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A culinary experience

26 March 2010

This is an old post, so may include broken links and/or out-of-date information

Last night James and I were lucky enough to attend Repast – an event to celebrate the life of creative professional development organisation Arts+Media which is evolving into a purely online organisation at the end of this month.

Repast was set in the seemingly strange location of a disused warehouse in Coventry's Far Gosford Street – though as this is an area currently undergoing redevelopment into a hub for creative businesses and activities, it's actually a perfectly apt venue for a creative event.

The building had been divided into different rooms, the first of which had been dressed with Bill Drummond manifestos and notices and, with the usual drinks table in the corner and some background music setting the tone, it wasn't terribly different from the usual arty shindig. And then we were greeted by a lovely but, I'm sure she won't mind me saying, slightly peculiar woman who introduced herself as Blanch.

Curious.

Anyway, we mingled, sipped wine, chatted with artsy folks – then James did a quick interview on camera whilst I met Blanch's friend who introduced herself as 'Shock'. Hmmm … so this is how the evening's going to be, is it?!

So yes, Repast's catering was provided by Blanch and Shock and the food was served by … you guessed it, Blanch and Shock; two welcoming yet bizarre pantomime/fairytale/mediaeval/Judderman/Pippi Longstocking-type characters. This was proper smile-inducing, enjoyable and not-at-all-scary-like-I'd-thought-it-might've-been performance art. (And possibly something to do with Kindle Theatre? If you know either way please pop a note in the comments.)

As for the food itself – it was stunning. Weird and wonderful Ferran Adrià-style concoctions; the most incredible of which was a 'spherified lime and mint cocktail' which seemed to be a jelly-like oystery thing, but it then burst into liquid as soon as it left the spoon. It really was a feast for all the senses – especially when the aroma balloons were released!

I loved the fact that the venue was peculiar but perfect, and that the folks handing the food around – who'd usually remain in the background – were, along with the food, the main event of the evening. Suffice to say, Repast was magical, amusing, delicious and wonderful – and most certainly an experience.

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A+M have documented Repast and the process of putting the event together, and this'll be online for all to see over on their website shortly.

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