Our Dining Week Artists!
Katie Rowland with Build-a Bear’s Olga Anuckina
Three local, budding artists have won some very special prizes after their artwork was judged the best in a Solihull Dining Week drawing competition.
As part of a drive to encourage children to try new tastes and flavours during Dining Week, children we’re given a ‘food passport’ giving them the chance to choose where in the world they want to eat and to win special prizes along the way by drawing a picture of something from the country represented by the food they were enjoying.
The competition, organised by Solihull BID, with support from Pizza Hut, Build-a-Bear, La Tasca, handmade burger Co. and Cineworld, attracted 300 entries from children as young as 3 years old and their drawings went on display in a special exhibition in Solihull Arts Complex throughout November.
Ella Weber Brown with Stuart Almond from Pizza Hut
Pictured receiving her prize from manager Stewart Almond, Ella Weber Brown (aged 4) from Solihull won a family meal at Pizza Hut every week for a whole year.
Also pictured is Katie Rowland (age 7) from Solihull who can look forward to a Build-a-Bear experience and tapas party for 10 at La Tasca for her and some friends. She received her prize from Build-a Bear’s Olga Anuckina.
And finally, Sally Lowe (age 9) also from Solihull was rewarded for her drawing skills by a Cineworld family ticket and a meal for four at handmade burger Co. which she received from handmade burger Co’s Nathalie McKeon.
Solihull Dining Week (1st-9th October), a week-long promotion of the variety of places to eat and drink in the town, saw children learning everything from sushi making to cake decorating. Thousands of people enjoyed live cooking demonstrations in a demonstration kitchen in Mell Square before heading off to try special menus and offers in many of Solihull participating venues.
Sally Lowe with handmade burger Co’s Nathalie McKeon
As a result almost 3,500 special offer vouchers were redeemed (for parties of between two and five people) in restaurants, bars and cafes across the town – all of whom confirmed an influx of new customers as well as increased visits by familiar faces. One restaurant that saw an uplift in diners during Dining Week was Giraffe, also in Touchwood which ran a children’s workshop and a session in the demo kitchen.
Manager Richard Piggot commented: “Dining Week has helped put Solihull on the map for great food and drink. For us it has been a really worthwhile event. We have been able to introduce new customers to the Giraffe philosophy of global food served all day to the sound of world music – and as a result our sales have increased noticeably with families staying on to eat following the kids workshop we ran and over 300 voucher redemptions – so far.“