As with any large town or city, food and drink has played an important role in the commerce and culture of Birmingham, England. The city from above Centenary Square. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

Pubs and beer

The first local brewery on a large scale appears to have been the Birmingham Old Brewery which was erected in Moseley Street in 1782. By 1890 Birmingham was home to 2,178 public houses which were often judged by the quality of their "stingo" (beer). Moseley Park during the 2003 festival Moseley is a suburb of Birmingham, England, located 2 miles to the south of the city centre. ... 1782 was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1890 (MDCCCXC) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar). ... For notes on some individual UK pubs, see Notable United Kingdom public houses. ... For other uses, see beer (disambiguation). ...

Birmingham based breweries included Ansells, Holt Brewery Co Ltd, Kings Heath brewery, Davenports and Mitchells & Butlers. Many old breweries were bought out by others and subsequently closed down. Since the 1980s, the Aston Manor brewery and several micro breweries have opened. The entrance of a brewery. ... Mitchells & Butlers plc run managed pubs, bars and restaurants in over 2,000 outlets. ... The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view. ...

Many fine Victorian pubs can be found across the city. In Aston, the Barton's Arms retains its intricate carvings, tiling and snob-screens. Other period pubs include the Black Eagle in Hockley, The art deco Three Magpies in Hall Green, The Red Lion in Kings Heath and the British Oak in Stirchley. The oldest pub in Birmingham is the Old Crown in Deritend (circa 1450). The Anchor Inn (1797), nearby in Digbeth, won the prestigious Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) award of 'Regional Pub of the Year' in 1996/7 and again in 1998/9. Many pubs are also located in the Irish Quarter. Aston is an area of Birmingham, England, in the north-east of the city centre. ... The Bartons Arms is a pub in the Aston area of Birmingham, England. ... Hockley is a district in Birmingham, England, and the centre of the citys jewellery industry. ... Asheville City Hall. ... Hall Green constituency shown within Birmingham Hall Green is an area in south Birmingham, England. ... Kings Heath is a suburb of Birmingham, England, three miles south of the city centre. ... Stirchley is an area of Birmingham, England. ... The oldest Inn in Birmingham is the Old Crown in Digbeth, which dates back to circa 1450. ... Deritend is an historic area of Birmingham, England. ... Events March - French troops under Guy de Richemont besiege the English commander in France, Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, in Caen April 15 - Battle of Formigny. ... The Anchor Inn, in Digbeth, Birmingham is one of the oldest public houses in Birmingham and dates back to 1797. ... 1797 (MDCCXCVII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 11-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Digbeth is an area of Birmingham, England. ... The Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) is an independent, voluntary, consumer organisation in the United Kingdom whose main aim is promoting real ale and the traditional British pub. ... The Irish Quarter is an area which covers much of Digbeth and Deritend south of Birmingham city centre, England. ...

Food

Tea

During the early 19th century, Thomas Ridgway began trading in the Bull Ring, selling tea. Ridgway later went bankrupt. Setting up business in London he paid back all of his creditors and continued his tea trade becoming one of the first English tea companies to hygienically prepack tea so as to avoid adulteration. In 1876, Queen Victoria commanded House of Ridgways to create a blend for her own personal use. In 1863, William Sumner (founder of Typhoo) published "A Popular Treatise on Tea". In 1870, Sumner started a pharmacy/grocery business in Birmingham. The Typhoo and Ridgway brand name are now owned by Premier Brands USA. Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Categories: Possible copyright violations ... 2003 Bull Ring - St Martins church and Selfridges The Bull Ring market has been an important feature of Birmingham since the Middle Ages. ... Tea leaves in a Chinese gaiwan. ... 1876 (MDCCCLXXVI) was a leap year starting on Saturday. ... Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837, and the first Empress of India from 1 January 1877, until her death in 1901. ... 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Saturday of the Julian calendar). ... The Typhoo tea brand was launched in 1903 by William Sumner of Birmingham, England after his sister Mary had tried some of his tea which he recommended to her for indigestion, the brew was later to become one of the UKs most popular tea brands. ... 1870 (MDCCCLXX) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... Premier Foods plc is a British-based food manufacturer headquartered in St Albans. ...

Limes

Birmingham's earliest food trade connections with the West Indies involved the importation of limes and cocoa during the mid- to late- 1800s. The Caribbean or the West Indies is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea. ... Percentages are relative to US RDI values for adults. ... Cocoa beans in a cacao pod Cocoa is the dried and partially fermented fatty seed of the cacao tree from which chocolate is made. ... Events and Trends Beginning of the Napoleonic Wars (1803 - 1815). ...

The Montserrat Co. Ltd. was formed in Edgbaston by J.& E. Sturge. Lime juice was produced in the city and then exported for use in the manufacture of citric acid. The failure of Sicily's lemon crop at that time resulted in an opening in the market which Sturge took great advantage of utilizing their extensive chemical works based in Edgbaston. The company was set up by the Sturge and Albright families who funded the development of Montserrat estates in 1867. Joseph Sturge bought the Elberton Sugar Estate in 1857 and converted it into a lime production plant. He also wanted to prove that free labour could be made profitable (the Sturge family were instrumental in the anti-slavery movement). Citric acid is a weak organic acid found in citrus fruits. ... Sicily (Sicilia in Italian and Sicilian, Σικελία in Greek) is an autonomous region of Italy and the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, with an area of 25,700 km² and 5 million inhabitants. ... A chemical substance is any material substance used in or obtained by a process in chemistry: A chemical compound is a substance consisting of two or more chemical elements that are chemically combined in fixed proportions. ... Works can mean several things, including: albums called Works. ... 1867 (MDCCCLXVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... 1857 was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... This poster depicting the horrific conditions on slave ships was influential in mobilizing public opinion against slavery in the United Kingdom and the United States. ...

Restaurants

In 1896, a new building was built in Corporation Street to house James Henry Cook's vegetarian restaurant, one of the first in England. In 1898, 'The Pitman Vegetarian Hotel', named after the famous vegetarian Sir Isaac Pitman, was opened on the same site, and the proprietors subsequently opened a long-running health food store. 1896 (MDCCCXCVI) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Corporation Street is a main shopping street in central Birmingham, England. ... For animals adapted to eat primarily plants, sometimes referred to as vegetarian animals, see Herbivore. ... Toms Restaurant, a restaurant in New York made familiar by Suzanne Vega and the television sitcom Seinfeld A restaurant is an establishment that serves prepared food and beverages to order, to be consumed on the premises. ... 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... The Pitman Vegetarian Hotel was a vegetarian hotel that opened in 1898 in Birmingham, England, as an expansion of a vegetarian restaurant on the same site. ... Categories: Stub ... A health food store is a type of grocery store that primarily sells natural or organic foods, and often nutritional supplements. ...

Birmingham is home to a wide variety of Asian eateries which have served the people of Birmingham since the 1940s. The Wing Yip food empire first began in the city and now has its headquarters in the Chinese Quarter along with many other fine oriental restaurants. World map showing the location of Asia. ... The 1940s decade ran from 1940 to 1949. ... Wing Yip is a Chinese supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. ... The Chinatown or Chinese Quarter in Birmingham, England is nestled between the gay village and city centre in the Deritend disrict of the city. ...

In 1945, Abdul Aziz opened a cafe shop selling curry and rice in Steelhouse Lane. This later became The Darjeeling, the first Indian in Birmingham, owned by Afrose Miah. The second was The Shah Bag on Bristol Street. The Aloka opened on Bristol Street in 1960 and Banu on Hagley Road in 1969. The Balti was invented in the city and has since received much gastronomic acclaim for the 'Balti belt' (Balti Triangle) of restaurants in the Sparkbrook, Balsall Heath and Ladypool areas of the city. 1945 (MCMVL) was a common year starting on Monday (the link is to a full 1945 calendar). ... An Indian chicken curry A curry is any of a variety of distinctively spiced dishes, best-known in Indian, Thai and other South Asian cuisines, but curry has been adopted into all of the mainstream cuisines of the Asia-Pacific area. ... Species Oryza glaberrima Oryza sativa Rice is two species (Oryza sativa and Oryza glaberrima) of grass, native to tropical and subtropical southern & southeastern Asia and to Africa, which together provide more than one fifth of the calories consumed by humans[1]. (The term wild rice can refer to wild species... 1960 (MCMLX) was a leap year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1960 calendar). ... 1969 (MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1969 calendar). ... Balti (baahl-tea) is the name for a style of food probably first devised and served in Birmingham, England around the late 1970s, probably 1977. ... Sparkbrook and Small Heath constituency shown within Birmingham Sparkbrook is an area in south-east Birmingham, England. ... Balsall Heath is a working class, inner-city area of Birmingham, England. ...

Thai Edge, which started out in Brindleyplace has been praised as one of the top ten Asian restaurants in the UK by The Independent magazine. Brindleyplace Brindleyplace (often written Brindley Place) is a large mixed-use canalside development, near the centre of Birmingham, England. ... The Independent is a British compact newspaper published by Tony OReillys Independent News & Media. ...

The city now boasts two Michelin starred restaurants. Simpson's and Jessica's, both in Edgbaston, were awarded one star each in the 2005 Michelin restaurant guide for Great Britain and Ireland. Jessica's was also named AA England Restaurant of the Year 2004/2005. New York City 2006 First Michelin Red Guide for North America The Michelin Guide (Le Guide Michelin) is a series of annual guide books published by Michelin for over a dozen countries. ... The Automobile Association (also referred to as The AA) is a British motoring organisation. ... 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Brands

Famous food brands that originated in Birmingham include Typhoo tea, Birds custard, Blue Bird Toffee, Bournville cocoa, Cadbury chocolate and HP Sauce. The Typhoo tea brand was launched in 1903 by William Sumner of Birmingham, England after his sister Mary had tried some of his tea which he recommended to her for indigestion, the brew was later to become one of the UKs most popular tea brands. ... ... Blue Bird Toffee is a famous confectioner that was set up in Birmingham, England in 1898 by Harry Vincent. ... Bournville is an area on the south side of Birmingham, best known for its connections with the Cadbury family and chocolate - including a dark chocolate bar branded Bournville. It is also home to a campus of the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design. ... Cadbury Schweppes plc is a confectionery and beverage company with its headquarters in Berkeley Square, London, England. ... The HP Sauce logo HP Sauce is a condiment, a popular brown sauce produced in Aston, Birmingham, England by HP Foods. ...

Events

The BBC Good Food Show takes place at The National Exhibition Centre and is Britain's biggest and most extensive food event. The British Broadcasting Corporation, invariably known as the BBC (and also informally known as the Beeb or Auntie) is the largest broadcasting corporation in the world, employing 26,000 staff in the UK alone and with a budget of £4 billion. ... The National Exhibition Centre (NEC) is the seventh largest exhibition centre in Europe, located in Solihull, near Birmingham, England. ...

External links

• The Balti belt
• Birmingham Plus - 2000+ reviews of restaurants in the area