[00:00:00] B2B The Business Club Podcast
[00:00:57] Better програмmeurs provided by B3B The Business Club Program to be Birmingham the podcast today very special guest Mr Glyn Pernal thank you so much for giving us a title today that's alright looking forward to apologies for the noise it is quite noisy down here at St Andrew's today we'll work around that thanks to the church last season because he was silent so first off before we get into you, your life everything you do
[00:01:26] you started a residency this last match home game didn't you yeah down here at St Andrew's nice at Barney how did that go? really bad actually really good yeah everyone seemed really happy did a little bit of theatre at the end it was funny actually so I do this mint chocolate chip so it's like a story about an argument on the beach my brother and sister who had the coolest ice cream obviously me chocolate chip would win because it's got the menthol flavour so what we do is we sell for this warm mousse with a mint ice cream then I pour like
[00:01:56] this mint solution onto dry ice and it sort of puffs all over the table a little bit like stars in your eyes and one of the guys you put like a mint solution in there so it smells of mint as well and one of the guys put a little bit too much mint solution in there so as I was pointing my eyes for screaming and one guy said it's probably the nicest dishes I've ever eaten one because it was delicious but also it cleaned my silences so I just thought it sounds a win-win situation you know that's a great winter buddy it is actually yeah rubbing ice cream
[00:02:26] on your chest on the bottom of your feet yeah so yeah just we spoke briefly the podcast is based on championing Birmingham and the Burmese and people like yourselves that just shouting out on a bit of a bigger platform yeah so I know that you went to Grimshaw because I'm a lady from Grimshaw but tell us a little bit about a summary of your growing intercept so yeah
[00:02:54] first of all when I was really old I was like from zero to two I lived in the flats opposite the Mountford on Kingshurst and really so yeah red the obviously the Mountford and then obviously when my mom and dad had the third um we moved to a house on the bend fourth drive on Charmseywood round the corner from Ascent
[00:03:24] so there it's Bishop Wilson school and then from there it's Grimshaw love football you know played football any given time you know used to walk around your mates one minute before the next one is 22 a side it touched the ball probably twice because you're the smaller ones and the older ones playing you know obviously you know you're top down for whatever sometimes as you got a bit older some of you bring the radio out and we'd have and all that sort of stuff
[00:03:54] going on and yeah I loved fishing as a kid my dad still fish now but my dad big fisherman taught me how to fish down the river coal bamboo stick you know huckleberry fin style bit alive match catch sticklebacks we used to swim in the river cold in the tronies under low in the tronies we used to kings as well my dad almost
[00:04:24] had swing kings as ridiculous that is I was in the early 80s that's ridiculous yeah just Northwood sports centre did a bit of boxing over there I was a kid I went to cups yeah DJ we can't buy that no so yeah Mr Adams and Mr Bird now Mr Bird was the ultimate PSHA he was overweight
[00:04:54] he wore tracks on used to smoke constantly do you know what I mean and like someone you look up to look up to to a spider I remember I was like mustard running football running I was like you know I played left back for school we played loads of trophies we played Coventry we played in all these different stadiums because Grimshaw we were good football because that's all we did they didn't have a computer boot the ball just carry a ball and find one it was finally Kayser couldn't you Kayser
[00:05:23] and a couple of pages from a corner you'd find you're thinking wow I'll just use the yeah yeah I represented England in the under 16 cross country team and I love running and Mr Bird was standing so I had the school record which was like four minutes 30 something for the 1500 metres
[00:05:52] and Mr Bird would be standing there shouting at me and the guy Ben walked two yards about glowing out his eyes smoking but anyway I said that and that and that Jasper Jasper put out put out and that was growing up and it was like I think we spoke earlier it was like I'm not condoning but if you ever had an issue or something you might get
[00:06:22] a punch in the nose or a whereabouts and he was done and that was the sort of bringing up of what it we didn't anyway because at that time in the 80s it seemed like everyone was struggling and food wasn't exactly massive and plentiful at home so that's my love for food come from the way my mum would cook and the way he was totally respected so actually a bit inventive didn't I back in there
[00:06:50] go on beef yeah yeah corn beef spam in the box actually because one of the snacks we do is this fan crisps yeah and I remember scratching around in your pocket because I had the scap card on it yeah and my dad was in and out of work because obviously the factory one minute of boomy next minute of laying people off and my dad worked in Metro Camel building trains and stuff and we had to have the scap card and like you learnt how to
[00:07:20] sickle for yourself and now I had a little bit of a rumble with the scap card because you used to queue separate remember the duper scap it was like you'd get this little piece of paper and you'd go up and you'd have extra amount you could have extra amount on this card people would come up to you and you'd go eat a scap card and all that sort of stuff and then you don't need the second or first do that because I've got a third year you really care anyway because sometimes I'm getting fair I'm bothered and then you'd go back outside and then you'd have a football match and then you'd be talking about scap
[00:07:50] card and you'd end up giving somebody a slap because someone's taking a mick out of a scap card but what I used to say it was 11 pence for it's out so sometimes I used to scratch around oh you get 11 put it in there and have my scap card and then have an extra span for it's that so that was like chom not only is it hot you'll also get this gush of grease which just goes back over your chin warm your face exactly
[00:08:20] so for me that was the and go oh your mum's calling you are you going for dinner so my love for food was that the hub it was like the hub when my dad came back from work and we all had
[00:08:52] dinner together all six us and that was the sort of the regalia having dinner and like you said be creating your food and that's what my love for food come from that environment really yeah saw in one of the interviews that you mentioned pig trotters yeah grandad used to boil the pig trotters I never heard anyone speak about it so we go to the market and the bird mill market and I got this big head bag all for Christmas
[00:09:22] right you know the one you can zip the side off as retro yeah front bag wasn't it like a purple bag to when you got called unless he was PE so you had your head bag a ruler just fitting in there with two pads and you would walk in with a small bit tie because you didn't want to do my mum had bought me this head bag for Christmas and I
[00:10:04] go and she always goes to the same bloke and I did some filming probably about 10 years ago I did some
[00:10:36] and you open your bag and throw you a bag of pig trotters so we would have to eat whatever chicken thighs and all that sort stuff rabbit was the rabbit till probably two a cup of barley
[00:11:05] filled with water lid on salt lid on in the oven and it comes out almost like liquid gold it is the stock it is clear and all the leeks cooked down and the rabbit falls off so then my mum would get home and then my mum would put these pig strotters in the pressure cooker big fist of salt crack it on and by the time you've had your dinner
[00:11:36] it time to get ready so you go have a wash put your pyjamas and come back downstairs blind day it starts and my mum brings out a small saucer with like a pig's foot boiled with a little bit of hair in between the two in between the toe that was the Tracy bit and you pick it up put a little bit of salt oil splash of vinegar and all the stickiness walk down your arms and stuff and I was telling Ronan Keaton
[00:12:05] he's on side of the kitchen and he's looking at me and I said Ronan you can't tell me when you wake up with crusty pyjamas he looked at me and just slightly moved away so come on Ronan he's around the coast to kids this is all the way and my mum from war and my
[00:12:35] mum from warnden in Worcester and she and my dad saw me a few times and he took her out of the day he said something about curry my mum from warnden he didn't know what curry was no one did today apart from Birmingham maybe a couple of places up north but Birmingham had that vibe and my mum
[00:13:05] was like and I said you want to try something a bit exotic and I think that's what he meant with a curry I think that or he really strung after she took her for a curry and she had nominate and chips on her first day I think yeah he took her English yeah he took her English and creative rabib there's almost fish row not row out the actual row because she get
[00:13:40] fresh fish it's it's really not about peeing to look at but my mum used to get it and she used to cook some weird stuff that cost nothing but everyone used to come out and ask what are you having for dinner man there is like strange stuff in the sea cloud fish rose so in well she used to fry it and salt pepper fry a little bit vinegar and used to have it with mashed potato chips
[00:14:10] and peas and it was like what is that you used to smell of it for about three days you first break and
[00:14:40] got the scab card yeah scab cards to come it was like but the bit that so me dad was upset with cooking as well so me dad used to cook on the weekends on the Saturday me dad used to cook and he used to watch we used cooking stuff that you know
[00:15:10] normal just average Joe weren't really cooking were they because he was very staple meat and two veg kind of people this was again this is in the 80s yeah when my dad used to start writing the recipes that because he couldn't go online because there was no internet imagine that no internet so me dad used to scratch it
[00:15:51] and me dad and then my mates would come around and go wow what are you having for your tea like and I said rum and curry is I smell of my mum's curry and most probably that curry had them days was home pride in the thing here pineapple sultanas and just taste a quart do you know well my dad was cooking it with tinned tomatoes he was getting the spices you started chopping all the onions garlic and all that he
[00:16:20] was so tired I'm curious he might be old but it was just that sort of like culture of my dad wanted to call my mum cooking the staple stuff in the week and then me dad would go off paste and he was a little bit more creative we had a wok with it yeah
[00:16:50] big wok and it was not all the trendy ones now they've got a flat button on it oh yeah it a a visiting professor at the UCB and
[00:17:20] I got all the game and all stuff and I was like this is great or do I mean and went and did it and it was like a little champagne and all stuff afterwards the dean of the university come up to me dad and told me that I told this story about me dad cooking with the wok and more to the thing when you put the wok on the electric cooker it just rolled off so you couldn't leave you had to stand all it isn't far too big and
[00:17:50] she did go and go beam sprays all on the floor of that dogs dogs dogs fall whack on it and I was pissing the dog off picking it and mum and dad all got the best clothes and he said to me do you still have your
[00:18:20] wok the club was telling you do you use it to wire my shirt I was like can't he did find it really obviously he was inspired then to to become a shirt how's it all gone how do you all
[00:18:50] start how did you become such a so obviously you sit down with the careers officer and they look at it and they go I'm not really academic can't play on instruments but and you play up all the time you ever shut up hmm well what do you want to do oh wow I think I'll be a policeman and then I realised maybe being a police
[00:19:20] when I would grow up with the bang the bang bang the bang for swiss and the bloke after got scuba done about scuba yeah the little anglox burning gun he said get yourself out so he said what do you want to do and I was like I don't I don't know but then I'll do work experience and I caught the wrong bus on more work experience so my mum
[00:19:50] gave me the money to so the guy called Graham used to come into my mum's shop because my mum used to work at Dillon's on Waterloo Avenue which used to do the newspapers and stuff and so I decided I was going to be a chef so I needed work experience I thought I'll be a chef let's try that over no qualifications necessary for you know I was a DC subway so work experience this guy used to go to the shop every day and used to say to him talk to him mum said oh can you get
[00:20:19] some work experience Graham he was working in DC so so he said yeah so sorted all the through the school and all that sort of stuff got my work experience mum's written down on a piece of paper you need to catch the 966 from the town centre go there speak to this person they always were gone there got too early at the shop charge the shops they call it the interchange just called it the back of the shop so I stood there
[00:20:49] and then 73 bus come at NEC I went for wow jump on this one I'll get there early wouldn't I good impression that so I jumped on it and went all the way around the radio with the 966 went straight there straight back all around the radio and then I got to the NEC and I was like it's a year to get off now mate the end of the stock years to get off I was like well where's the NEC we'd go through the radio saw this big brand building and I thought well that looks like
[00:21:19] somewhere where Alan Jamba play you know what I mean it's not flampoilets well I'll go there so we've gone in and this guy with a big hat on long coat opened the door for me I was like this doesn't look like the NEC put in a massive chandelier so I looked at this big chandelier and I thought this is polished marble floors so I said oh I'm looking for personal apartments that's what it's called so he got out there and I said what were I going there got to the office
[00:21:48] there was no glimping on on the list I said no no Graham goes from mum's shop he saw her work experience there no there's no Graham here I rang around every kitchen there's no Graham works here so no but I sort of had a feeling inside that this is better than me and I was actually at the Metropod hotel and I was like I said to Phil and I said please don't send me back to school can you not do working spheres and the woman was called Tina Morris
[00:22:19] and I spoke to her recently on through social media she gave me a chance she just sort of liked me for he's cheeky he's got a bit of fame and she phoned school sorted it out so then from then I worked personally never went to the I just got back through that through that yeah I just pushed I was like please don't send me back I just thought I've had a good feeling and the woman Tina was lovely she was like okay just sit down now they
[00:23:02] she's paid back yeah so eventually I was working with uh Friday and Saturday and all that sort of stuff and you know I'll go through football matches on the on the on the grass like and that and there they all go where you off to Panam cooking like you're like a dinner lady for all that sort of stuff because being a chef in
[00:23:32] you you you you tabard on all that sort of go and get your apron on but sort of stuff and I was like well then you know how to step the banter again well you know you wasn't getting up too upset because you sort of big and to be honest with a couple of a couple of lads a bit older than me I come to the restaurant all time my poor whatever and said look you know I used to have to piss out and you cooking but now I try to now I try this big hard ladders now
[00:24:02] I cook myself and I look to restaurants so I sort of appreciated that but then from then on I just dedicated everything to cooking I used to play football on Sundays and stuff I used playing Saturday league as well so I gave Sunday football for a little bit and then I got to the stage where I was winning competitions
[00:24:32] and stuff and I thought I needed to better myself so I wrote a letter to Kerry Ropes and employed and did two weeks down there but London I was only 18 and I just didn't like the the mentality of people because it's so busy and when you go into the centre of Burn you feel like you I
[00:25:02] remember coming out of the station holding the door open for somebody I so I stayed dead I stayed like a D&D food was great he was great he
[00:25:31] was great and the food was great and you were just infused and then I went to work at Simpsons when it was in Cannaworth when I worked for Simpsons I saved my money and again I did Starshies so I did a couple of works with Gordon Ramsey which to be fair is the best food I've ever seen and some of the most entertaining and the service I've ever said this is one of things I wanted to ask is it all a facade
[00:26:02] celebrity TV chefs everyone is constantly getting rollets it seems like the atmosphere you could cut with a knot is that the given is that what a kitchen is that everyone is scared of the head chef years ago it was I mean when I say years ago I I talking 50 years ago now times have massively changed it will go over no thankfully it hasn't because obviously I always say for lats don't get wrong when I was a bit younger I
[00:26:31] had a bit an inch to me and you because of I 14 15 we were like you laugh anyway because
[00:27:01] for half inside you laughing because it's funny there's this big grown man spitting at you and I kick it isn't you it's just peace mate because you don't understand it sort of it I mean it is you like peace for me like I so when I got I think quite few chefs of my generation I realized that that isn't going to work it's not the right environment you know you need to
[00:27:31] because everyone's so passionate about what they do especially the levels that we were cooking at it's like it's about control of being a bit more thoughtful being more organized and it was almost like trying to be rock and roll stars in the 90s because it ate that sort of vibe to it you know tattoos beards that's sort of drafted but for me I would say to my if you were going to have your kidney removed by a surgeon would you want him shouting swearing
[00:28:01] kicking stuff whatever because it needs to be calm it needs to be precise and that sort of stuff so that sort of bred more into what's happening there but it was a very volatile environment definitely and you know I mean lots of chefs from a burning rather up until sort of like a restaurant would have experienced it you know it's like it's acceptable in the kitchen but not acceptable in the world if
[00:28:31] behaved like a chef behaves in the mid 90s and said to hey you that's been at fucking stable for a smasher it doesn't work does it so that's changed us and he's changed for the better so it's more of a thinking shits game more of a you know being more six years I had head
[00:29:01] chef was there for 12 years the two head chef one was there for 10 years my previous head chef was there for 13 years so I've always tried to
[00:29:32] talk to mates and colleagues and what breed that culture of good well being and like you said if you can't control his empire I mean you wouldn't do the piece yourself are you so your tip Sarah and Jessica yes so this is where you am alright the first Michelin star Birmingham
[00:30:02] ever yeah so I was working at Simpsons and then from Simpsons I went to work for this French guy called Claude Bozy who's just had tour so I was only there for about 6-7 months and it was more of almost like a finishing kitchen for me so I worked with this guy French he was the first ever Yiddish sous chef we went from one star to two stars so I was part of that team that did that and now I thought it's time for me to try and do something myself and a few job offers in London and stuff
[00:30:32] but I wanted to make Birmingham a currently place to go I wanted to do it here and previously Birmingham has always been knocked it's like this currently desert and you know it's a shit hole and all that sort of stuff and at that time the new ball ring was built so I felt that it puts the right times to do something I don't get me wrong I was on the beaten track I was just off the
[00:31:02] Aggie Road and I went to see the restaurant I never went to my time so then the opening night we did there were about 20 I the peak red black district literally there was more jotties on the floor than fucking leaves
[00:31:32] do you what I mean so I remember my first ever review was on the what some magazine or something like that and the title was Jessica's The Lady of the Night that was the title of the beginning it was a great review it was a great review it was a great review just had a nod towards where it was yeah and then we had a few experiences of the girls
[00:32:01] coming into the thing and all that sort of stuff did you pick up any trade from the punters yeah I tried to get them before with a few more green in quarter down so but again I worked with the police and we cleaned the area up a little bit with the residents as well
[00:32:31] and stuff and we cleaned the area up I was there for about four years and I just got to the point I had a business partner that and I thought to myself my dream was to always do it myself and have my name above the door although everyone knew who I was at Jessica's but I thought this is it I'm going to do it I just had my first signed there was two I think and I said to I said we're going to take the
[00:33:06] I did it on a massive fusion so I had X amount of money from the house I took out a loan then I took another loan on the back of the loan and then I
[00:33:38] talked to some TV at the time because I thought I was a bit rock and roll and a bit sort the
[00:34:07] honeymoon period was wearing off at the restaurants and we just in 2009 we had the property collapse the aftermarket collapse all of a sudden the restaurant was emptying and was like fucking hell and also I personally can't talk to over
[00:34:37] and then from January February it was really really quiet to the point where I think I wanted to let some people go and then the programme landed in March and were fully booked for two years just like and it just was ridiculous like interviews paper did the newspaper film magazines and that's what I called the Yumi premieres yeah so Yumi premier had an article in the olive magazine because people think I
[00:35:07] called it myself we were wondering if you could see the profile back in five or six different places in
[00:35:37] Birmingham that's when the media really picked up on it and obviously Birmingham because it was in the second city and we've never really been sort of like celebrated yeah any opportunity stick the boot in our Birmingham they used to do it that's so much now but they all of a sudden
[00:36:08] it ignited a food culture where people felt confidence to open places and from the street food which had obviously exploded over the years we've had the culture of the Baltic Triangle but all of sudden Birmingham was noticed as a food destination but it wasn't just curry do you know sometimes that still does upset me a little bit when an international journalist comes or a national
[00:36:38] journalist comes and they focus on yes it's great but we are more than that now there's so much more the Birmingham Post once called you undoubtedly the phony chef to how from Challenglywood were you aware there was competition or just that on live you think which is great with that when that comment what are you off wheel have you ever been into Challenglywood saying that there was another kid Rob Palmer
[00:37:09] I think he's from the Pasher Soil Sound I think he's not like a gray area of Mars and Gray is the gray area of is Challenglywood isn't he want to mention that I
[00:37:43] spoke to Carl Sheen recently about accents and colloquialism and do you find that has been a stung good for you or not really what was that part of your persona that was a plus for you more than he was saying he had executives normally London executives tell him to tone down so he exaggerated the accent for effects and can you take it down a notch I think the thing with TV is I always
[00:38:14] you have to be exactly this if you want to do TV you want to be the public guy you've got to be the same all of the time so there's no good you trying to give off this different persona when you put the scream and go back whatever so I've always embraced the fact that I've got this accent but the thing is when you're on TV you're the only Brumian TV surrounded by non-regional diets but you stand out more so you go his accent strong so
[00:38:45] we don't sound like a great accent do we but when you put on the screen you're surrounded by generic accents you sound like literally you've just come straight out the ball with your pig strut you know what you and recording makes accentuate it you know when I first said I could stand the way I sounded but I thought well that's the way you sound so what are going to do about it
[00:39:15] and to be fair when Birmingham really started coming on the map people loved the fact that you sounded like it so a lot of TV from me do lots of telegrams they quite we are a little bit tight with our words but I told on to as long as possible don't we sorry you you know what does
[00:39:45] upset me is when people say that they call you a a so from the we're all from Liverpool I don't know we're not Sky says we're from the we're all yeah yeah yeah so there's probably those little battles
[00:40:15] going all over the country where like yeah I mean I love you I love everyone exactly yeah I do love him I think everyone should have one yeah and they're not just for Christmas you have a Lego box you don't so another strength to you bow you're a published author children's books how did that come about I assume having children played a part in that having children and probably did a fair whack of drugs in the 90s if I'm honest
[00:40:45] you finally got to express that in these flashbacks I need to put them into some work here I did enjoy the 90s I think we all did yeah so always when my kids were little I used to watch the bedtime hour and for me the bedtime especially on a Monday because I never worked on a Monday bedtime I used to tell the guys to get all in their pajamas and I used to lie there and you watch all the
[00:41:15] little cartoons then you have the little story and a famous actor or famous actress or would read the story Tom Hardy study notes this is your sound I would love to do and then my kids tell me stories about the makeup stories and they tell me that story again so I can't remember what it was so always
[00:41:45] wanted to write kids books and then my dog I used to have a dog called whoops she was a jack whistle and this is when I write for every time and you used to drive it into the city sense you can't now because you get shot from a rifle to it
[00:42:15] forget about the airplanes but just don't drive the car for the emissions with CNA and so I used rather than foot to the sea with it and the one guy my daughter and by this time the dog got old almost like a barrow on
[00:42:45] necks a great face come walking past in the kitchen home and my daughter said oh dad he's whoops gonna die and looked and thought not for a while and she was like I thought this is going to take it to you know what I'm going to do I'm going to write a story about their dog to mortise their first pets so I wrote a story about a dog that eats baked beans
[00:43:15] and when we were kids and she eats the beans and farts to fight crime that's the whole premise of the story so I wrote that I enjoyed the process of it got a local illustrator who did it actually lovely guy very very talented I wanted somebody as local as possible so he illustrated it and we got it published and it
[00:43:44] was
[00:44:26] he and it and a little and I wrote that book and that was successful and I just enjoyed the process and I think sometimes in life we all say we're going to do something or we all want to do something but we never were not brave enough to do you know what are you waiting for do it I
[00:44:55] can't ask you to do for your honour no I could say I would love to have scuba died because it was the second job after policeman you know do it you know a few contacts in store so you know but I still have to do it so let's go out and do so I did the books I've got I've written
[00:45:25] three cookery books as well so one probably about two or three years ago now and that's just whole journey of per now it's called the journey there back again so it's like how it started and all the staff in there some great pictures of the blues it's almost like an autobiography but it's sort of like with recipes as well so I ran that as well so yeah but the kids book was
[00:46:11] great years covid you had covid you had brexit we had all and to have a restaurant for that long he's at that sort
[00:46:41] of the time and just come to a point where I was losing money and I thought you know what I've got to make a head over heart decision I make a
[00:47:11] decision of go shutting so sorry is it because of the fine dine you do as well and the expense of the ingredients you've got you've got to have a certain there seems some again people on probably online oh it's so expensive or one other the same but I imagine that that you have to there's a trade-off between getting the ingredients and what you can charge and stuff and you need the staff levels to keep standard up and I took the staff level down a little
[00:47:42] the awesome thing about when you put company into where it goes under with such bills and debts that you pay off and stuff and then you get the liquid out in and administrate liquid out whatever call and whatever and the bag thing when I was sold and that really put me back and my dad passed
[00:48:12] away I think a couple of weeks before I shut the restaurant so I'd say possibly it's in the darkest part of my life and I'm a positive kind of guy I never done mine abuse and I hope you understand I couldn't appreciate you know people are frustrated and whatever and then by the time I
[00:48:42] could get myself settled to then try and realise what I could do because I didn't really have to do anything really I could have just said a man said well company is going under I doubt that the CEO of Debenhams was getting personal abuse when genuinely understand what it is the people that are abusing you and you are just before we come on you were
[00:49:12] talking about you should have you got a back chair and you went no so would them fuck off then don't abuse me you wouldn't do it to make you you the street you mean it six for one off the woods you ain't going to do it oh yeah so fuck off so then what I have done in the meantime I've got everyone to send in their their vacu or their whatever and I've done different packages and deals some people have got a book or a bottle
[00:49:42] of champagne which we do our own champagne some people have got a smaller menu at the tapas bar some people have got a bigger menu some people have got wine to go with here so I am trawling through it again that shows what your metal really to say alright I'm going to go back to see it doesn't sit well with me regardless of I mean your restaurant has gone to
[00:50:18] people turn around and say I'm a millionaire but I'm a sole trader I'm an independent businessman and you know to get to the consumer I've had to sacrifice and put loads of my time finances to a large you know I mean so we're at a place now where I feel that most of the people have been satisfied with me doing that but the thing that pisses you off it's it's on BBC news it's on this it's on that they're not covering the fact that I've sorted out there's
[00:50:48] been a couple of articles and stuff but realistically the BBC should especially in Netherlands today they should do cover that story to say they're doing this side they're going to have got a lot of coverage hasn't it the great thing about being successful is you're successful you get known but as soon as someone successful or known as soon there's a bump in the road then everybody's there to
[00:51:18] you know and it can be a bit sad this country the way that that sort happens but you've got to know how to hold it and always kept myself real grounded and I can only do what I get people like yeah about you say we said before people have forgotten where it's like to get slapping the mouse
[00:51:48] sometimes on the end of it and going back to that tell me you the rico they got beer taps everywhere so it's quite the way that they do it's obviously more of a modern ground and
[00:52:19] somebody farcied you know there's loads of middle-aged birds farting which the drink can really as he approached his pines somebody's dropped their bat or proper and he fucking stone cropped and then old cry and the whole of the land that were crammed into this small area we
[00:52:49] just cry with like death I swear it's hilarious so sometimes you get a bit of abuse but then sometimes you get a little bit of sting no it wasn't no it into iron because they ain't fucking right down please do not approach
[00:53:19] them because I think you're always water and you'll be throwing up it was just one of the funniest things that all my mates were crying proper crying so you get out because you you being silly now because it's got nothing to do with you and then you'll get the Coventry thing and you'll get people shout down the
[00:53:49] streets and stuff like that so sometimes I have to be careful to the supermarket and watch what a book in my pocket because it's under a magnifying house honestly right so but you get that you have people and a little prod oh yeah well my kids used to love so I can make the best Yorkshire pudding ever I can make it about this eye this beak like that because that's what I do for a living right my kids got a little taste for those you know the little bought you already made ones
[00:54:19] never always properly in the tray or old besties or even the whole brand and then we used to fill it with mash the bit of cheese and then stick a sausage in it I can use the baker for the kids so I got a bag of them in my shopping and then somebody rang free radio and said I've just seen Glyn Penal it was like you know there are have you ever seen what's the
[00:54:48] funniest thing you've seen a slugger tid or whatever so I've just seen shit spots whatever yeah I've just saw Glyn Penal buying my fucking York buddings fucking hell the shit I got oh man it was on the radio all week whole week to at the end on the Friday my pickers in so I was just got everyone just ripping it like I I was and everyone would send pictures of the York Pullins
[00:55:18] give him the fucking recipe all this stuff which is hilarious but I so I made one like about this big and I'll put a picture on her and I'll look that's it it was really funny I went in the studio and I spoke to the I can't remember the DJ's name there was two lads and then one one after the baby but yeah that was great but sometimes I get
[00:55:48] a yeah you get a and I like oh I got this kind of what should do this kind of this and you just
[00:56:39] sort and open the fridge and there's a cow in there and I just milk the cow and pour it to me too so it's just funny what do you do you don't shop here it's Morrison's there are in the supermarket survival there are yeah there are sometimes I drop into Asdax Aldi's one but I don't buy a lot in Aldi because I get your lawnmowers and your your I don't buy a and maybe
[00:57:09] some kids toys and I might pick up a bottle of milk I like Aldi I don't go in there so much because the people that are I sort of back off for a big
[00:57:39] shop at Aldi but I tell you what I do get from Aldi is the wine is really good there's a bottle of of white in there don't go to shop that
[00:58:09] it's just like 200 people towards you which is nice because generally I don't think I've ever had anybody call up to me and have been rude most people brummies come to me and go I do I do I do there's a joke in there it's like
[00:58:40] I don't go to doctors and doctors said I don't feel very well doctor what do you know he says I feel a bit strange I how long have you felt like that ever since I you are I hear well I
[00:59:10] have seven year old and five years that is gold that it said yeah if you've had a couple of scoops you know down the rooster and that supermarkets is a hot spot and anywhere that's got food connected you get more recognised like so for instance like if you go to a restaurant or yeah you'll get more recognised
[01:00:04] someone's what's a particular favourite of your in Birmingham it's quite a few restaurants isn't there yeah obviously all the big guns are good you
[01:00:36] I used to go to two Asian sort of one Malaysian restaurant and just by the hippopotamus don't know whether they've changed now it's round the corner from Mr. Egg where Mr. Egg was there it's round the corner there was two there and sometimes if I was stuck in town whatever I'd go and just up like Hong Kong duck or a big piece of porpo like some noodles and that was pretty cheerful when you go in there and you're in a Chinese
[01:01:05] restaurant and there's loads of Chinese people and you sort of eat well this is good I've got people that have worked for me that that's in Dipper but that's a great response yeah and I've known Craig since he was little yeah
[01:01:35] so his uncle is one of my there's loads of places obviously all the Michelin style restaurant you can eat yeah good million those but it's obviously cost and stuff so yeah and the street food uh parker social
[01:02:05] great and yeah that's yeah that full yeah there's loads of places really yeah what we got fish chips we got burn plates actually I do like a nice burrito um you know the Western Arcade yeah there's one in there
[01:02:35] and it's so good like when I say although I don't find uh so you know the West Arcade where a little Victorian arcades you go in there from where the station you third chop in the burritos and tacos and they are often not when I say that they this big because I've got them out I think there's a couple of scars down in from all the sorcery and you're biting just well back
[01:03:05] in the day and get to see the stupe on board street home demolished but there's a few there's some really good places in Birmingham and I restaurants coming into Birmingham again which is difficult because those are the guys that can afford and they can take the hits as in they
[01:03:54] blues now I assume you just wouldn't have had time to do it if you would you have done took it on how did come about you you the time would have been difficult so obviously now I've got the opportunity I've got a bit more time still have got two other places massive blues fan yeah we've had some tough times down here we've had some great times as well I've had some brilliant days out here I remember one day we was
[01:04:25] over in the corner I think we drew 1-1 against Middlesbrough and I was in my early twenties and it was just like we went out at 11 o'clock and we didn't come back until one day well now it was a ball on draw did you imagine you threw the one Demi had a bowler came on a sub Trevor I fancy bought him can on a sub and because big D's legs were that big he had to cut the side of his shorts to get him on they didn't take him to equation when they bought the 6 foot 4 18 stone
[01:04:55] strike out he might need bigger shorts they had to cut his shorts the irony is in the 90s all the over the years absolute gentleman massive blues fan as well loves coming down here gets really upset when we lose really upset
[01:05:40] I got chatting together and I know Stephen and Gary Cook decided to do the garrison and Steve said let's get clean into the food and we got to that sort of stage and helped them out a little bit with 12 the concept with that with John Tick who was running that bit and that and then they asked me to do a residency at the boardroom so I said yeah let's
[01:06:10] do and then we sort of went in contacted a good friend of mine who's got an art gallery so he's put some artwork up in there is that the art that's now showing the way to the garrison park landing it's done by local painters as well and there's a couple of the grounds there's a couple of six entrants and you
[01:06:40] so there's opportunity to take a little bit of that home as well so we did our first game was Exeter it went really well so it was a good Saturday four courses and we did all the theatres and stuff like that but you're a little bit stressful but yeah the first one went really really well so you always in your aspirations to this I don't know or not as a kind of the good thing I'm a little bit
[01:07:10] I look back on my life sometimes a little bit like Forrest Gump I mean I wasn't the world champion ping pong player but I did myself better in English over kick boxing can I just say and the brinnett yeah so yes I've had a sign of the Forrest Gump kind of life I haven't been shrimp fishing yet oh I have actually been shrimp fishing yeah I did I always thought if you want to do something and say you enjoy it I
[01:07:53] maybe the restaurant shutting was meant to happen which I think he probably did he was coming to the end of time and it's something new and I think this has been a massive breath of fresh air it's been something very different to what I would normally do I done some stuff down to cricket before and I just thought I love the place people I recognise some of the people have been here for years and new faces that are coming with new ideas and trying to redevelop
[01:08:23] the club which you can clearly see they are it's great to be part of that journey it's just a bit of a treat contributing the only thing which I didn't realise is that I had to make a sacrifice of mine normally on match day and have six pints down the roost and watch the game this weekend he had six fights in the kitchen so unfortunately he did get what I missed the
[01:08:54] game living the dream you sort of think was it the dream I think the dream was in the roost that was six points I can't see it the back of the little of the but you know what I had a great the first the first day was great down here again text that and yeah we've got plenty more plans to come front so yeah
[01:09:24] I'm buzzing perfect just finally then what aspirations of the future I've got a meeting today actually about a new site in the city centre slightly different concepts obviously a lot to continue working with blues which we're side the pub doing really well got a few events there yeah fly fishing season starts
[01:09:54] on the 22nd of February looking forward to that yeah I think enjoy what I do and embrace any new challenges at just trying to be a down stand just a good bloke that's the way I'm that's my new focus to turn 25 and obviously promotion obviously thanks cheers cheers thank you thank you