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Foodies from across the area gathered to mark the launch of a new pilot TV show championing local businesses in Leamington, last week.

More than 70 people turned out to the event, at 1 Mill Street, where plans were unveiled for Bia’s Kitchen Show – the passion project of self-taught chef and entrepreneur Bianca Rodrigues.

The show promises to highlight some of the best of the area’s foodie scene when it is streamed to audiences twice monthly on YouTube, Spotify, Instagram and Facebook.

It is an extension to the successful Bia’s Kitchen brand and will feature local independent chefs and restaurateurs cooking signature dishes as well as Bianca’s own top tips and recipes.

She said: “I’m over the moon at the success of the launch party. The evening was a great achievement and allowed people to understand the unique concept which is to create a platform to shout about the talented independent people from the food industry out there, who work their socks off.

“In a fun way we can let people learn more about them and support their business, after all, customers who are familiar with your story tend to feel a stronger connection to your business.

“We are also very interested in hearing from any businesses who would like to get involved in sponsorship of the show, which is going to continue to grow its following.”

In her first four episodes Bianca was joined by Shamin Uddin, who runs The Paprika Club Indian restaurant in Leamington; Emily Hodgson, of Emi’s Little Bakery based in Leamington; Tatiana Kostova, of Tropical Brazil Foods in Coventry; and weight management coach Nikki Ryan from Leamington.

The show marks the latest chapter on a journey of reinvention for the 43-year-old Brazilian-born mum-of-three, who walked away from a high-flying career in marketing in Rio de Janeiro – after falling in love with a Leamington man and resettling in Cubbington in 2009.

Despite huge transition in her life, the one constant has been her passion for cooking. She started cooking for friends, hosted cooking classes in Warwick and even a pop-up restaurant in Kenilworth. Buoyed by the positive feedback – and a win on Channel Four’s Couples Come Dine With Me TV show – she launched herself as a private chef and reignited her entrepreneurial spirit with successful businesses – Fresh to Freeze, a pre-cooked food delivery business which thrived throughout the pandemic – and Bia’s Kitchen.

Now she is looking forward to sharing her passion with the wider adopted community she has come to love.

Next up for the Bia’s Kitchen Show spotlight are Banh mi ca phe Vietnamese street food; Scratch Cook Social, a new pop-up dining and personal chef business and Mari-Carmen, Specialist women’s Health & Fitness coach, all based in Leamington.

And Bianca is already planning the release of the first in a series of books later this year, compiling some of her guests’ best recipes, the profits from which will support two causes close to her heart – post-natal depression and mental health.

See the first episodes of Bia’s Kitchen Show here
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Read more about Bianca’s story here

A new restaurant ‘Cogs Restaurant & Bar’ will open on Wednesday (24th January) within Hotel Indigo Coventry.

Part of the stunning, boutique new-build property, Cogs will celebrate the very best artisan craft of the local area and celebrate the amazing growers and producers in Warwickshire and the British Isles.

The kitchen will be open and fully integrated, allowing the Chefs to be a part of the diner’s experience. The Bar has 100 seats and is both stylish and captivating, creating the perfect atmosphere for pre- and post-dinner drinks. Cogs will cater for those wanting wholesome breakfasts, coffees,  lunchtime and evening meals, or for those just wanting to drop in for a drink in the stylish lounge. Cogs will be featuring special promotions in the future including Fizz Thursdays, Steak + Frites as well as lunchtime and early evening Fixed Price Menus.

The Head Chef is Marek Jani who has worked across large, branded hotels, multi-outlet catering offerings, as well as smaller boutique hotels. He has previously worked as Head Chef at Strawberry Bank Hotel in Meriden, Group Executive Chef for the Innventive Leisure Group Holdings LTD, as well as Head Chef for The Three Swans Hotel, Market Harborough, Queen’s Road Restaurant at Ramada Hotel & Suits in Coventry, The Manor Hotel Meriden Best Western, and The Saxon Mill in Warwick. Mark Lee has been appointed as Food & Beverage Manager and will be bringing with him a wealth of experience from the Lovely Pubs and the NEC Groups. He lists himself as a Restauranteur, talent scout, serial foodie, and small hotelier.

Starters from the ‘A La Carte Menu’ range from £8.95 to £12.95 and include Wild Boar & Pork Ravioli, Pil Pil Prawns, and Wild Mushroom & Potato Terrine. Mains, which range from £16.95 to £39.95, include Warwickshire Lamb Rump, a 21-day dry aged 6 oz Fillet Steak, Pan Fried Cotswold Chicken Breast, Oven roasted Halibut and a Superfood Salad.  Desserts are priced from £6.95 and include Sticky Toffee Pudding, Belgium Chocolate Mousse, and a Speciality Cheese Selection. A separate children’s menu is also available.

Cogs is open for breakfast from 6:30pm – 10.30pm, Monday – Sunday featuring a continental buffet along with a wide range of hot cooked dishes. The Sandwich menu is available from Monday to Sunday from 12pm – 5pm.  Last orders at Cogs is 9pm, seven days a week.

Cogs is situated next to Coventry Railway Station and a short walk from the city’s cultural attractions. The restaurant and hotel is part of a wider Friargate regeneration project that is set to transform this area of the city into a bustling hub of activity.

Michael Lyons, General Manager at Hotel Indigo Coventry said: “We are delighted to open Cogs within Hotel Indigo Coventry which will provide a truly memorable dining experience. Our aim is to create an atmosphere that leaves a lasting impression on every guest, making them eager to return. We look forward to welcoming visitors and putting Cogs firmly on the culinary map as a top destination restaurant in the West Midlands”.

Cogs within Hotel Indigo Coventry is situated at Friargate, Coventry. For more information, please visit: here

A new pilot TV show created to ‘celebrate and showcase food businesses in south Warwickshire’ is being launched at a special event in Leamington next week.

Bia’s Kitchen Show promises to highlight some of the best of the area’s foodie scene when it is streamed to audiences twice monthly on YouTube, Spotify, Instagram and Facebook.

The passion project is the creation of self-taught chef and entrepreneur Bianca Perry, who wants to support the spa town which she now calls home – 15 years after emigrating from her native Brazil – in the best way she knows how.

The show is an extension to her successful Bia’s Kitchen brand, and will feature local independent chefs and restaurateurs cooking signature dishes as well as her own top tips and recipes.

It marks the latest chapter on a journey of reinvention for the now 43-year-old mum-of-three, who walked away from a high-flying career in marketing in Rio de Janeiro – after falling in love with a Leamington man who was holidaying with friends.

Growing up on a farm, Bianca’s love for cooking started in her childhood and continued to be a big feature in her life and work.

She said: “As a farm girl I learned to cook as well as look after the land. I loved going harvesting, picking up fresh vegetables and herbs and cooking with my grandma. I’ve never been scared of work. My first job was when I was 12, I picked up vegetables from the farm and set up a little store in front of my house. Growing up on the farm was amazing. . . but I always dreamed bigger!”

After a short spell at boarding school, her ambitions led her to Rio where she worked in a mobile phone shop while studying for a degree. She soon realised her ambitions by partnering in a successful marketing company, securing major clients including what was at the time South America’s biggest water park. Drawn back to her foodie roots, she also established and ran a restaurant on the site.

Seven years later Bianca moved on again to Miami where she took the opportunity to work on her English while helping her cousin run his restaurant.

But it was in 2009, after resettling in the UK as the new Mrs David Perry, that signalled the start of a difficult period for newly-expectant Bianca who spent much of her pregnancy in hospital with crippling sickness.

Her daughter Lauren later faced her own serious health issues which resulted in surgery to remove of one of her lungs at the age of just four. Since then Bianca and husband David have been keen to give back through fundraising and free professional support to Ronald McDonalds House which took the couple in through Lauren’s two-month treatment and recovery at Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

And it wasn’t until their youngest child, William, was two that they learned he had been born deaf. Today he has managed to recover some of his hearing with the help of hearing aids.

Out of the blue, in 2020, the family were then hit with the tragic suicide of David’s older brother Oli Perry.

Throughout all of this, Bianca continues to fall back on her lifeline of cooking – and is again ready to step out of the shadows of her busy Cubbington kitchen into the limelight – this time to share her passion with the adopted community she has come to love.

She explained: “In Brazil I was someone. I came to England and suddenly all that was gone. I was now a pregnant wife, not used to the culture or the weather and with no support network because my family and friends are all in Brazil.

“Also, if you’re a businesswoman in Brazil, you don’t worry about cleaning the house and tidying up and you have people to help with the kids, you can continue your career, free to focus on work. It was all a big shock for me. I lost my identity. I didn’t know who I was let alone what I was going to do.”

So she started cooking for friends, hosted cooking classes in Warwick and even a pop-up restaurant in Kenilworth. Buoyed by the positive feedback – and a win on Channel Four’s Couples Come Dine With Me TV show – she launched herself as a private chef and reignited her entrepreneurial spirit with successful businesses – Fresh to Freeze, a pre-cooked food delivery business which thrived throughout the pandemic – and Bia’s Kitchen.

She recalls: “Throughout this period though I had to do homeschooling as well. It all eventually became too much and I went into a very dark place for a while. I just didn’t think I could do this any more. I was also going through post-natal depression and lost 30% of my hair due to stress-induced alopecia. My faith and prayer eventually helped pull me out of that place.”

Bianca and David are former winners of Couples Come Dine With Me on Channel 4.

Bia’s Kitchen Show show is being unveiled in front of specially invited guests at a launch event at 1 Mill Street on January 18th.

She said: “I am excited about combining my knowledge of food and international flavours, and marketing and production in a way that also involves my community. I have a passion for telling people’s stories. It’s about creating a buzz around the local foodie scene.

“I never studied to be a chef, apart from independent cooking technique courses, but I picked things up really quickly throughout my life working around food. I’m a very fast learner and everything comes back to food for me. I thrive off feeling other people’s energy and passion for food. After all, cooking is the universal language of love.”

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