It’s not long until Dig the City takes over Manchester, doing for gardening and foraging what MIF has done for arts and culture. Monty Don has already been announced as one of the keynote speakers – but now, in addition to revealing secrets, innovations and inspirations in a series of live discussions on 7 Aug, Simon Rogan has created a menu especially for the festival. Being served at his restaurant The French at The Midland, the dishes are a collaboration with Roganic – Simon’s recently closed, much-lauded London pop-up – who have also had a say in the creation of this menu. Exact dishes won’t be confirmed until each day – what, with ingredients having to be foraged for in the morning and that – but regardless, this one-week-only selection promises to be daring and delicious. See a sample menu below.

Tue 6 Aug – Sat 10 Aug, The French, The Midland Hotel, Peter St, Manchester M60 2DS, Wed – Sat lunch 12pm – 1.30pm, Tue – Sat dinner 6.30pm – 9.30pm, Taster menu, served only in courses: 3 for £29, 6 for £55 or 10 for £79, @thefrenchsr

Sample Menu

Peas and sugar snaps with calamint
Raw mackerel in coal oil, yogurt and rye
Crab, sweetheart cabbage and chicken skin
Carrots with beef tongue dill and buttermilk
Sharpes Express potatoes, onion ash and lovage
Scallop with turnips, horseradish and barley
Pollack in brown butter, smoked roe and fennel
Pugh’s piglet, artichoke, ramsons and mead
Strawberries with sweet cicely
Sweet cheese, pear, pine and malt

 

Tue 6 Aug - Sat 10 Aug
Words:
Matthew Britton
Published on:
Thu 4 Jul 2013