Birmingham Nosh Earns Top Tourist Accolade

England's 'second city' has been touted as one of the top tourist targets for 2012, according to the New York Times on Monday.

During the paper's report into Places To Go In 2012, Birmingham was reconfirmed the United Kingdom’s “foodiest town”, ahead of London and Edinburgh on the strength of its 10-day Birmingham Food Fest, which featured local talents Aktar Islam of Lasan Restaurant; up-and-comers like David Colcombe of Opus, Andy Waters of Edmunds Restaurant and Steve Love of Loves Restaurant; and three Michelin-starred chefs: Glynn Purnell of Purnell’s; Andreas Antona, Luke Tipping and Adam Bennett of Simpsons Restaurant; and Richard Turner of Turners of Harborne.

The report said: "The chefs are building on an already rich dining scene. Birmingham is famous in Britain for its Balti Triangle, an area of town that is home to a beloved Pakistani-Kashmiri curry dish invented here; it is also birthplace to such classically British food items as Typhoo Tea, Bird’s Custard and HP Sauce."

Responding to the report, Neil Rami, Chief Executive of Marketing Birmingham, which manages Birmingham Food Fest said: “Birmingham has worked hard to improve its reputation as a visitor destination in recent years by showcasing amongst other attributes, our fantastic and diverse foodie offer.

“Our Michelin star chefs and fine dining restaurant scene have catapulted the city into the culinary spotlight, while the diversity and innovations of our independent eateries are ensuring the city remains at the cutting edge and offers something for everyone.

“As the only English city outside of the capital to be named in this high profile listing, Birmingham has every reason to be proud of the international attention its culinary scene is attracting.”

Birmingham finished 19 on the list, just behind London and Edinburgh. The Central American country of Panama came top for its trendy arts district and sprawling development.

(DW)