PRESS RELEASE Ref: i8
DATE: OCTOBER 2016
British Airways i360 launches menus championing locally sourced ingredients
British Airways i360 has launched the menus for its restaurant and event spaces with input from MasterChef: The Professionals Winner Steven Edwards, championing produce which has been caught, reared and grown in the South Downs region.
The Belle Vue is a 226-seat restaurant in the British Airways i360 beach building with extensive sea-facing terraces, designed by the attraction’s creators, Marks Barfield Architects. The restaurant has clean, modern lines and a mirrored, round bar in the centre and was named after Belle Vue Field, the former name of Regency Square in the 18th century.
The event rooms, which offer flexible space for up 1,100 people with stunning sea views and private access for British Airways i360 flights, are perfect for business meetings, parties and weddings. Guests can enjoy private fine dining, canapé receptions, beach barbeques, buffets and bowl food.
More than 50% of the ingredients served in The Belle Vue restaurant have been sourced locally. These include mussels caught off the Sussex coast, cheeses made with local cow and sheep milk at High Weald Dairy near Haywards Heath and crusty bread from Brighton’s Flour Pot Bakery.
British Airways i360 head chef Alan Parker was tutored by Michelin starred French chef Christian Tetedoie and went on to work at top restaurants including The Mirabelle in Eastbourne and The Savoy in London.
He said: “All our core ingredients, such as meat, fish, cheese and bread are sourced locally from the best farms and artisan makers, and I have my own pastry chef on site. Our goal is to create high quality food and drink that makes British Airways i360 as much a food destination as a magnificent tourist attraction.”
Steven Edwards has contributed his own ‘Etch Burger’ to the menu, using beef dry-aged for 28 days from Trenchmore Farm in Cowfold and served with a pint of Silly Moo Cider made on the same farm.
Award-winning company Heritage Portfolio, which is part of Centerplate, is managing catering and events at Brighton & Hove’s stylish new event venue, restaurant and tea room.
The catering team is committed to cooking all dishes from scratch on the premises. This is also true of the cakes, dainties and afternoon teas served in the West Pier Tea Room, which is housed in a beautifully reconstructed 18th century tollbooth on Kings Parade, with a stunning outdoor deck overlooking the old West Pier.
The Nyetimber Sky Bar on board the British Airways i360 viewing pod also showcases the best of Sussex, serving award-winning Nyetimber sparkling wine, Wobblegate apple juice from Bolney, Harvey’s Sussex Ale from Lewes, South Downs Water and Brighton Gin.
David Marks, chairman of British Airways i360 said: “We have one of the best locations on Brighton beach and have worked closely with Heritage Portfolio to develop the restaurant concept from the idea of ‘social dining’; accessible to all, tourists by day and locals by night, serving the finest ingredients in a menu that is adaptable, local and based on quality, unique dishes.”
Eleanor Harris, chief executive of British Airways i360, said: “We believe there is a gap in the market for a destination beach-side restaurant in Brighton. Our vision for The Belle Vue restaurant is to serve the best of Sussex so that customers can enjoy food and drink that has been grown, reared, caught, brewed or produced in Sussex – the landscape which our visitors can enjoy at 450 feet.”
ENDS
For images please see the full press pack at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/acrx5g1styuhipu/AADCx0Nb4VguMyBLRh0LHXb1a?dl=0
For further media information please contact Emily Bamber, PR & Communication Manager at British Airways i360:
British Airways i360 general press pack at: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/hr138pm2lal258o/AAAaNN8-i_cXYA6axawxLs8Ea?dl=0
01273 448363
INFORMATION FOR EDITORS
About British Airways i360
British Airways i360 is conceived and designed by Marks Barfield Architects, creators of the London Eye.
With an overall height of 162m, and a glass observation pod that glides up from ground level to 138m above Brighton beach, British Airways i360 is the world’s tallest moving observation tower and the world’s first vertical cable car. Visitors enjoy unprecedented unfolding views across Brighton & Hove, the South Downs and the beautiful south coast. While on board, guests can enjoy a drink at the Nyetimber Sky Bar which serves a range of drinks from Sussex including Nyetimber, an award-winning sparkling wine.
At the base of the tower is the British Airways i360 beach building which houses a stylish restaurant, The Belle Vue Brighton, with sea views and a large terrace. Menus have been developed with Steven Edwards, former winner of Masterchef: The Professionals, and feature ingredients sourced from the local area. The beach building also has flexible beachside events spaces which can be hired for private functions and can accommodate between 10 and 1,100 people. British Airways i360 is licensed for weddings and couples can marry in the pod, saying ‘I do’ at 138m above Sussex.
The British Airways i360 shop stocks gifts and souvenirs, many of which have been created by local Brighton artists.
British Airways i360 has worked with the West Pier Trust to reconstruct two of the original West Pier tollbooths using Victorian building techniques. The reconstructed buildings now grace the entrance to British Airways i360, and house The West Pier Tea Room and the British Airways i360 ticket office.
British Airways i360 holds the Guinness World Record for the World’s Most Slender Tower, with a diameter of just 3.9 meters at its widest point.
www.britishairwaysi360.com
Twitter: @BA_i360
Instagram: @BA_i360
Facebook: BritishAirwaysi360
Pinterest: @BA_i360
Hashtag: #bai360
The Belle Vue restaurant:
Twitter @HelloBelleVue
Facebook BelleVueBrighton
Instagram @BelleVueBrighton
British Airways i360 tickets and pricing:
Tickets cost from £13.50 per adult and from £6.75 per child when booked online at BritishAirwaysi360.com at least three days in advance. Walk-up prices are £15.00 per adult and £7.50 per child. Discounts are available for students and pensioners, and children under 4 years old go free.
Priority Flights can be booked during peak times and cost from £22.50 per person, including fast-track entry and a guide book.
Visitors can re-live the experience year-round with an annual pass, which costs £90.00 per adult and £45.00 per child and entitles the holder to unlimited walk-up entry (subject to availability), monthly promotions across the attraction and early invitations to special events. Discounts are available for seniors and students.
Disabled visitors may bring an assistant with them free of charge and are encouraged to call the booking number to discuss their requirements (no surcharge will apply).
About Heritage Portfolio
The award-winning Heritage Portfolio, which is part of the Centerplate group, is a leading UK-wide events and catering company and has been granted the Royal Warrant of Appointment to Her Majesty The Queen as Supplier of Catering Services. Heritage Portfolio specialises in delivering superb, ‘cooked from scratch’ catering services to historic palaces and venues and operates a number of cafés and restaurants throughout the UK. In Scotland these venues include Colonnades at The Signet Library, Mansfield Traquair, the cafés at the National Galleries of Scotland and one of their newest venues is the spectacular Arley Hall & Gardens in Cheshire.
www.heritageportfolio.co.uk
Twitter: @ HPLEvents
Facebook: HeritagePortfolio
Instagram: @heritageportfolio
About Marks Barfield Architects
David Marks and Julia Barfield are the architect-entrepreneurs behind the creation of Brighton i360. They founded the company in 2005 and are its majority shareholders. Previously they performed a similar role creating the London Eye where they remained shareholders and directors until 2006. Together with a tight-knit group of extraordinary individuals, trusted consultants and companies, many of whom worked with David and Julia at the London Eye, they secured the planning permission, partners, land and funding for British Airways i360. Marks Barfield Architects is one of the UK’s most versatile and innovative architecture practices, established in 1989. David chairs the British Airways i360 board.
www.marksbarfield.com
@marksbarfield
About British Airways
British Airways is one of the world’s leading global premium airlines and the UK’s largest international scheduled airline, carrying approximately 35 million passengers worldwide annually, on around 800 daily flights. The airline employs around 40,000 people, the vast majority of these at its sites throughout the UK, and has an annual turnover of £8.5 billion. It employs 2,500 people in Sussex, several hundred of them in Brighton.
www.ba.com
@british_airways