Monday, September 10th saw The Star And Dove providing the setting – and two of the rounds – for the first ever Bites Food Quiz…and after that evening, I can’t wait till the next one!
Eight teams came along to the Totterdown gastropub to see, smell, taste and guess their way through five quiz rounds, all with a food and drink theme. With a combination of those who work in the industry and those who simply love their food taking part, it was going to be a challenge to ensure that the rounds weren’t overly easy for some, or impossible for others.
To ease them in gently, I started with a picture round which saw almost every team score full marks or close to full marks by playing “name that chocolate bar” from pictures of small sections of the wrappers. Easy enough – I’m sure many of those attending were starting to get a little complacent by that point…but then the challenge began.
Brain power was taxed a little more by the production of the anagrams round, where phrases such as “Throw Creamier Pie” and “Unleash Belt Month” were to be rearranged into the names of celebrity chefs…cue much scribbling on the back of the answer sheet, paper napkins, and anything else the quizzers could get their hands on.
And then the multi-sensory challenge began. My seemingly easy first two rounds were then followed by an appetiser devised by the Star And Dove boys. Each of the 32 participants was given a small jar containing a total of six flavours that they had to identify and agree on as a team.
Agreement seemed to be easy for some of the flavours – the beetroot foam and the pea puree were guessed correctly by almost everyone. The carrot seemed to confuse many, with a number writing butternut squash on their answer sheets – and some missed the delicate flavour of the mint that had been combined with the peas. Interestingly, a number thought that the pearl barley was a meaty ingredient, while the parsley root crisp was deemed to be parsnip by every single team. I couldn’t tell the difference either.
The Star And Dove team provided a further challenge in the identification round: asking teams to smell, taste and look at ten different ingredients and identify them. Those such as bread yeast and brewing hops were guessed correctly by many, while delivering the crushed chocolate malt in an espresso cup led to some confusion. Items such as borage leaves, micro celery and black salt added a typically Star And Dove twist to the occasion.
After finishing with a general food and drink knowledge round, the scores were added up and the winners announced, with the top three teams winning vouchers to spend on food at the Star And Dove. Congratulations to The Chicken Dinners who came in third, Too Many Cooks in second place, and overall winners Bramble Farm Plus Steve who walked away with the £20 top prize.
If you missed this quiz but would have been interested in taking part, you’ll be happy to know that Bristol Bites and The Star And Dove will be running food quizzes on a monthly basis from now on. Taking place at 8pm on the first Monday of every month, the maximum team size is four people, and the entry fee is £1.50 per head. Pre-booking is advisable – to register your team, call the venue on 0117 933 2892.
Find The Star & Dove on the Bristol Bites Directory…
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