Promotion
TASTE on Two at Harvey Nichols combined my two favourite things: passionate people creating food they truly love and believe in, and free samples. From the word go, everyone we spoke to was enthusiastic about not only their products but the Taste on Two event itself. Held every autumn, it gives you a chance to meet the chefs and suppliers behind the Second Floor’s food in an evening of tastings, shopping and demos.
Hands up if you've ever had bellini cocktail-flavoured popcorn?
Being the logical sort, we decided to don our aprons and work our way around the fascinating stalls one by one. We started off with Lemonaid, whose rainbow array of bottled drinks caught our eye. As we sipped a pleasing blood orange lemonade, the chap manning the stall told us all about the charitable work the brand is involved in.
Lemonaid is proud to be ‘beyond Fairtrade’ with every bottle sold not only supporting the local farmers who grow the ingredients but also social projects in the farmers' communities. Through Lemonaid more than £1 million has been raised so far.
Next we discovered an abundance of gin makers, all of whom had something that made them stand out, be it peppermint rock to drop into your cup, or a method to make the gin smokier. Manchester Gin were particularly popular; it took us a good five minutes to get close enough to take a picture. The gin stalls were hands-down the most-visited attractions of the night, with their mixer counterparts coming a close second.
We sidestepped a stall selling olives in favour of the most peculiar popcorn I had ever tasted. Hands up if you've ever had bellini cocktail-flavoured popcorn? On the first bite, I thought ‘blimey that’s sharp’ but before the thought was complete the surprisingly citrusy flavour had dissolved into a sugary sweetness. I tried another piece to be sure, followed by another and another. “Good, isn’t it?” the lady said with a knowing grin.
The first demonstration of the night revolved around oysters. The chef deftly shucked an oyster for us before asking the apprehensive audience for a volunteer to try it raw. He was met with silence until one lady strode up and knocked the mollusc back like a slippery shot.
After that it was like an oyster spell had been cast and people queued around the room to try one. Needless to say, the oyster quiz afterwards became very competitive as we guessed true or false on oyster-related facts to win a bottle of Prosecco.
After oysters came rum. An experienced bartender (who was very popular with the ladies) talked us through the history of rum and the distillation process, all while shaking and blending a signature cocktail.
The Patisserie demonstration was last. The bubbly, pink-haired chef Kerrie Hacquoil was a burst of energy as the night drew to a close. She had brought a selection of completed products you can make with the notoriously tricky choux pastry while assuring us that it doesn’t have to be difficult. In fact, her demonstration made it look easy enough to try at home. She made everything from little doughnut-like balls to churros and eclairs.
It was a great ending to the night. We were reluctant to leave, there were still stalls we wanted to return to, but we trickled out of the Brassiere with the rest of the guests, our little bags filled with indulgent purchases.
To find out about Harvey Nichols Manchester future events click here.
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