Stirlingshire café’s deep-fried Brussels sprouts becomes one of the most talked about menu items this Christmas, plus they are giving away FREE Seafood From Norway Fish Bites too
Embracing the holiday spirit with an innovative twist, Scotland’s iconic roadside café, The Real Food Café in Tyndrum, Stirlingshire has delighted customers by adding deep fried Brussels sprouts to its festive menu this year.
The unexpected addition has become a runaway success, captivating taste buds and elevating the festive dining experience for locals, passers-by, tourists and a growing number who travel hours to the café to enjoy the café’s award-winning fish and chips.
Renowned for their commitment to quality ingredients and culinary innovation, the café’s unconventional take on what is often viewed as a soggy side to the main event, has generated a buzz throughout Scotland, resulting in a Facebook poll result on 20th December which saw 86% of respondents in favour of the new menu addition.
Customers delighted in the menu addition with comments such as “I so want to taste these they sound amazing! Mouthfuls of a mini whole cabbage beautifully fired! Who wouldn't like them and yes, bring me lardons too!”.
Using a simple recipe which focuses on the key part of cooking a great sprout, the preparation, the cafe's chefs have transformed the traditionally overcooked and under loved Christmas staple into delectable, bite-sized delights that are perfectly crispy on the outside with just the right amount of ‘bite’ on the inside.
The café charges £5 for a dozen deep fried sprouts, accompanied by a tangy honey and mustard dip.
The surprise success of the humble yet divisive sprout can be attributed not only to the cafe's creativity and innovation, but to the growing popularity of Brussels sprouts as a ‘must have’ on the menu for Christmas 2023.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland show this morning, Sarah Heward, owner of The Real Food Café, talked about the key element of a successful sprout – the preparation.
She said: “I think the reason is that people have had bad experiences with sprouts is because they’ve been overcooked. My granny’s sprouts used to run off the plate – they were more like a soup!”
“They’re not difficult to make – the secret is in the preparation and the cooking, frying them in good, clean oil. You can get them ready peeled – we don’t. Peeling sprouts is quite a therapeutic thing I feel, standing in the kitchen zoning out for a while with some Christmas music on. We’re selling them with a honey and mustard dipping sauce but you can put whatever you like with them – that’s the beauty.”
With word spreading about the unique addition to the menu, the café expects to see an influx of curious diners eager to experience the festive taste sensation themselves.
She added “Christmas is all about fun moments, creating memories and of course enjoying delicious and unforgettable flavours which you might not taste during the rest of the year, so we’ll be keeping the deep-fried sprouts on the menu as we move into January and then transforming this into something equally delicious for our Spring menu.”
The recipe for The Real Food Café’s Deep Fried Brussels Sprouts is available on the café’s website here:
https://therealfoodcafe.com/blogs/news/the-real-food-cafes-crispy-deep-fried-brussels-sprouts-recipe
It is the second special Christmas promotion of the week at the iconic Tyndrum restaurant.
Sarah said; "To kick off the festivities, our friends at Seafood from Norway sent us some of their responsibly sourced Norwegian frozen-at-sea haddock. They even included super original tees for our awesome team.
And because 'tis the season of giving, we're passing on the kindness to our customers!
The first 30 orders with at least one standard haddock & chips will get a bonus treat – a free side of our delicious spicy fish nuggets."
"We Fish you a Merry Christmas or better yet, Fishmas."
All of the seafood used in our menu is Marine Stewardship Council - MSC certified.
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