Danny Malin: Here's what really happens at the BRIT Awards - and everything I ate
A few years ago, I spotted a video of Jack Whitehall chatting to Stephen Tries - and he told him he went down a rabbit hole watching my videos.
This was up there alongside Angry Ginge calling me a ‘GOAT’ on another video.
I then got a message last week from comedian Jack Whitehall inviting me to have a takeaway with Harry Styles at the BRITs.
I couldn’t believe that his wild plan actually came to fruition on Saturday night. Jack said that “we’ll make history”, and we certainly did that.
It’s these pinch-me moments where I just feel incredibly blessed to have survived two strokes and a lot of trauma to live and appreciate these moments.
The Brits were held for the first time in Manchester at the Co-Op Live Arena. I had to arrive by midday on the Saturday for rehearsals, with my table and chair, which I’m known for on my food reviews.
It was a huge production and great to meet everyone backstage. As ever, there was a lot of waiting around, but I did get access to the catering tent, which was epic.
All the production staff, crew and performers could get lunch and dinner. It looked like a standard marquee, but inside it was similar to some of the buffets I’ve tried previously in upmarket hotels in Las Vegas.
There were four stations to choose from for your main dish - from slow-braised lamb shepherd’s pie to a roast rack of pork, oven-roast chicken and miso-glazed cod. For vegetarians, there was aubergine parmigiana or a vegan option of Chinese crispy oyster mushrooms.
I had freshly baked shepherd’s pie for lunch and then a roast rack of pork for tea. There’s also a huge salad bar with everything from Mexican-inspired salads with avocado, pulses and nachos to a squash and asparagus platter. You could also get a full-on cheese board with every type of cheese, crackers and bread you could desire.
Then there was a dessert bar with strawberry mousse, apple cake and chocolate fondants, as well as vegan options and all sorts of custards.
The food was restaurant-standard; I just had to be careful not to overeat as I had a long night ahead.
My wife Sophie Mei Lan joined me for dinner backstage at the Brits. She absolutely loved the oyster mushrooms, which she said tasted like Chinese-style crispy pork, although she’s vegetarian.
I had also been told that during my segment, they were supplying me with a kebab and chips on my table, although I was warned not to eat after all the rehearsals, it was stone cold.
Fortunately, dinner had filled me up, so when it came towards the end of the Brits when they wanted me to set up my table and chair alongside the celebrities, I wasn’t tempted by the cold kebab and chips.
While the show ran over, so I didn’t get the chance to say a few lines, it was still amazing to meet everyone and even more weird that some of the celebrities were fans of my channel Danny Vs Food.
While everyone went on to after-parties, my wife and I returned to our Premier Inn room in Denton where my parents had been looking after our toddler, Athena.
I treated my parents to their own room too, and we celebrated over breakfast at the Brewer’s Fayre next door the following morning.
I then went straight on to judge the British Eating League contest in Lichfield with fellow content creators Dad Loves Food and Liam Marley.
You can find Danny on social media @dannyvsfood or go to YouTube.