Reading Roars!

After a long delay (a whole season, in fact), Roarcast episode 2 is ready (the first featured a conversation with Tutu Melaku).  It really isn’t supposed to be a quarterly podcast.  I’m working on the third, with the aim of putting it live by Christmas mid-October.

In this second episode, I sat down with Jason Browne of the très chic Mix Champagne and Cocktail Bar in Reading. 

I’m a Mix fan.  Their arrival (along with The Forbury Hotel’s Cerise) shook up a staid cocktail scene in Reading.  I remember drinking, not too long ago, lurid concoctions squeezed out of plastic bottles.  They weren’t pleasant (or kind to your teeth), but they got you drunk.  Mix introduced proper cocktails, served by professionally-trained mixologists in a classy environment.  It was as if London had arrived.

Details of the episode are as follows:

• 00:39  Mix: how it all started
• 02:15  Mix’s customers
• 04:10  Mix’s best-selling cocktail - and how Jason likes to prepare his
• 06:05  Drinks for the lads.  What do the guys order and how do they drink theirs?  Plus, Jason’s recommended cocktails.
• 07:35  “Drinking partners”: bits to nibble
• 08:00  And action!  The iconic movies behind the bar
• 09:05  Music played at Mix
• 09:45  Peak periods
• 10:15  Parties, corporate events and cocktail masterclasses
• 11:25  Rally through India

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What makes a town unique?  It is said that the people make the town.  It is true of Reading, in my opinion, derided by some outsiders who describe it as “soulless” or a “commuter town” (quite a derogatory tag). 

There really is more to Reading than a busy railway station, commercial high street and shopping centres.  There are buzzing personalities who give the town a distinctive identity, through their community deeds for example, or their running of independent cafes and historical pubs.

It is a theme that I am exploring with a new podcast series, Roarcasts.   In this series, I aim to find out through informal conversations what makes busy people (local business owners, artists and community leaders, for example) in Reading tick, why they do what they do in Reading (as opposed to anywhere else) and what they have planned for the future.      

The series begins with a chat with Tutu Melaku of Tutu’s Ethiopian Table, the Ethiopian restaurant and catering service based at Reading’s Global Cafe.  In Roarcast #1, Tutu revealed to me why she started Tutu’s Ethiopian Table, what her most popular dish is, the importance of Ethiopian coffee and more. 

Before going any further, I should add that I was inspired by podcasts giants Nick Saalfeld and Mike Southon with their Beermat Radio podcasts and Alex Bellinger of SmallBizPod fame.  As for the apparently curious name “Roarcast”  (sounding somewhat like “broadcast”), this was wittily suggested by Joff Hopkins of Reading 107 FM.

Without further ado, the running order for Roarcast #1 (11 minutes 10 seconds) is below.  Please let me know what you think.  It’s a first for me, so plenty of room for improvement!  At times you will hear the sound fade out and in.  It’s a fairly crude editing technique for when I want to snip certain sections, but I’m a newbie and expect to come up with something better.

• 00:00:00  Introduction
• 00:00:48  Tutu’s Ethiopian Table: how it started
• 00:02:46  About the food
• 00:03:29  Authenticity, Fair Trade and keeping it local
• 00:05:52  (Ethiopian) coffee and popcorn
• 00:07:30  The most popular dish
• 00:07:57  Global specials: food from other countries
• 00:09:00  Ethiopian music and dance
• 00:10:10  Tutu’s Ethiopian Table opening times

 Roarcast #1: Tutu Melaku and Tutu’s Ethiopian Table [MP3]

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