Glass is in Session

Two of the city's most extraordinary creatives are behind a one-off night of food, drink and chat in honour of International Women's Day. For Starters is an intimate evening of conversation from the visionary mind of Kaye Winwood and hosted by author, Dr Gemma Commane. Kaye, for those who don't know, is the woman behind some of the city's most stirring gastronomic experiences, often pushing boundaries and questioning where the line might be, if anywhere, when gender and sex cross over into food and drink. Gemma, meanwhile, is part of the collective behind Bean Flicks Festival (Birmingham's first ethical, feminist, queer and kink-positive porn festival) and the author of Bad Girls, Dirty Bodies: Sex, Performance and Safe Femininity. The night will be hosted at Kaye's new Gulp kitchen and studio, in a beautiful listed building on the Jewellery Quarter's Spencer Street. The 10-person meal, the menu for which is under wraps, will include a chat about some of the key topics in Gemma’s book. What Kaye has revealed to ICB, however, is just one of the drinks involved: "What we're going to achieve is an edible table landscape, of sorts, incorporating art in a big way," she says. "One drink we'll serve will come in a finger glass [pictured] designed by Nuala Clooney and myself. It'll include ice, gin, lemon syrup and a pipette of blackberry liqueur which, when applied will, perhaps, raise questions and discussions about menstruation." Other artists, including Sarah Taylor Silverwood, Leah Carless, Siân Tonkin and Joanne Masding, will have work present. £40