Brighton chef to collaborate with craft brewery for nose-to-tail tasting menu

By Daniel Woolfson

- Last updated on GMT

Tom Griffiths: "You have to do pairings properly"
Tom Griffiths: "You have to do pairings properly"

Related tags Cooking Pickling

The chef behind popular Brighton pub pop-up residency Flank has announced a one-off, nose-to-tail tasting menu with craft beer pairings.

Berkshire craft brewer Siren Craft Brew will pair beers to five food courses by chef Tom Griffiths at the event, which will take place at Flank's current home at Indigo site the Cow, Seven Dials, on Thursday 30 June.

Griffiths said: "The inspiration is to do nose-to-tail food with really distinctive beer pairings. It's very carefully structured.

"For instance, I know that a strong tongue dish will have to sit with a double IPA. [Creating pairings] is not as simple as 'that bit of food will go with that' - you have to make sure they're super complemented."

Pushing yourself

The menu and beer pairings are being kept under wraps until the event, but Griffiths exclusively revealed to the Publican's Morning Advertiser ​(PMA​) that one of the dishes would be barbecued tongue cooked in elder wood with pickled British cucumber and gochujang.

For chefs who don't traditionally cook in such a way, putting on tasting menus and pairing events is a great way of pushing yourself as a cook, Griffiths added.

"It makes you think about all the other elements. I don't want the beer to just be washed down your throat, I want it to bring out way more in the dish."

It was potentially more challenging to pair beer to dishes than it was with wine, he suggested.

"Hops act as a palate cleanser as well, so they can potentially clear away flavours. So you have to do pairings properly."

Royal Sovereign

Flank first took up residence at fellow Indigo pub the Royal Sovereign in Preston Street, before Griffiths decided to move the operation to the Cow​, citing the need for a larger kitchen and dining room as the reason for the move.

Dishes currently available at Flank include locally caught brill with fresh cucumber tsukemono, fresh peas, barbecue spring onions and chilli dressing; brisket marinated for 24 hours and slow cooked with house pickles and pan stock; and devilled half chicken with roasted garlic mayo and buttered corn.

Side dishes include fried Applewood cheese croquettes, crispy hen's egg with piccalilli and crispy Kentucky-fried pigs' ears.

He previously told the PMA​ he was also considering introducing a late-night, offal-centric supper club for Brighton chefs and industry professionals who wanted to eat that kind of food but did not necessarily have the time to frequent restaurants throughout the week.

Read the PMA's full length interview with Tom Griffiths about nose-to-tail cookery and running a pub kitchen residency​.

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