W
L
BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS
AND FUN IN THE PARK!
BY PAUL ASKEW, CHEF PATRON OF
THE ART SCHOOL RESTAURANT
The inaugural Wirral Food & Drink Festival is just over a month
away and I’ll be busy curating many of the culinary elements that
will see guest chefs, and over 70 producers, growers and food stalls
in attendance.
On the Saturday evening the festival will also play host to the Royal
Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra’s only outdoor performance this
year as a full orchestra, featuring a very special evening of popular
classics, show tunes and exciting film standards with something for
all the family.
Sunday will feature Lightening Seeds, The Christians and China Crisis.
It’s the first festival and my hope is that it will become an annual event.
The peninsula is blessed with so many exceptional producers that I
can see no reason why it shouldn’t be a fabulous success, this year and
in future years and grow from strength to strength.
The beginning of September will see us celebrate the fifth birthday of
The Art School and as part of our celebrations, in conjunction with
one of my latest ventures - The Art of Wine, we'll be offering guests
who take our Prix Fixe menu on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday
throughout August a complimentary glass of one of the Cadetto wines
from our Castorani selection. A little thank you from us to our valued
guests.
The Art of Wine is an exciting new business that has allowed me to
import wine direct from hand-picked wineries across the globe. This
ensures that some of the wines in the restaurant and The Cellars
are exclusive to us in the city, and, in a number of cases, the UK. It
also helps us to forge greater working relationships with some of the
“hidden gem” wineries from across the globe, who we then get to
showcase at our winemakers dinners.
Sticking with the theme we are delighted to welcome back
representatives from our house Champagne "Charles Heidsieck" for
two very special evenings in October.
I remember the first time I tasted Heidsieck. I was looking for a
Champagne to be our House Champagne at The Art School, I wanted
50 wirrallife.com
a wine that was true to my values, the values of the restaurant, integrity
of ingredients, quality and something unique.
I’d studied the history of Champagne Charlie, the maverick who left
for the United States via the Port of Liverpool to sell his Champagne
to the world, there was a connection, but most important of all it was
about the juice in the bottle.
There was a statistic quoted to me at the time that Liverpool drinks
more Champagne per head of population than any other city outside
of London, so I knew that I had to make the right choice. Five years
after we opened the restaurant and almost two years since we opened
the Cellars I know I’ve made the right choice. More importantly our
guests do, and now it seems it’s been recognised internationally by
being recently awarded "SPARKING WINEMAKER OF THE YEAR"
at the ‘Oscars of the Wine Industry’. The International Wine Challenge
Awards Dinner. Now in its 36th year, the competition itself is accepted
as the world’s most rigorous, impartial and influential wine contest.
Charles Heidsieck won 1 Trophy, 4 Golds and 2 Silvers at the evening
and the coveted "Sparkling Winemaker of the Year" title. Our evenings
include: Charles Heidsieck Winemakers Dinner in the "Lantern"
Dining Room on Wednesday 16th October 2019. It's £165 per ticket
and includes five courses and five Champagnes and the opportunity to
be one of the first in the UK to taste the Vintage 2008, due for release
in late September 2019.
The VIP "Champagne Charlie" Dinner in the "Moriarty" Private
Dining Room on Thursday 17th October 2019. It's £250 per ticket
and includes 5 exclusive Champagnes from the Cellars of Charles
Heidsieck: Blanc de Blancs, Brut Millesime 2008, Brut Millesime 1989,
Rose Millesime 1985 and Blanc des Millenaires 1983, perfectly paired
with 5 exclusive dishes prepared by myself and the team.
Our Champagne evenings are one of our most popular nights of our
series of events. I do hope you’ll be able to join us.
Until next month!
Chef Askew