I’m sure it’s not only me who’s life memories come flooding back at the taste, smell or sight of particular foods. For me they can paint a picture in my mind that is way stronger than any photograph or story.
The aroma of a freshly cooked rotisserie chicken takes me straight back to the campsites of the South of France where I spent many a summer in my youth with my parents – the onsite grills selling these chickens alongside authentic french fries was the basis of many a meal back then.
The sight and taste of runner beans takes me directly to my late Nans back garden where she grew them so perfectly and fed them to us every Sunday.
The tang of malt vinegar reminds me of treasured after school trips one Friday a month to a particular fish & chip shop where I grew up.
The sweetness of Woodpecker Cider reminds me of a particular teenage summer when I had not a care in the world, and the fizz of sherbet on my tongue reminds me intensely of my next door neighbor from when I was little who used to treat me to some from the corner shop in a little paper bag, back in the days when penny sweets really cost 1p!
But enough of my food memories, we want to know about yours.
Nomad is a new restaurant from Chef Alex Claridge that’s in search of food around nature, memory and place. To him, memory is a powerful way to remember, to question and to tell a story.
From April, diners can enjoy their first taste of Nomad at the pop-up restaurant at the Kitchen Garden Cafe in Kings Heath. You can choose varying lengths of menu, priced accordingly. I’ve seen a sample menu, and it includes amazing sounding things such as Reindeer Moss and Filthy Duck Wings! Who wouldn’t want to try those!? Bookings for tables at Nomad in April are now being taken, with only limited tables remaining – book at www.foodbynomad.com
As if this wasn’t enough, Alex is putting food even more ‘out there’ with Nomads ‘naughty sibling’ No Rules. This is the experimentation and development outlet where Alex and their team will cook up whatever they want on the night and diners pay what they think the food is worth, or barter for their dinner! The first batch of tickets for this sold out so quickly this week that the only way to get tickets at No Rules in June is to either be booked in to Nomad at Kitchen Garden Cafe in April, or to enter Nomads fabulous competition.
If you would a like a chance to enter this competition and be invited to a unique Nomad event in May, read on…..
Nomad are inviting readers to contribute important memories of food (or drink!) that take them back to a time and a place that matters.
They will then pick a selection of your memories and invite those people sharing them to a series of no rules events driven and inspired by your input. You can share as little or as much detail as you want. To enter – Email your memory to [email protected] . (and maybe tweet them me too or leave them in the comments as I’m nosey!*) The comp closes on April 30th 2015.
Good luck!
*This is not a requirement. Only entries emailed to the above address will count in the competition. But please do, I’d love to hear!
