Old meets new as renowned London restaurateurs the Galvin Brothers host their first British beer week at Galvin Café a Vin, in Spitalfields, this April, culminating in a five-course dinner on Saturday 20 April with matching beers and ciders.
Throughout the week the Plat du Jour will feature a specially paired beer at lunch and dinner. London’s only remaining family brewer, Fuller’s, will be joined on the beer list by one of the Capital’s youngest, The Kernel, with guest appearances also from youthful, crafty Somerset brewer, the Wild Beer Co.
Licensee of award-winning pub The Thatchers Arms and beer and food matching expert Mitch Adams will host Saturday’s dinner. Beers from The Kernel and Wild Beer Co will be joined by a pair of ciders: the evening will start with Aspall’s sparkling Cuvée Chevallier as guests arrive, and close with Once Upon a Tree’s dessert cider, The Wonder.
Head sommelier Andrea Briccarello and Galvchef Jack Boast worked with Mitch and Susanna Forbes, founder of DrinkBritain.com, to find the best beer matches for Jack’s distinctive dishes.
“After tasting a vast range of beers for a magazine last year, I was surprised by the variety and the potential versatility they had to go with food,” says Andrea. “From starter to dessert, beers were often more suitable than wines, from classic dishes like fish and chips, to more elaborate and spicy food. This week will be a great opportunity to introduce some unusual beer and food combinations to a wider audience.”
Jack’s favourite match is Tuesday’s Plat du Jour: braised cuttlefish tagine with couscous and harissa, paired with Wild Beer Co’s Bliss. “The beer really balances the strong flavours in a way a wine never could,” he says
“Jack and his crew really put the beers through their paces at a couple of tasting sessions,” says Susanna. “The result is a fantastic match between top-notch bistro fare with some of Britain’s finest beers.”
“It’s really exciting to be working alongside a sommelier of Andrea’s calibre who is passionate about giving beers like The Kernel and Wild Beer Co an equal place alongside wine on the table,” says Mitch. “The Galvin Group are ahead of the curve and their competitors, I hope to see more restaurants follow suit in the near future.”
Looking to the future, Andrea says “I hope to feature interesting breweries in the Café regularly on our drinks list, and to create great matching combinations together with the chefs at Galvin’s restaurants.”
Bookings for lunch or dinner during Beer Week can be made in the normal fashion, either online or by telephone. Tickets for Saturday’s dinner cost £40pp, including drinks. Numbers are limited to 40 and places must be reserved by calling 020 7299 0404 or emailing elise@galvinrestaurants.com. Further information including the Saturday menu is available at http://www.galvinrestaurants.
Pescetarian alternatives are available for the meat courses.
NOTES TO EDITORS
1 A limited number of press tickets are available. Please contact Áine Dempsey on 020 7299 0446 or email aine@galvinrestaurants.com
2 Galvin Café a Vin, 35 Spital Square, London E1 6DY, 020 7299 0404, www.galvinrestaurants.com, @Galvin_Brothers
3 Galvin Restaurants is a family run collection of French restaurants founded in 2005 by Michelin-starred chef brothers Chris and Jeff Galvin. Each of the seven restaurants is unique, but they all share a common theme; the desire to offer high quality French cuisine, served in luxurious surroundings by warm, hospitable and professional front of house. From fine dining business dinners to relaxed family friendly lunches, private dining and al fresco options there is a Galvin restaurant to suit everyone.
4 Having learnt his trade with Mitchells & Butlers, Mitch Adams has won the local CAMRA Pub of the Year award twice since taking over at The Thatchers Arms, near Colchester. His personal passion is for beer, but he loves wine too and, as a former resident of Herefordshire, cider also ranks highly. He helped devise the beer list for the British Guild of Beer Writers 2012 annual awards dinner at the Jumeirah Carlton.
5 Publisher of DrinkBritain.com, freelance drinks writer Susanna Forbes is editor of Imbibe’s Beer & Cider Supplement, available via Imbibe’s free App. http://imbibe.com/news/2013-
6 Further information on The Kernel Brewery, Fuller’s and Once Upon a Tree can be found on DrinkBritain.com
Wild Beer Co: http://wildbeerco.com/ Aspall: www.aspall.co.uk
Further information from
Aine Dempsey, aine@
Susanna Forbes, susanna@drinkbritain.com, 07811 913971, @DrinkBritain www.drinkbritain.com