Weekender: Birmingham’s historic markets take centre stage with Michelin-starred chef

An award-winning chef has invited Birmingham’s historic markets to take centre stage at the hotly-anticipated Colmore Food Festival.

The Bull Ring Indoor Market is among the oldest institutions in the city and has sold fresh fish, meat and vegetables to city shoppers for hundreds of years.

Chef Glynn Purnell has invited market traders to join him on the kitchen stage at the festival – which takes place on Friday, July 6 and Saturday, July 7 – to demonstrate meat and fish preparation skills honed over the years and passed down from generation to generation by market traders.

Purnell, owner of Michelin-starred Purnell’s on Cornwall Street, is a passionate supporter of the city’s markets and visits regularly to meet butchers and fishmongers to learn more about the latest seasonal produce on offer.

The TV host is on a mission to raise the profile of the markets at a time of change in the Bull Ring area, after the nearby Wholesale Markets moved to a new site in Witton.
Colmore Food Festival, delivered by Colmore BID, the business improvement district for the Colmore Row area, and sponsored by law firm DWF, is one of the UK’s biggest free-to-enter food and drink celebrations.

The annual Festival attracts more than 30,000 visitors each year keen to sample taster dishes and drinks prepared by more than 30 restaurants, bars and cafes based in the business district such as Opus, Gaucho, Alchemist and Zen Metro.

Purnell will officially launch the festival on Friday July 6, before hosting cookery demonstrations.

Market traders joining Glynn on stage will be Alan Doherty of A&P Doherty Butchers, Rodger Williams of C&K Ebanks Fishmongers and Greg Pearce of Pearce’s Shellfish.

“Supporting the Birmingham Indoor Market is something that I am incredibly passionate about, and I decided that what better stage is there to showcase this than the Colmore Food Festival,” said Purnell. “The market and its traders are the heartbeat of this amazing city, and they have been since the 12th century.

“We all need to remind ourselves what the markets have got to offer the city, and I am looking forward to doing this with three fantastic traders at the Colmore Food Festival.”