The Pink Shed in the Trinity Centre invited us to be amongst the first to sample pop-up private dining: we sent Joshua Woodall along to see what it was all about…
The Pink Shed is a real mindbender. Literally a pink shed, it’s an intimate fine dining venue dropped directly into the centre of Trinity Centre, Leeds.
Revealed only a few days ago, and with only a small placard with contact information to act as a clue, people applying for reservations have no idea of which restaurant will be taking over the shed on the day they dine, or who their fellow diners will be. Despite this the demand for reservations was huge and they were allocated on a first come first served basis, a great thing to hear considering that corporate bookings usually manage to control these things.
As one of the first eight guests to experience the shed I had no idea what to expect. Our host Colin from Chilled Events greeted us outside, and after brief introductions we were led into the shed. Inside is just as pink and camp as you would expect, with little homages to Yorkshire discreetly worked into the décor.
The shed has no roof, which teamed with the glass roof of Trinity feels completely bizarre. As clouds formed overhead a few of my fellow guests actually commented that they were concerned about the rain.
Another effect of having no roof is that as you spot shoppers on the higher levels of the centre peering down, and you realise that you are what they are peering at. A strange feeling but something which I’m sure will appeal to certain people who want to ensure that they are seen in a venue as exclusive as this.
The guest restaurant was the Mexican Cielo Blanco, Neon Cactus’s older brother, so naturally we were greeted with Tequila. After a briefing on the type of Herradura in front of us – blanco to begin – and which of the various accompaniments to have with it – in this case a honey concoction – it was down the hatch and on to the starters.
The idea behind Cielo Blancos menu is that everything is made for sharing, and so out of an unassuming set of cupboards in the corner of the room appeared a whole range of starters.
Fresh tortilla chips with guacamole, pulled pork & pineapple and butternut squash & black bean tacos, North Yorkshire rump steak tostadas with grilled cheese & jalapeno ketchup, and chicken and roast root vegetable empanadas.
Foxy from Cielo Blanco was on hand to talk us through the inspiration behind each dish, most of which she found by dining at various street vendors in Mexico.
After the plates were cleared back into the cupboard the doors were closed. When the doors were opened again the cupboard contained our palate cleanser of queen scallops & East Coast mackerel. This was served with a juice cleanser containing watermelon, pear, lemon and agave.
A white Mexican wine was brought to the table, along with the mandatory tequila – Reposado this time with chillied cucumber – ready for our main course, which arrived in great style, transported in on two huge boards.
We had a feast of free range Yorkshire barbecue chicken with achiote pollo pot stew, barbecued sweetcorn and spicy sweet onions, whole grilled Pacific Jack with scallops, mackerel and garlic mixed greens, served with fresh salsas, guacamole, chipotle sour cream and wheat tortillas.
As the remains of the fish and chicken were taken away, yet more tequila was brought to the table, extra anejo (aged), accompanied by cinnamon orange. We were talked through the ageing process by Foxy and informed about the notes and flavours to pick out.
Then arrived the dessert; Mexican straight donuts with a rich dark chocolate for dipping. At this stage everyone was thoroughly stuffed, but it seemed our duty to finish so we all ate on.
The food from Cielo Blancos was faultless, and for the next few weeks I’m sure I’ll be recommending it to everyone I encounter. As for the Pink Shed, it was a fantastically unusual experience, Dining with strangers proved to be interesting and fun and the shed seems to be something that will draw like-minded people to it. At a fixed price of £20 per person the food is very reasonable anyway, but with the all the theatre thrown in it’s a bargain.
Impromptu fun, a rare opportunity arises you can win a table for 4 during #leedslovesfood 12pm 5th June by tweeting ‘#LeedsLovesFood & if I was a sandwich I would be a *insert Your answer here* @culturevultures #pinkshedperk’
We will let you know by 10am.
Josh, that was a fantastically thorough review – verging on food porn, although in a quite technical sense! I would have been a bit shy about going to a popup such as this given the numbers, placement and passing trade but the fact that Colin of Chilled Events was your host – who has done a wonderful Lounge Lover at our Temple Works – and the food was so good, I might just about get over my natural desire to squirrel the takings off into a Platonic cave, and eat while reading an Icelandic thriller.