also available to order for meetings… served in a cake tin naturally. Fancie’s cakes are made fresh every single day in the bakery of delight and her ingredients are particularly carefully selected and each batch are tested for lightness, depth, colour and topping size. We like brands who are insistent on perfection and it’s not until you’ve scooped the frosting off the top, nibbled around the edges, taken the cake case off and gobbled it down will you understand. Someone ( who will remain anonymous) told me the other day – she had a Fancie cupcake in the car with her… and she literally couldn’t wait till she got home… pulled over in a lay by and consumed at speed… that dear friends is a case of cupcake addiction – pleasure without an ounce of guilt….
You’ll be hard pushed to find a more urban a deli… purveyors of fine bites to eat and nice sips to drink. They are a member of the Fine Food Guild and they love artisan producers, good husbandry and sustainable farming practices which makes them heroes in our eyes… especially our hungry spy eyes…
Phil (owner of the UD) has been in to The Chimney House… (he’s a big fan) went away (back to the UD) and has cooked up delightful menus that can be eaten at lunchtime.
We’re thinking picnics and packed lunches. Nice things that you really want to eat – stuff that’s fresh as a daisy (but not actually a daisy – they are a bit sour) I’m also a big fan of the idea that you order a packed lunch – so it’s exactly what you want (no butter, easy on the mayo, no onion, thinly sliced avocado, nice ham (with no jelly bits on, but thick and juicy), on the right colour bread, with the right sort of seeds on top and wrapped up so 1. No one else has breathed on it or maybe poked it with a finger and 2. It’s nice and fresh and crunchy and hasn’t gone soft and a bit soggy.
In your packed lunch you get nice cake, drinks and fruit and crisps. Just like your mum used to make you… but better (no peanut butter and tomato) – because Phil is a supreme perfectionist. That’s why we like him. And he’s very happy and he doesn’t run away when i start jumping up and down talking about fridge fulls and name stickers for sandwiches.
The masters of gastro universe… The Milestone are cooking up evening feasts and fabulous taste sensations for The Chimney House. We’re going to be making the sort of environment of the best dinner party in your own home (or someones cooler home) but in the curious surrounds of The Meeting Room.
