Why the credit crunch means it's good to lunch in Birmingham

Jan 23 2009 by Richard McComb, Birmingham Post

The restaurant trade is facing hard times, lean times, and, as the old song goes, there may be trouble ahead.

Belts are being tightened, expense accounts are being slashed and the gravy train has hit the buffers.

But to paraphrase Irving Berlin, while there’s music and moonlight and love and romance, let’s face the music – and eat.

One wouldn’t be as facile as to suggest the nation should try to eat itself out of a recession. In fact, one could argue we got into this mess in the first place by metaphorically over-eating, gorging on the sugar-rush of unsustainable debt, bingeing while the banks burned. Now we are nursing the mother of all acid reflux attacks.

However, there may yet be a silver lining to the economically black thunder clouds for food-lovers.

Diners may trim back on their wine selections and forego the lobster thermidor, but they still need to eat; and the pull of comfort eating is a powerful one.

It is also a fact that restaurants that produce good food – really good food – and that offer reasonably priced wine and good service seldom go out of business. The directors may have to take lower profits, lay off temporary staff and cutback on foie gras, but good restaurants tend to adapt and survive. Only idiots think the boom times will last forever and idiots shouldn’t be running restaurants. The trick, as ever, is to plan for the slumps.

Ropey restaurants are always among the first businesses to fail in a downturn and there are plenty of them out there, all willing to take your hard-earned, taxed income in return for mediocrity, or worse, indifference. There won’t be tears shed for these places by anyone who values honest, well-cooked food and convivial surroundings – and there are plenty of these places, too.

The upside of the downturn is that there are some great set meal and a la carte menus on offer, particularly at lunch-time. In an odd way, there has never been a better time to do lunch. Reservations are certainly easier to come by. So welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to the era of the credit-crunch lunch. Your table is ready.

Eating out at lunch-time has always offered the perfect excuse to step off the treadmill of daily existence. And although the days of extended “working” lunches may have passed, the movers and shakers of the commercial world still need to be fed and watered and a restaurant is an ideal venue. Lunch menus, as opposed to evening dining, traditionally offer great value for money and the deals are likely to get tastier and tastier as the recession bites.

The cooking in Birmingham’s kitchens has never been better. The city now boasts three one-star Michelin restaurants – the biggest concentration of top-class gastronomy outside London – and Birmingham’s new-found, and deserved, food status can only help raise standards all round.

In an effort to raise the profile of the city’s burgeoning restaurant scene, the Birmingham Post will be running reviews of credit-crunch lunches in the Friday magazine.

The timing makes sense: restaurants and bars play a vital role in the local economy and account for a significant pool of skilled (often very skilled) and semi-skilled labour, from head chefs, cooks and kitchen staff to waiters, receptionists, accountants, bottle-washers and cleaners. Then there is the snaking supply chain – the farmers, the growers, the cheesemakers, the breadmakers, the butchers, the wine merchants, the delivery staff, the florists, the tableware manufacturers. The list goes on.

The Post is throwing down the gauntlet to restaurateurs in Birmingham and its environs: invite our critic – and a guest – for lunch and we will give readers a warts-and-all review of your establishment. We will be looking at the quality of the produce, the skill and innovation of the cooking, the service and surroundings, and, crucially for a credit-crunch lunch, value for money.

We will also flag up rip-off extras, such as charging for bread, and astronomically priced side-orders.

The initiative has won the backing of all the city’s top restaurants – including the new triumvirate of Michelin-starred chefs, Luke Tipping (Simpsons), Glynn Purnell (Purnell’s) and Richard Turner (Turner’s).

Everyone has been feeling the pinch, including the big-hitters. Tipping, whose lunch service is reviewed today, says: “It is purely affecting our lunch business. The evenings are fine.”

Simpsons’ reputation as a “celebration” restaurant puts it in a strong position – people still want to mark birthdays, engagements and anniversaries. But Tipping recognises that the weekday lunch market – Saturdays and Sundays are a different animal – is a tougher nut to crack, especially when expense accounts are being reined in.

“There is a wealth of business around here,” says Tipping, looking round at the well-heeled Edgbaston locality.

“But we have noticed a dip at lunch in the past two months or so. It is not just us. Everyone is feeling it.”

It means there is more shopping around for the best quality supplies and a greater emphasis on food provenance. Simpsons has recently started using Severn & Wye smoked salmon, based at Westbury-on-Severn, Gloucestershire. The company insists on wild fish or farmed Scottish salmon from producers working in unpolluted waters on sites with strong tidal flows, ensuring healthy fish.

Tipping adds: “The recession has made us stronger and leaner. When we come out of it, we are going to be a lot more profitable.”

Ann Tonks, managing director of Opus restaurant, says 2009 will be challenging for all types of businesses. “We love a challenge,” says Ann. “This year has started with some wonderful news. Birmingham is now a city with three Michelin-starred restaurants. The dynamic professional community, where Opus is located, has launched the BID [Business Improvement District] initiative, which is being voted on this month. And the Big City Plan will start to take shape after a lengthy consultation process. All of these initiatives will be crucial for bringing new visitors to Birmingham, which are vital for the city.

“If you believe, as we do, that the customer shapes your business, then we have to stay close to our loyal, local community to keep delivering quality underpinned by value for money. And we have to keep refreshing our offer, like our new chef’s table, where diners can eat in the midst of our kitchen for a bit of culinary theatre.”

And at times like these, everyone could do with some theatre, some escapism – and enjoy themselves, within budget, whilst supporting the local economy. Sometimes you have to make a meal of it.