MasterChef winner Simon Wood is hosting a ‘Ginema’ in his Manchester restaurant.
The cinematic banquet has been organised by Didsbury Gin, and involves a screening along with drinks and food.
New Halloween concept
The Ginema experience, which combines a film showing with food and gin tasting, will be launching in Wood this Halloween.
It was created by the Didsbury Gin team, who then collaborated with Simon Wood to find the perfect venue. The first screening will be of Alfred Hitchcock’s classic thriller Psycho, a fitting tribute to the season which is sure to send a shiver down the spine of diners.
Attendees will begin with a glass of fizz when they arrive at the restaurant, and will be seated with canapes and gin and tonics made with Didsbury Gin as they watch the first half of the film. There will then be an intermission at the midway point.
This will be a perfect opportunity for everyone to sit down with a main course from the restaurant’s own menu. They will also be served more gin and tonics to keep them going. Main course examples from the a la carte menu include lamb with peas, carrot, menthe, and celeriac; beef with burnt onion, horseradish, madeira, and truffle; chicken with chorizo, black olive, saffron, and pimiento; and cauliflower with Romanesco and Kirkhams.
After the break, the film will continue to its conclusion. Customers will then get their hands on coffees and petit fours after it finishes, great for some spirited discussion of the film and its impact. It’s a real classic, and while it may not be as scary when you know the ending, it still has the power to thrill.
Gin with a story
The founders of Didsbury Gin, Liam Manton and Mark Smallwood, will be in attendance for the night to talk directly to visitors and let them know what their brand is all about. It’s a new drink, having launched earlier this year, and has quite an interesting story. It was inspired by Didsbury’s Fletcher Moss Park, named in honour Alderman Fletcher Moss. He gifted the gardens to the city, as well as the Old Parsonage, which had been his home up until his death in 1919.
Though this is the first Ginema event, there are plenty more planned across Manchester – and should it take on, it could easily progress to other cities as well. It is taking place on Halloween night from 6.30pm, with tickets placed at £39 per person. There are only enough spaces for 18 people, so it’s obviously urgent to book if you would like to attend.
As food recruitment specialists we’ve seen a lot of interesting restaurant event ideas over the years. Other Halloween examples include zombie film screenings with suitably disgusting menus – often food colouring is used to give meals a different look. The twist is when the servers act like zombies themselves.
There can be a lot of interim food jobs generated by events like these, as additional staff are needed to ensure that the event goes to plan. Most servers probably don’t imagine that they will be called on to be actors as well, but it turns out that it’s a great skill to have!
Some food events are highly successful, while others turn out to be little more than gimmicks. One thing is for certain, and that is that customers still need quality. Even when you are trying to put the Halloween spin on things, food and drinks still need to be tasty – not just gruesome-looking. It’s a lesson that seems obvious, yet some restaurant owners fail to hit the mark.
