Hello all, how are you doing? It’s mid-week and despite being given the moniker of “Hump Day”, this Derby foodie has a spring in her step and smile on her face. Why? Because I enjoyed a brilliant evening yesterday night, courtesy of the Intu, Derby.
The schedule of the evening was kept under wraps due to it being top secret (no amount of cajoling could get the powers that be to talk – they’d hold up very well in a spy movie). The invite stated it was a “Dare2Dine” event, with a classic movie showing and food to be enjoyed from eateries within the Intu.
We rocked up at The Directors’ Hall in Showcase Cinema de Lux and were greeted with big smiles, menu and drink (they had me at Prosecco). I’ve been in the The Directors’ Hall in other Showcase cinemas but not Derby and I loved it. We shared a two-seater which was very comfortable and kicked off with a selection of Appeteasers. Nando’s Peri Peri Nuts (fiery almonds, cashews, macadamias) provided that crunch with a punch, whilst Pizza Express Dough Balls with Garlic Butter were light, puffy and delicious garlicky mouthfuls of heaven.
After being ushered to our seats, we munched on moreish Skin-on-fries with mayo from Joe’s Kitchen whilst listening to the dulcet tones of live band The Del Ray Rockets who had taken up residence near the screen. This band can really rock a tune, and I’d recommend catching one of their gigs if you can (more details on their website here).
Whilst music was playing, characters in costume jived to the music, which gave us an inkling into what movie was going to be played. All the ladies wore white shirts and sported a black fringed bob-cut… a la Mia Wallace from Pulp Fiction. Sorry about the quality of this photo, it was dark in the auditorium, and the lovely dancers and band were an energetic bunch.
I watched this film years ago and it was refreshing to see it after so long (I actually enjoyed it this time round). During the film, we were discreetly served food. Studio One’s Kahuna Burger went down well with The Dude, whilst I had the Yasai Pad Thai (tofu, vegetables, rice noodles, tamarind sauce, bean-sprouts, leeks, chillies, red onion, fried shallots, peanuts, fresh herbs, lime).
What I thought was really cool, and a stroke of genius was that we were served food to coincide with key scenes where characters were also dining. So when John Travolta was munching on his Big Kahuna Burger, so were we. During the performance we also enjoyed a selection of drinks including Peroni from Zizzi, Tropical Juice from Wagamama, Ben & Jerry’s Vanilla Milkshake (Showcase Cinema de Lux) and The Brave Cocktail (Famous Grouse, pressed apple juice, fresh ginger juice, Fentinmans’ Ginger Juice). My favourite from these was the fruit juice, which was invigorating and subtly sweet. This thirst-quenching drink was perfect with the Nando’s nuts.
During the interval, we also had a chance to check out the photo booth and be papped wearing fun accessories. The whole evening was a fabulous success and I really hope that Intu Derby make this a regular feature. To be able to watch your favourite movies whilst enjoying food with the on-screen characters, makes for an inventive and wonderfully interactive dining experience.
A special thank you to Kelly for organising my vegetarian meal (the fault is entirely my own for not letting you know about my non-beef alternative).
My impassioned plea to Intu Derby, is to please make Dare2Dine a regular occurrence. Can you imagine watching Dirty Dancing, or Pretty Woman whilst eating food that beloved on-screen characters enjoy too?
Dare2Dine is a daring venture. I hope to pop along to another one soon.
RAxxx