Toward the end of last week, I went to watch "Bridget Jones's Diary", which was hosted by TasteFilm. TasteFilm allows viewers to experience the film with the element of taste through the emotions coming to life with food as well as some of the meals on screen being served up in front of viewers. I have visited a few similar experiences before. This time, I headed to a pub in Kensal Green called "The Parlour", which looked like quite a nice local pub popular with the locals. A room at the back held the viewing area (or cinema) where the film was played and where tables were set up to allow us to watch the film.
When I arrived, I received the extra cocktail that I had ordered to have while waiting. Viewers could also order a pre-starter, but I did not. I had the Tangerine Tinted Sour, which I assume was named after the love interest of Bridget's mother. The cocktail was a citrus orange-tasting cocktail. The menu was a throwback to the film with the starter being "Height of Sophistication" or "Tiny things one can eat without spilling on one's top". The film certainly took me back to 2001 and the late 1990s.
While I waited, I had a spicy margarita and a frozen picante. I seem to be enjoying the spicy margarita cocktails a lot these days.
The "cinema" room was located behind the bar, and we made our way to our seats. Each seat was laid out with our selection of popcorn, the menu for the film, a quiz, and a questionnaire. The menu for the film "Just as You Are" is a throwback to character Mark who states this line about Bridget and wins her over. The questionnaire is similar to ones found in girly magazines (such as "Cosmopolitan") to answer questions to find out our personality as a grown up and how we are doing. According to the answers I gave, I need to avoid the emotionally-unavailable men. Yes, I'll agree there!
The quiz focused on Bridget Jones trivia and was to be done before the film started, and we were not allowed to cheat. I got eight of the questions correct out of ten, but the bonus two were related to the people making the quiz and were guesses, and I got both of those wrong.
I enjoyed my frozen margarita with the popcorn.
We were then brought the first course, which was the starter to the main. Of course, it was the poppadoms with chutney throwback to the start of the film where Bridget goes to her mother's house for the annual turkey curry buffet on New Year's Day.
This was followed by a little taste of turkey curry, rice, and an onion bhaji served in small metal bowls. This was delicious.
The next dish was brought to us when Bridget was out with her friends at the pub. I received the vodka, grapefruit, and lime shot cocktail with tortilla chips and black olives.
The next was brought out during the "Tarts and Vicars" dress party where Bridget dresses up like a "Playboy Bunny". The cocktail was a tart blackberry flavour. This was served with a carmelised red onion tart with a sleeve around it that looked like a vicar's collar. I loved the cocktail, and the tart was also yummy.
"Nothing but condiments and cheese" was next on the menu with Bridget raiding her cupboards after discovering that Daniel (Hugh Grant's character) is a cheat. This was a blue chese profiterole with grapes and dried fruit. I didn't like the profiterole as I don't like strong cheese, but I did attempt it.
The next item on the menu was also out of the film in the scene with Bridget has Mark and her friends around for a dinner party at her house. She is a little bit hopeless in cooking as the soup turns blue. This was a leek soup served with cheese and croutons. It was served in a small metal bowl with blue ribbon tied around it.
For dessert in the film, a marmalade margarita was served. The little jar of marmalade was meant to be put into the cocktail.
The last item was the "Snowy Snog" with Bridget and Mark at the end of the film where she runs to meet him in the snow. White chocolate, pear, and almond trifle was the menu description, but it was actually yogurt, which I dislike. I ended up leaving it.
Overall, the film was a fun experience. I was not keen on a couple of the menu items, but the rest were quite good. I would go to one of their other events if I like the look of the menu and the film.
Leave a comment