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Birmingham official dish is now the Bolt-I
Birmingham’s signature Balti dish is being renamed and revamped as the Bolt-i in honour of the fastest man on earth.
Having played host to the national team in the lead up to London2012, the city got a special mention for its hospitality in the post-200 metres race interview with medallists Usain Bolt, and fellow countrymen Yohan Blake and Warren Weir, who picked up the silver and bronze respectively – making it a clean sweep for Jamaica on the podium.
Speaking after the race, Usain Bolt commented:
"The Birmingham people, when we were at camp, they were extremely great to us. They showed us a lot of love, and thank you guys – you guys helped us come out here and do our best."
Imran’s Restaurant, based in the world-famous Balti Triangle, has created ‘The Birmingham Bolti’ in honour of the fastest man in the world. Commenting on his new creation, head chef at Imran’s Restaurant, said:
“It has been both a privilege and a pleasure to host the Jamaican team and the city has been buzzing today following their fantastic performance and generosity in ‘bigging up’ Birmingham so publicly after last night’s 200 metre race”.
“We wanted to honour their achievements with this dish. Essentially, it’s a Balti with a distinctively Jamaican twist – jerk chicken, rice and peas form the basis of this hot and spicy dish. We would love to welcome the team back to Birmingham to try it out sometime!”
Hot on the heels of the new Birmingham bolti, Island Delight – one of Birmingham’s most popular Caribbean food producers – has created a giant pattie, measuring 50 inches in diameter, in honour of the team’s achievements, while people across the city are celebrating the shout out from the Jamaican trio by sporting #BigupBirmingham t-shirts.
The name check by Bolt was watched by almost 11 million people and went viral on Twitter, with Birmingham trending nationally.
Staying at The University of Birmingham – which offered bespoke seven-foot beds and mattresses for the tallest athletes, and a specialist chef to cater for Jamaican tastes – the team were welcomed by the entire city. Birmingham has the largest Jamaican community outside London. As their visit coincided with the 50th anniversary of Jamaican independence, a host of celebrations took place including a five-day 'Jamaica in the Square' cultural extravaganza and an athletes’ farewell concert at the Symphony Hall.
The team also enjoyed a number of Birmingham’s attractions, and twice visited Cineworld on Broad Street, as well as Marks & Spencer and Waitrose.
Six of the 100m finalists – and all three medallists – trained in Birmingham ahead of the Games, as the city also hosted the US track and field team’s training camp.
To watch Usain Bolt, Yohan Blake and Warren Weir talking about Birmingham, visit http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-19203454. For more information on Birmingham, visit http://visitbirmingham.com/
The city’s next major sporting event is the Aviva Birmingham GrandPrix Athletics on 26 August, which will welcome a number of Olympic heroes back to Birmingham.
PR contact: Ellie Rance ellie.rance@marketingbirmingham.com / 0121 202 5002
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