We are delighted to announce that Hi-Life members can now get 2 for 1 at La Tasca. The offer is available 7 days a week and is valid until the 10th February 2013.
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Their 42 UK restaurants invite you to imagine yourself dining on a sun-drenched Spanish hillside, just as they have since the very first La Tasca Spanish Tapas Restaurant and Bar opened its doors in Manchester’s city centre in 1993. Find your nearest restaurant here.

Since then, La Tasca has served its authentic Spanish cuisine in cities nationwide – from Glasgow to Portsmouth and Bristol to Norwich. Each welcoming bar and restaurant has its own distinctive character. Vivid ceramics, rustic cookware and bright prints and posters bring alive the look and feel of the real Spain. Many also have inviting terraces, where you can eat and drink (British weather permitting!) the very best of Spain ‘al fresco’.

Whether indoors or out, there’s simply nothing more Spanish than gathering around the table to share home-cooked dishes, created with the freshest of ingredients and the passion, pride and expertise of our talented chefs.

*1 card can be used for up to 8 people dining, excludes chef’s specials, sharing paella’s & promotional/set menus. Please book in advance online/phone.

If you’re up the Lisburn road lately you’ll notice something a little bit different. Perhaps even a little bit out of place. The latest addition is of course the 10ft replica of the Eiffel Tower stuck pride of place outside the front of La Bastille and very grand it is too. So we know the place looks the part but does it taste the part? There’s only one way to find out, it’s a tough job but I (quite selflessly) offered myself up for the job.

As I arrived with my wife on a really wet and windy night, we were greeted warmly by Guillaume and were promptly shown to our seats that were right by the window so we could look up and see the Eiffel Tower outside. As we sat perusing the menu Guillaume came over to ask if he could help with anything. My wife explained that she was undecided and so he took the time to help her choose. I must say that the interactions we had with Guillaume and the other server were wonderfully entertaining and worth coming for alone! It kind of hi-lights what’s missing in a lot of modern restaurants, that personal touch. We also ordered a bottle of wine to go with our meal.

5 minutes after ordering our starters had arrived. I had the frogs’ legs in garlic and parsley butter.  The Frogs legs tasted something between chicken and crab and where very tender, the butter lent it a hint of flavour but without being over powering.  My wife had the Brie with almonds encased in a light pastry which was warm and creamy, the almonds adding a touch of crunch against the smoothness of the cheese and the lightness of the pastry.  All in all it was a good start; they whet the appetite without overshadowing the main course.

Next up was the main course, time for some beef! I love beef, I love red wine and I love mashed potatoes so when I ordered Beef Bourguignon nothing could go wrong, right? Thankfully I’m pleased to say nothing did go wrong (I had you going though). The Bourguignon came down in a little cauldron with a fancy scoop of mash. The mash itself was the very definition of smooth, buttery and like velvet in potato form. I’ve honestly never tasted better. The Beef itself was in chunks, with a textured outer and tender inner. Served in a red wine sauce with lardons and onions, the flavour was simple and rich all at the same time and was fused into the very core of every mouthful of beef I took. My wife had roast chicken fillet served with goat’s cheese on a bed of shredded cabbage and bacon with celeriac fondant and a roasting jus. The chicken was tender and flavoursome and the accompanying bits and pieces all worked together to make a wonderful dish.  She ordered a side of Dauphinoise potatoes as this is one her favourite dishes. Usually I find Dauphinoise very stodgy and gooey, these were particularly light and creamy, Fantastique!

After the mains we were both fully stuffed, but I always say that pudding goes into a separate section of your belly, that doesn’t get full with normal food (there is no medical evidence to back this up however) so we ordered desert as well!

Chocolate mousse with a raspberry centre and shortbread base all smothered in a chocolate sauce is very hard to say no to, so I didn’t, and boy was I glad I did. The slight tartness of the berries complimented the rich chocolate mouse and the shortbread gave it that little bit of bite. It was served with a little scoop of Chantilly cream. I didn’t find the need for it, but it was there all the same. My Wife (who is a certified chocoholic) decided she had to get something different and so tried the French Crème Brulee. She said it was so nice that she didn’t even want to try my Chocolate mousse, it also meant I didn’t get to taste it either before it was all gone.

A quick espresso and a flash of my hi-life card later and we got the bill, In total we’d saved over £25. Guillaume and his staff have certainly carved out a little Paris shaped hole in the heart of Northern Ireland and one that we’ll definitely be back for Maybe next time I’ll brush up on my French, it would be nice to be able to say a bit more than just “Tres bon, Merci”.

http://www.labastillerestaurant.com/

The modern British cooking at the Bedford Hotel’s Cartland Restaurant has just been recognised with an AA rosette.

Recently awarded a prestigious AA rosette, the Cartland Restaurant serves modern British cuisine that’s firmly based on fresh, seasonal produce sourced from local suppliers.

It’s open for dinner seven nights a week as well as for Sunday lunch and is part of the three-star Bedford Hotel in St Annes.  The 45-room hotel has been run by the Baker family for almost 30 years and is well located, just a two-minute walk from both St Annes promenade and the town centre.  As well as the main Cartland Restaurant, hotel facilities include a coffee shop, which opens from 10am-6pm every day, and two function rooms which can cater for between 30 and 130 people.

Cartland Head Chef Paul Curran has been at the Bedford for 14 years and diners have a choice between a la carte and table d’hote menus.  A typical evening meal might start with a Lytham shrimp risotto, followed by pot-roasted blade of beef served with spring onion mash and red wine sauce flavoured with rosemary, and then for dessert baked chocolate marble cheesecake.  The kitchen bakes a selection of speciality breads (olive, tomato, fruit & nut, wholemeal and white) and a 23-bin wine list offers plenty of choice to complement the food. As well as the AA rosette, the restaurant holds a five-star food hygiene award while the hotel holds a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence.Bedford Hotel’s Cartland Restaurant has just been recognised with an AA rosette.

Hi-life members receive £15 reduction from the total food bill.  For further information please click here

We often get our vegetarian members asking where we would recommend so this is a great review – thanks……..”The food here is fantastic and the menu is so varied! As a vegetarian, I had a whole menu to myself with things I had never eaten before – not something that happens with Chinese food. My partner had the crabs to start which he said were really tasty and the Weeping Tiger marinated steak for mains, and he would be the first to say if steak wasn´t up to scratch! Lovely little place, but hardly anyone in, so more for a relaxed meal with a friend than a posh one. Would recommend though”

Thanks R Smith for your member comments about the Jade Garden, Manchester http://bit.ly/PrO15b

 

A total of eight very talented chefs are celebrating after they have made it through to the final of the Craft Guild of Chefs National Chef of the Year 2012, the most sought after title for chefs across the UK.

On Tuesday, 9th October  at The Restaurant Show at London’s Earls Court 2, the 8 finalists take part in a live cook off and will have to showcase their creativity, flare and technical skills in a bid to impress the panel of chef judges including Philip Howard, Angela Hartnett, Atul Kochhar,Tom Kerridge & Mark Sargean.

Two of the UK’s top culinary training centres  (Sheffield College and  Westminster Kingsway College ) successfully hosted the tense and highly competitive semi-finals, where 40 chefs battled it out to win their place in the final 8 . The live cook off is sure to be a fantastic event.

Winning the title is an outstanding achievement and the prize package up for grabs is worth in excess of £15,000.
The finalists are:

Hayden Groves – BaxterStorey

Andrew Wright – Restaurant 23

John Howie – Sodexo Prestige

Alyn Williams – Alyn Williams At The Westbury

Joe Mccafferty – Roka Restaurant

Justin Galea – Turnberry Hotel

Paul Dunstane – Restaurant Associates

Paul Matthews – Restaurant Associates

 
David Mulcahy,  vice president of the Craft Guild of Chefs, said: “Having had more than 120 entries in the first instance and four live cook offs, we are now a giant step closer to finding the Craft Guild of Chefs National Chef of the Year 2012. Our final eight now have to knuckle down in preparation for a high profile showdown at the Restaurant Show.
“If the semi-finals were anything to go by, our panel of chefs, this year led by Philip Howard as our 2012 chairman, has a real task ahead with such a high calibre of chefs making it through.”
Howard added: “It’s a great honour for me to not only judge but also to watch winning dishes being prepared. It’s fair to say that this year was a challenge to judge and the finalists are reflective of the high standards seen across the board. There has been some clear talent shining through with dishes full of both vitality and flavour as well seasonality.”

Taste of Dublin 2012 – Delicious and filling!

Chris from PastieBap is a Hi-Life member.  Read about his visit to Taste of Dublin 2012…

PastieBap headed to Dublin for the weekend to attend Taste of Dublin (a foodie
fest). Visitors to the Belfast Taste and Music Fest which has been held in
Botanic Gardens for the last few years will be familiar with the set up: local
restaurateurs set up tents and sell tapas size dishes of their best and newest
creations to willing punters for the in-house currency of florins.

Day 1 – Thursday

It was dry as we arrived in Dublin after a swift two hour journey from
Belfast, but then the rain came and as we all know in Ireland – when it rains,
it pours! As we began queuing to get into Taste of Dublin we soon discovered
that a bit of rain certainly doesn’t put the people of Dublin off a day out and
some good food.

As we arrived on the Thursday we are greeted by probably the world’s
most famous (and certainly the richest) chef, Jamie Oliver. We then watched as
he performed a cooking demonstration (shoulder of lamb) for the crowd before we
headed off for our first gourmet experience.

Becks Vier
Masterclass
We tasted 4 beers and 2 ciders and accompanying foods that went with
each as our hilarious Belgian beer master took us on a voyage of discovery.

One doesn’t usually associate beer being paired with foods, the way wine
is. But here he showed us how different foods can definitely be enhanced with
certain beers. How a sweet food can enhance an amber ale and how a pear cider
can help soften a strong cheese. For being such good pupils we all got a free
pint of Becks Vier as well.

Kanchi
Dine in the Dark

The San Miguel bar was open where you could watch the European football
and sample some of Spain’s most famous dishes – tapas (starter size portions of
any dish). There was a barbecue master class for when (if) the weather gets
better (more about that later) and of course live entertainment – with live
bands such as the upbeat Spring Break, and Smash Hits playing throughout the
four days. This wouldn’t truely be an Irish festival without a little bit of
drink and with West Coast cooler, O’Briens wine, Rekorderlig cider and the
aforementioned San Miguel and Becks beer on hand, the crowd’s thirst was
certainly quenched.

We finished the day off with a wine tasting class run by O’Briens wines, where we
tried a presecco, a white and 2 reds as the owner of the wine company, who had
flown from Italy, talked us through each one.

I have to say that the organisation of this whole event was excellent.
We were given free ponchos on the way in, so that even though it rained it
wouldn’t stop us. Numbers looked high and everyone seemed to be having a great
time.

We were lucky enough to attend the food fest on the Friday also, with a couple of
tickets won from a competition run by Hi-Life (thanks), who also had a stall on hand for anyone wanting to pick up the foodie’s favourite two for one dining card.

Check out more  from PastieBap about Taste of Dublin 2012 and other great articles at www.pastiebap.com