Food

REVIEW: Albert’s Schloss Flamboyant Bavarian party palace arrives in Birmingham

Birmingham’s £700million Paradise development is the home of brand-new Bavarian ‘party palace’ Albert’s Schloss. But you probably already know that, given that it was one of the city’s most highly anticipated openings in 2021. Named after Anglo-Bavarian royal and husband of Queen Victoria, Prince Albert, the popular brand has been brought to the Midlands by awardwinning hospitality group Mission Mars, following the success of Albert’s Schloss Manchester, which has been open since 2015. Influenced by travels across Alpine Europe, the venue offers roaring fires, raucous performances, tankards of Europe’s finest beer and endless naughtiness. Sounds good, right? Set across two floors and with three bars, its Cook Haus serves up a rich and indulgent Alpineinspired menu. Star dishes include fondue (melted gruyère, emmental and fontina cheese, Franz and Friends white wine, kirsch, garlic slivers, haus pickles, sourdough and charlotte potatoes) and Schweinshaxe (crispy roasted pork knuckle seasoned with juniper, caraway, fennel and black pepper, served with rich gravy, red cabbage and apple sauce). Why my partner and I ordered neither of these dishes when we visited, I’m really not sure?! Next time. Albert’s Schloss’s in-house bakery produces artisan bread, pretzels (try one, you won’t be disappointed!), pastries and puddings paired with fresh, daily roasted coffee. Upstairs sits Ludwig’s Tavern, named after the controversial King Ludwig II, who ruled Bavaria from 1864 to ’86 and was affectionately known as the Fairytale King. The drinks menu features Bavarian Bier, Vermouths and Amaros and Alpine Schnapps, which are made fresh on-site every week in the distillery. The Tavern also boasts a shuffleboard table and ski lodge board games. There’s an outdoor terrace too, finished off with a restored Citroen Van bier bar. It’s no secret that the Germans love a good party - and they do it oh so well! Albert’s Schloss has recruited 110 entertainers, musicians and dancers to provide seven days of showtime, filled to the brim with cabaret performances, immersive live entertainment, DJs, bands and plenty more. Introduction over. On to the food. To start, we shared the ham & cheese ‘krokettes’ and the French onion soup served in a haus baked sourdough. The combination of bread, intense vegetable stock, Schwarzbier, roscoff parmesan cream, herb crumb, onion and melted gruyère made for the ultimate comfort food; the perfect way to warm up after braving Birmingham’s Baltic temperatures. The same can be said for the croquettes. Crisp on the outside, creamy and soft on the inside, they too were wolfed down without hesitation. We shared the aptly named Sausage Fest platter for our main course. The platter featured a Bratwurst, the delicious Kaiserwurst (a sausage filled with chunks of melted cheddar cheese!) and a chilli beef frankfurter, which boasted a nice kick and was a welcome variation on the more classic choices. Enough for two, they were served with a side of creamy German potato salad, sauerkraut and pickles (which helped to cut through the meat), haus mustard and a tasty Berliner curry sauce. I have nothing but praise for the platter, but the showstopper here is the dessert - the Baked Alaska Flambé, to be precise. Again, best shared between two, the sharp orange parfait and blackberry compote, buttery shortbread, sweet vanilla ice cream and Italian meringue worked in harmony to create the most memorable dessert I’ve had in a long while. ‘Lit’ at the table with flaming Grand Marnier, every mouthful was pure joy, and I urge you to order it if you visit. The Spiced Apple Strudel cocktail (Żubrówka Bison Grass vodka, Pedro Ximénez sherry, apple, lemon, cinnamon) and the Rhubarb & Raspberry Sour cocktail (Slingsby Rhubarb gin, Absolut Raspberri vodka, Aperol, lemon, aquafaba) were both fantastic, as were the trusty Espresso Martinis. So much so, in fact, that we had two of each during our visit, along with multiple steins of both Pilsner Urquell and one of our favourite weiss beers, Erdinger. We may well have sampled more of the cocktail menu too, but our memories are a little hazy. If we did, I think it’s safe to assume that they would’ve been thoroughly enjoyed! Albert’s Schloss is outrageous, flamboyant and a lot of fun. Combine that with good, hearty food, even better drinks and engaging performances (dancing on the tables included) and you’ve got yourself a night to remember. Or to fail to remember if, like us, you indulge in one too many tipples - something which, at the ‘party palace’, is very easily done. Wunderbar! Lauren Foster

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Albert’s Schloss Paradise Forum One Chamberlain Square Birmingham B3 3AX Tel: 0121 314 8858

Floella Benjamin’s story, on stage at The REP

Omar Okai, director, Floella Benjamin, writer of Coming To England with Artistic Director Sean Foley. Photo credit, Geraint Lew is

Many readers will have fond memories of Floella Benjamin as a children’s TV presenter in the 1970s and ’80s. The ensuing decades have seen her widely recognised as an acclaimed writer, actor and children’s rights activist. Floella is associate producer of brand-new play Coming To England. A candid account of her family’s journey from Trinidad to the UK, the show premieres at The REP in February...

Floella Benjamin has seen countless first nights of shows, but the premiere of Coming To England at Birmingham Repertory Theatre will be special because the family musical is based on a book she wrote about her own childhood. First published in 1995, Coming To England tells of Floella’s journey as a child from her home in Trinidad to begin a new life in the UK. Aged just 10, she discovered an England very different from the one she had pictured, meeting with racism and prejudice. But Floella was determined to overcome any barriers, becoming a favourite of millions of children when she presented Play School and Play Away in the 1970s and ’80s, then going on to become a writer, producer, actress and children’s rights activist. Her contribution to the UK was recognised with an OBE in 2001 and her appointment as a life peer in 2010, as Baroness Benjamin of Beckenham. She was also made a Dame of the British Empire in 2020. As an associate producer of Coming To England, Floella has been closely involved with the production and is looking forward to sharing the story with audiences. Floella was prompted to write Coming To England by the enquiries of her own children: “When my children were little, they said, ‘Mum, what was it like when you were little?’ I realised there wasn’t a book which described my life - someone who was born in one culture, leaving that culture to come to another land and trying to make sense of a new world I found myself in. So I decided to write that book. “I knew I wanted to write it through the eyes of a child, to talk about the childhood experience, and it took me a while to get into that feeling of childhoodness. Then I sat down one night at about 11 o’clock and suddenly I got transposed into being that child. I just started writing, and I wrote until about four or five o’clock that morning. “I wrote everything, and there were tears and laughter, and when I showed my children what I’d written, they said, ‘Mum, this is incredible’.” Floella’s jazz musician father came to England first, followed by Floella’s mum and two of their children a year later, leaving Floella and three of her siblings with foster parents in Trinidad for 15 months. Once her parents had saved enough money, they sent for the remaining children. “I was 10, and four of us children came over on the big ship on our own. When we got to England we lived in one room in London eight people in one room, but Mum said, ‘Don’t cry, because this room is full of love’. “When I went to school it all started - the name-calling, being pushed up against a brick wall. Being bullied is traumatic, but I didn’t cry. Then, when I got home, I told my mum these strange racist words. I saw a tear roll down her cheek, and she said, ‘We’re living in England and some people will hate you because of the colour of your skin, but I want you to go to school and learn, and then one day you will be great.’ “I remember at the age of 10 rubbing my hand and realising that I was no longer a person but would always be recognised by the colour of my skin; as a colour. That’s quite tough to take as a 10-year-old.” But Coming To England is a story about remaining positive. “My message in Coming To England is that there is always hope. No matter what you go through, everything happens for a reason and every disappointment leads you to something better. “This show will be so joyful - the music, the sets, the colour; it will be like a cauldron of excitement. It’s a rich tapestry of sadness, frustration, laughter and joy, all coming together as the big H - hope.” It was Floella’s husband and creative partner Keith Taylor who first suggested adapting the book for the stage. Floella turned to writer and dramatist David Wood, who has adapted a host of children’s books for theatre, including Tom’s Midnight Garden, The Twits, The BFG, Babe and The Tiger Who Came To Tea. “David sent the script through, and I remember sitting down with a cup of tea in the kitchen and turning the first page. Immediately I was lost in the script. It was perfect. The whole thing came alive off the page, and I could see the scenes and hear the music and hear the voices in a theatre. He just captured it.” And then, in February 2020, Floella was approached by Sean Foley, artistic director of the Rep. “He said, ‘I’ve seen the script and I want to put it on at Birmingham Rep. Birmingham is the best city because it’s one of the most diverse in the country, and this is where this show should have its world premiere’.” This spring, Floella will finally see her story on stage. “It’s a story about people moving from one culture to another, and that will resonate with people everywhere.“It’s for children to have understanding and empathy and consideration, knowing there are consequences to their actions, and hopefully they won’t be horrible to someone. It’s not just about the colour of their skin. It could be because they’ve got ginger hair, it could be because they’ve got big ears, it could be anything. This story is about being different and how you deal with differences. “It’s a family show - it’s for adults as well as children, because 'childhood lasts a lifetime'. You always remain a child, and this will transport adults back. They will remember their childhood and the songs they used to sing as a child. “I will be so excited on the opening night. I’m 72, but this is a first for me, seeing my own story as a musical. I hope the audiences will be just as excited as I am when they leave the theatre. I can’t wait to sit in the audience and hear the reaction of the crowd. I’m sure it will be a magical evening, and I will be sitting back in my seat with pure enjoyment.”

Coming To England shows at The REP, Birmingham, from Sat 19 February until Sun 6 March

Classical music from across the region...

CBSO: Sibelius’ Symphony No2

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Thurs 13 January

“There is something about this music that leads us to ecstasy,” wrote Finnish composer Sulho Ranta of his countryman Jean Sibelius’ mighty second symphony, “almost like a shaman with his magic drum.” Composed by Sibelius during the second half of 1901, the symphony met with plenty of acclaim from the outset. The ensuing century-plus has seen it cement its reputation as a colossal entry in the classical canon. This CBSO rendition is accompanied by Coleridge-Taylor’s Solemn Prelude and Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor a work which is here performed by ClaraJumi Kang (pictured).

African Sanctus feat: Ex Cathedra & CBSO

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Sun 16 January

Birmingham’s highly rated early music ensemble Ex Cathedra here teams up with the city’s Keneish Dance and the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra’s community choir, SO Vocal, to present the late David Fanshawe’s choral colossus, African Sanctus. Bringing together the Latin Mass with live recordings of traditional African music, the composition is this year celebrating its 50th anniversary. It has been performed more than 1,000 times worldwide since premiering in London in the summer of 1972. African Sanctus is a truly visionary work. A real genre buster, it fuses vocal styles and combines pop, ethnic and classical instruments. It was very much a trailblazer, too - the showcasing of world music was a rare event 50 years ago, while the use of sampling and ‘live’ backing tracks was similarly uncommon. The piece hasn’t been without its critics during its first half century, though. Many have claimed that Fanshawe’s decision to use recordings he made of performances by African musicians was reflective of an arrogant colonial mindset... However, for others who feel able, temporarily at least, to park such ethical considerations, the piece is considered to be a joyous and life-affirming song of friendship and inclusion. Ex Cathedra’s founder, Jeffrey Skidmore, conducts this latest presentation of the work.

Classical

Russell Watson

Wolverhampton Grand Theatre, Fri 14 January

It’s more than 20 years since Russell Watson released debut offering The Voice, an album which topped the classical charts in both the UK and the US, catapulting him to stardom. Despite often being accused of sitting on the fence musically, the man widely referred to as ‘the people’s tenor’ boasts an army of loyal and appreciative fans - a Midlands contingent of whom will no doubt be packing out the Grand for this new-year concert. Expect to hear classics including Caruso, O Sole Mio, Il Gladiatore, Nessun Dorma, You Are So Beautiful, Someone To Remember Me and Where My Heart Will Take Me.

Viennese New Year

Symphony Hall, Birmingham, Sun 9 January

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra welcomes in the new year with an afternoon concert of elegant polkas and operetta romance. The programme includes The Merry Widow: Vilja, Die Fledermaus: Czárdás and On The Beautiful Blue Danube. Eduardo Strausser (pictured above), conducts.