SPANDAU Ballet frontman Tony Hadley was in True form yesterday as he opened a new brasserie, delicatessen and food hall on the Ipswich Waterfront.

Simon Tomlinson

SPANDAU Ballet frontman Tony Hadley was in True form yesterday as he opened a new brasserie, delicatessen and food hall on the Ipswich Waterfront.

Mr Hadley arrived in the town from the Cannes film festival to cut the ribbon at Couture, which has taken space on the ground floor of the University Campus Suffolk building at Neptune Quay.

He also launched Hadley's Gold, a new premium ale created by the Red Rat craft brewery in Bury St Edmunds, which he part-owns.

The 120-seat brasserie will concentrate on classic British dishes using locally sourced ingredients.

Mr Hadley, who has recently re-formed with 80s band Spandau Ballet, said: “We live in a world of mass production and identikit shops. At Couture, the menu is reasonably priced and locally sourced.

“If that's helping local businesses to survive and giving people a little bit of choice compared to the mass market food you normally eat, then that's got to be a good thing.”

The master brewer at Red Rat approached Mr Hadley on a whim after watching him in concert to see if he would be interested in venturing into the beer industry.

After tasting a number of new beers, Mr Hadley crowned his favourite, Hadley's Gold, which will now be sold in Couture in Ipswich.

Long-forgotten recipes, such as Bacon Frois from the 15th Century and Fidget Pie, will also be championed, together with spit-roast free-range Sutton Hoo chicken, Essex bangers and mash and braised ox cheeks, as well as a range of light meals and salads.

The delicatessen and foodhall will sell high-end groceries, fresh fruit and vegetables, British speciality cheeses, Suffolk real ales, fine wines, cakes and pastries, cured meats, as well as handmade ice cream and chocolate.

General manager Natalie Gale said: “I hope the people of Ipswich will embrace it and use it to its full potential. In Suffolk there is a wealth of local produce so it's a great opportunity to use that.

“It is a difficult market, but being in such an iconic building and supplying the university I am sure it will take off.”

Couture was founded in 2007 by Marc Warde and has 10 locations across the UK, including the world-famous Pinewood Studios, Canary Wharf in London's Docklands and the renowned caf� at The Manchester Museum.