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Birmingham has been one of the country’s best kept secrets for years and it’s never been better thanks to long needed redevelopment, a superb cultural offering and arguably the hottest culinary scene in the country.
The redevelopment of the city as part of the ‘big city plan’ is now moving at a fast pace. The oppressive central ring roads that previously gave the city a bad name rapidly falling away to reveal a trendy, up and coming city.
70s Birmingham was famously described as a “Godless, concrete urban hell” and a “brutalist, concrete-dominated slave to the motor car.” Harsh words for the city that lay at the heart of the industrial revolution!. The city’s historic reputation has been as little more than an industrial powerhouse, famous for motor cars. But this proud city was for a while the backbone of the British empire – ultimately revolutionising industrial productivity on a global scale! Given its global impact, why is it that England’s second city has been so maligned and ridiculed? Perhaps the locals have been too self-deprecating? Reluctant to shout about their success?
The go-to national narrative pigeon-holing Birmingham as a car manufacturing concrete jungle fails to give the city the credit it’s due. Whilst the thriving automotive sector is a source of regional pride, it only tells part of the story. Not least how entrepreneurial and dynamic its people are, creating a balanced and dynamic economy in which businesses vital to the country’s growth are thriving.
Birmingham is poised to shake off its out-dated reputation once-and-for-all. There’s so much more to it than a slight twang in the accent! For well over a decade, it has steadily been building a strong and credible reputation for culinary excellence. It was even recently listed number 19 in The New York Times’ “45 Places to Go in 2012”
The city holds the most Michelin starred restaurants outside London. Including Simpsons, Purnell’s, Turners – all wonderful restaurants that we are proud to be associated with as suppliers of luxury tableware. The most recent addition to the prestigious list is Carters of Moselely, whom Heritage has also been proud to work with from the early days along with Michelin recommended Lasan. We’ve seen a steady stream of critically acclaimed chefs move up from London to establish a presence in Birmingham. The likes of Adam Stokes also recently awarded a Michelin star , Tom Aitkin and soon Atul Kochhar.
With the HS2 high speed railway link fast approaching and continued redevelopment in the city, there has never been a better moment to celebrate Birmingham!
Heritage is proud to have developed close working relationships with a number of top iconic chefs. One of our closest links is with acclaimed chef, Glynn Purnell; fellow brummy and ambassador of all things Birmingham. We’ve worked closely with Glynn over a number of years, supplying Purnell’s with dinnerware. Glynn was kind enough to put together the following testimonial for us: