QE Hospital Charity and award-winning chefs to host second Great Brummie Menu event

Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity has teamed up with local award-winning chefs including Glynn Purnell, alongside stars of The Great British Menu and Bake Off The Professionals for the Great Brummie Menu 2025. The fine-dining experience will be taking place at University College Birmingham on 20th May.

The Great Brummie Menu event is organised by former chef, Matt Davies and supported by Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham Charity. Seven years ago, Matt suffered severe burns and lost the use of his arm and was treated by Burns and Plastics Surgeon, Colonel Mark Foster at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. Matt has gone through over 70 operations and is incredibly grateful for the ongoing care he has received. He wanted to say thank you and give something back, so decided to start organising fine-dining events to fundraise for the hospital charity.

Matt said, “Colonel Mark Foster has been with me through this journey for 7 years and over 70 operations. I am hugely indebted to him and the incredible team at Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. Without them, I wouldn’t be here today. Working with the hospital charity I have been able to raise money to help others going through their treatment journey.”

Following the success of last year’s event, which sold out in 48-hours, Matt is once again teaming up with some of the most exciting chefs in the West Midlands to host a fine-dining experience like no other. The evening will include a charity auction and wine flight with each course generously provided by Arch 13 at Connollys.

Michelin Star Chefs Luke Tipping from Simpsons and Jonathan Howe from Lumiere (Gloucestershire) are supporting the event for a second year and they will be joined by local TV chef Glynn Purnell alongside Great British Menu Star, Liam Dillon and Bake Off The Professionals Finalist, Darryl Collins.

The chefs are teaming up to produce a 5-course tasting menu, with each chef preparing a different course. Guests will be treated to Glynn Purnell’s famous Burnt English custard egg surprise, which won the dessert course of the Great British Menu in 2008 with a perfect score of 10/10/10.

Glynn Purnell said, “I’m delighted to be taking part in the Great Brummie Menu this year. Matt’s been a great friend of mine for many years, he’s a true friend and a great professional and craftsman. Since his accident, Matt’s had to overcome some massive challenges and despite this, he’s chosen to give back and raise money for a fantastic charity. I’m absolutely buzzing to be cooking alongside him and other great chefs to support such a wonderful man. It’s going to be a fantastic evening.”

Charlotte Schofield, Director of Fundraising for Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham said, “Matt is one of our longstanding fundraisers and we have been blown away by his incredible dedication and fundraising for the charity, all whilst he is still going through treatment himself. We can’t thank Matt enough for his ongoing support, the money he continues to raise makes a massive difference to patients, their families and staff.”

The event also gives an opportunity to students on the Culinary Arts Management and Professional Chef degree programmes from University College Birmingham to assist these top chefs in the kitchen. It provides a fantastic experience for the students to learn from some of the best chefs, helping to train Michelin Star chefs of the future!