Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway
Picture the scene, it’s a normal working day at the restaurant and the phone rings. “Hi, it’s Simon here, a director from ITV… we’re working on an idea for a prime time show and would love to feature your restaurant”. Our first thoughts… ‘it’s a scam’, but true to his word Simon came to visit the restaurant to explain in more detail.
ITV were looking for restaurants with ‘funny’ names to partake in their show which saw presenter Andi Peters get pranked. The plot came about as Andi Peters had asked Ant & Dec if he could feature on Saturday Night Takeaway (the show) but instead Ant & Dec sent Andi to a takeaway on a Saturday night. They chose Balti Towers because of our comedic twist on the hit TV show Fawlty Towers.
Showtime soon came when the ITV production crew descended on the restaurant one Friday to rehearse for the live shows the following day. Andi was a lovely guy, who really made the effort to talk to all of the staff at the restaurant while rehearsing, where we could see Ant & Dec live on a mini screen back in the studio waiting for their cue.
The following day meant it was time to go live!! Shell Corner came to a standstill as ITV has gained permits to close the footpath outside while they set up the large amount of equipment ready for the live shows. Fencing, security and a whole load of camera equipment quickly sent mystery through the area causing speculation online as to why little old Balti Towers had such a large presence.
The live shows came and what a great buzz it was for all. We had specially invited our regular customers to join us on the night where ITV paid for all of their meals, with photo opportunities with Andi afterwards leaving the atmosphere electric. Even the Mayor of Dudley was happy rubbing shoulders with TV royalty!!
For months following our TV appearance we had a full house every night with the main topic of conversation being, you guessed it, Saturday Night Takeaway!!
University of Birmingham
We partnered with the UoB after we were contacted by a procurement company, who were charged with the task of finding a new supplier for the campus kitchens. Upon contacting us they had previously heard of our sauces and how competitively cheap they were along with the quality and authenticity of a restaurant cooked meal.
When Birmingham were chosen to host the Commonwealth Games, UoB contacted us to see if we wanted to take part in supplying the athlete village with our sauces. Already knowing the capability of providing excellent quality meals in bulk from our 2.5kg tubs, UoB knew this would be the perfect meal for the Cinternational athletes and their teams.
We have been supplying the university ever since.
Phillip Dennis
We approached Phillip Dennis with the view of them supplying our sauces to their incredibly vast customer base knowing they were industry leaders in their field with over 100 years heritage. Phillip Dennis welcomed our family run business along with our authentic product and we are now proudly stocked on their online store.