Click Here to view an article on Dining in the Dark from the 'Destination Milton Keynes' website.

Click here to view an article on Dining in the Dark in the 'Milton Keynes Citizen' from Wednesday 18 January 2012

CALCUTTA HONOURED AT NATIONAL CURRY AWARDS

Stony Stratford’s Calcutta Brasserie was honoured at the British Curry Awards on Monday 28th November.

The Indian restaurant was presented as a ‘Finalist’ from 15 venues in the South East region that were shortlisted. Only five restaurants received this honour at the most prestigious Indian restaurant awards in the UK.

Held at Evolution in Battersea, London and hosted by celebrity chef and presenter James Martin, the glitzy event was attended by celebrities and dignitaries including legendary footballer David Seaman; Mayor of London Boris Johnson; PR Guru Max Clifford, Employment Minister Chris Grayling and Conservative Party co-Chairman Baroness Warsi.

Prime Minister David Cameron also contributed a broadcast message from Downing Street during which he announced the winner of one of the evening’s major awards.

The attending team at Calcutta Brasserie were delighted to have firstly been selected on the shortlist of a region that stretches from Milton Keynes to as far as Brighton but also to have been named a ‘Finalists’. Proprietor, Mo said: “There is no bigger prize in the Indian Restaurant business than the Curry Awards and to have been chosen out of so many fantastic restaurants is an unbelievable achievement. However, we are aiming to win the category next year no matter how hard it is.”

An amazing 2,700 restaurants were entered for the awards from a record 68,000 public nominations. The black tie evening was attended by 1,600 people from restaurateurs to media and personalities. This is the seventh British Curry Awards since launching in 2004.

Now, I’ve been to quite a few Indian restaurants in my time, so they have to really stand out to make me sit up and take notice. When you first walk into Calcutta Brasserie the building itself does that even before you get to the food. Tucked away down a small side street in Stony Stratford, Calcutta doesn’t look much from the outside but when you step inside you can’t fail to be impressed. The building is a Grade II listed 17th century Chapel – now I bet you weren’t expecting that. A cavernous room awaits you with a domed ceiling which is painted dark blue with twinkly stars, the walls are adorned with more paintings including a back drop of Michelangelo’s Creation of Adam. It is really quite difficult to get your eyes to look down at the menu.

Once I managed to return my focus to the menu again it made me sit up and take notice. The information on the menu states that the chefs use authentic, naturally sourced and free range ingredients to create dishes from the different corners of India. All very well, but what does that mean in practice. The menu contains many dishes I have never seen on any other Indian restaurant menu which bodes well for this dining experience. In fact, it took quite a while for my dining companion and I to choose from the vast range of dishes; we could quite happily have tried several starters and several mains each, but we had to choose.

For our appetisers we went for Dosa, crispy rice pancakes stuffed with spiced potato fillings and served with traditional sambar, a coconut chutney. The pancakes were gorgeous and very light and the potato filling was equally as tasty but the standout was the coconut chutney. White and velvety, I could have eaten the bowl on its own. We also tried the Tiranga Samosas, three individual samosas, stuffed with potato and peas, chicken and red peppers, and duck with five spice. All very good but the duck one just pipped it for me.

On to the main courses and what a choice. Everything from Tandoor dishes to sea food, chicken, and lamb. They also have a large vegetarian selection and a handy guide next to each dish telling you how spicy they are – we stayed well away from the ones marked with three little chillies. After much deliberation we went for the Sizzling Tandoor Kebab Platter – which included lamb chops, chicken tikka, tandoori chicken, sheek kabab and tandoori prawns, served with plain naan. We both tried a bit of everything and nothing disappointed. For our other main we chose Chicken Mango Korma. Now I know some people are shouting “boring!” at this choice but hear me out.

My reason for choosing this dish is simple; every Indian restaurant offers a chicken korma, so the mark of a really good restaurant is if they can make this dish the one you remember and, boy, does this one deliver. The blurb on the menu says “poached and grilled corn-fed chicken breasts simmered in alphonso mango sauce” but this simply does not describe how god-damn tasty this dish is. I could have happily eaten another portion, it was so good. It will live in the memory for a long time and will ensure that I go back which must be a good thing. I may be slightly obsessed or even addicted.

I don’t normally have a dessert when at an Indian restaurant as I’m normally too full, but in the interests of doing a fair review we felt we had to try and force one down. We decided to go very traditional with my dining companion trying the Kulfi, an Indian style ice cream (Pistachio and Mango) which were both very tasty and full of flavour. I went for the choice I couldn’t even pronounce, Glub Jamun Aur Rabri. The description said ‘Warm khoya roundels with chilled Indian cardamom scented custard’ – I saw the word ‘custard’ and decided to give it a whirl. It was simply delicious, the roundels were like little balls of fried hot dough sat on a bed of some of the best tasting custard I’ve ever had – a perfect end to a wonderful meal.

Going back to the start of this review, did Calcutta Brasserie succeed in making me sit up and take notice? Oh yes it did. The setting truly has to be seen to be believed, and once you are over that shock you get to the food. After finishing our meal I really believed that I had tasted some truly authentic Indian dishes and came away very happy, very full and very much wanting to go back again, very soon.

Ratings:
Atmosphere: 9/10
Menu range: 9/10
Quality of food: 9/10
Service: 8/10
Value for money: 8/10

Banquet Menu
Eat as much as you like from a choice of four starters and three mains, plus two vegetable dishes and rice and bread. All for just £15.95 per person (min 2 persons to share).

Takeaway
The full menu is also available for takeaway and you can get 30% off before 7.30pm and 15% off after 7.30pm. They also run a number of other discounts and offers for the restaurant – check out their website for details.

Additional information
Calcutta Brasserie is also available to hire for celebration events such as wedding receptions, birthdays, anniversaries or product launches. IA private function room can seat up to 100 guests and the whole venue can cater for up to 200 guests. The restaurant can also provide outside catering for private events up to 1,000 people and have bespoke menus available at different price points to suit every budget.

Disabled facilities
Access is at ground level so easy for wheelchairs. Disabled toilet available.

From Sunday 9th October, the UK will celebrate National Curry Week and one of Milton Keynes’ restaurants is offering curry-lovers an opportunity of a lifetime – to have its award-winning head chef cook in their home.

Calcutta Brasserie in Stony Stratford is auctioning of its award-winning chef, Saj Khan, who was recently named the UK’s number 2nd Indian chef, to the highest bidder to raise money for the Curry Tree Charitable Fund and MK based charity, Climb Your Mountain.

Through auction website, eBay, people can bid for Mr Khan to cook a three course meal for four people that can choose anything from Calcutta Brasserie’s à la carte menu, available to anyone with an MK postcode. The chef will then visit the winning bidder’s home to create a culinary delight on a night of their choice and will even include a waiter for the night.

Mo, proprietor at Calcutta Brasserie said: “We know our head chef is one of the best in the country and this is a rare opportunity to offer people in Milton Keynes. Saj is a wonderful personality as well as chef and wants to give his all to help raise money for charity.”

To bid to have Calcutta Brasserie’s chef prepare and cook a meal in your home, visit www.ebay.co.uk and search ‘Calcutta Brasserie’

On Wednesday 21st September, Calcutta Brasserie in Stony Stratford will be celebrating its third anniversary with a lavish evening of traditional Indian celebrations.

Since changing the name from Moghul Palace in 2008, the Indian restaurant has built itself up to be one of the region’s most talked about restaurants, and along the way it has received national recognition for its quality of food and service having most recently been runner up as The Best Spice Restaurant at the British Curry Awards and named the second best Indian chef in the UK at the UK Indian Chef of the Year competition.

To celebrate three successful years, Calcutta’s team are putting on a ‘night to remember’ according to proprietor, Mo. “Each anniversary is very special to us and is a wonderful celebration of another year of success. 2010 to 2011 has been our best year so far and that would not be possible without the support of our customers. This celebratory night is about thanking you all for your support and looking to the year ahead.”

The evening promises to be filled with surprises and small but meaningful touch, although staff are keeping tight-lipped about exact details so as not to spoil the surprise. Although spaces are limited, guests that have reserved tables will be will be entertained by traditional Indian musicians while served by staff dressed in traditional Indian clothing – one of the many authentic customs that will take place on the evening.

The Head Chef, Saj Khan has prepared a special menu for the evening that has been created to bring in elements of his traditional family cooking together with his own unique dishes that have set him apart from other Indian chefs in the UK. The three course meal costs £18.95 per person and includes a champagne reception from 7.30pm.

Mo adds: “I promise this will be a wonderful night that brings every part of Indian culture to the restaurant. Everyone is welcome and I look forward to enjoying an evening amongst friends both old and new.”

Each guest will leave with a carefully prepared gift from all of the staff at Calcutta Brasserie.

Taste Life: Dining in the dark at Calcutta Brasserie
Adam Grinsell

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to eat a restaurant meal in the dark?

Nope, neither had I.

That was until I heard about the new Dining in the Dark experience at Stony Stratford’s Calcutta Brasserie Indian restaurant.

Upon arrival at the stunning converted church, it was clear many other people’s curiosity had also been piqued, as the room was packed.
You might now be wondering how I knew the room was packed, considering the title of the experience on offer?

Well, thankfully for my shirt, you aren’t eating in complete darkness. All the lights are off but each table has a single candle burning which, combined with the atmospheric music ranging from classical to pan-piped pop classics, creates a wonderful atmosphere.

If you do want to go the whole hog blindfolds are provided for each diner, though I would recommend feeding each other as some of the dishes could provide a potential laundry disaster.
There is a shared, set menu on offer, with vegetarians and those with allergies also catered for, which the Brasserie’s award-winning chefs have developed to titilise all the senses.

Some dishes you might usually choose from a menu, such as lamb kofta kebabs to start or aloo gobi as a main, but there are also some that you may usually glance over, unwilling to venture from your usual Friday night fare.
We enjoyed the paneer tikka hariyali starter - cubes of Indian cheese marinated with a coriander, green chillies, mint and fenugreek. My favourite main dish was the kori vepudu - crispy fried chicken, stir fried with ginger, spring onions, green chillies and a chilli sauce.

Dessert was a choice between a strawberry cheesecake and a really refreshing mango kulfi.

I would highly recommend keeping your eye out for the next Dining in the Dark night, particularly if you are planning on treating your better half.

CALCUTTA NUMBER TWO IN THE UK

Last Wednesday night, the Calcutta Brasserie’s head chef, Saj Khan was officially named the second best chef in the whole of the UK at the Britain’s Best Indian Chef 2011competition, held at Oxford & Cherwell Valley College.

Out of 430 applicants from around the country, including many from Milton Keynes, Saj was shortlisted to the last nine and tasked to cook a three course meal in the grand final in front of an on looking panel of judges.

To start with he cooked Ajwaini Sea Bass – pan fried Sea Bass flavoured with ajwain, fennel, served on roasted peppers and smoked tomato chutney. For main course, Spice-crusted Rack of Lamb - rack of lamb marinated with rosemary and garam massala, then seared and roasted, served with a traditional home style sauce beside a bed of spiced, with an accompaniment of Caju & Nariyal Rice. For dessert; apple and chocolate crisp pan cake.

The judges selected Saj Khan as the runner up for his talent in the kitchen and knowledge and creativity with Indian spices.

Now, Calcutta Brasserie, in Stony Stratford will be offering customers the chance to taste the meal that crowned him as one of the best in the country. Saj said: “This is a great moment in my life and one that I have worked very hard for. I love cooking, it is my passion and something I believe is within me for life. Next year I aim to be number one.”

Mo Abdul, proprietor at the restaurant said: “We are incredibly proud of Saj, the competition was extremely tough and the pressure was on for him to perform under intense circumstances but he did himself and us proud. We have become very well known for our quality of food and we take our hats off to Saj for being the creator of such amazing dishes. He has a great team supporting him and I want to thank them all for bringing the heart of Indian food to the table.”

Saj’s winning meal is now available to try at a cost of £34.95 per guest.

Calcutta Chef through to final

Calcutta Brasserie Saj Khan competed against 27 chefs from around the UK at the first UK Indian Chef competition held in Oxford & Cherwell Valley College. 431 chefs put themselves forward for the contest but now Calcutta’s head chef will be in competition against just nine others in the final, which will take place later next month.

The competition has been designed to recognise the ‘real’ talented Indian chefs that bring the true qualities of Indian cuisine to the UK – with no tikka masala in sight.

Calcutta Brasserie’s menu was identified as one of the best in the UK for its unique range of authentic Indian dishes, which have become famous with both local customers and guests travelling in from the region.

Proprietor, Mo said: “This is a wonderful achievement to have made it this far and we’re delighted to have received recognition for the hard work and passion we put in to our menu. Our head chef sees food and cooking as an art and he is the Michelangelo of his trade.”

View our Calcutta Brasserie Review from Destination Milton Keynes here

Stony Stratford Featured In Daily Mail Royal Wedding Article

Bring out the bunting! Forget the cynics... suddenly we've all got wedding fever

In a very British way, people have become much more excited about this wedding than they imagined they would be.

Full Story: Here

02 May 2011
www.dailymail.co.uk

Taste Life: Dining in the dark at Calcutta Brasserie Adam Grinsell

View our Calcutta Brasserie Review from Destination Milton Keynes here

Stony Stratford Featured In Daily Mail Royal Wedding Article

Taste Life: Dining in the dark at Calcutta Brasserie
Adam Grinsell