Welcome to our first weekly guide, your round up of food and drink news from across Greater Manchester.
This week, as we come towards the end of national lockdown, we’ve just found out that we will be going back into Tier 3. And, while it’s not what we were hoping for, we’ve got fingers, toes and everything crossed that, with the numbers falling in Greater Manchester, we’ll be able to move into Tier 2 soon.
This week, there are some new at-home kits to enjoy and a couple of venues announce exciting plans for reopening when they are able to.
Trof launch Christmas dinner kit
2020 has been the year of DIY meal kits, among other things of course, but meal kits have been one of the nice things.
Now, Northern quarter bar and restaurant (and cracking place to get a Christmas dinner on a ‘normal’ year), Trof, has created an Ultimate Christmas Dinner Kit.
For those who want a delicious lunch on Christmas Day without the stress, Trof’s Crimbo dinner kit costs £35 includes everything you need to make a 3-course festive feast, plus a bottle of Prosecco per two people.
There are two options for each course; celeriac and apple soup or chicken liver pate for starter; turkey with all the trimmings or mushroom and cranberry wellington for main; and Christmas pudding with brandy sauce or a chocolate yule log for dessert.
The Ultimate Christmas Dinner Kit can be collected from Trof on Christmas Eve (between 10-4pm). Order here.
Dishoom launch vegan naan roll
The incredibly popular Dishoom bacon naan kit now has a plant-based partner in crime.
The kit has been created in response to ‘polite but numerous requests’ from vegans, vegetarians and people who don’t eat pork or dairy.
The Vegan Sausage Naan Roll kit contains everything you need to make two of the vegan breakfast naans including the naan dough, vegan sausages Dishoom’s signature tomato-chilli jam, fresh coriander and vegan cream cheese. It also includes the spices for their Masala Chai which can be added to milk or a plant-based alternative.
For every kit they send out, Dishoom donate a meal to Magic Breakfast, a charity that provides free, nutritious meals to children in schools in the UK who might otherwise go hungry.
The kits cost £16 for two people and can be delivered nationwide. Order here.
Manchester Union Brewery
Piccadilly brewery Manchester Union Lager has released two new brews this week, Pivot pale ale and a black lager named After Dusk. The brewery originally planned to focus solely on brewing good lager, due to tank space and the length needed to brew (three times longer than ale). However, the ongoing restrictions in Manchester has meant that the business needs to expand its offering.
Created in collaboration with some of the city’s top independent music venues, After Dusk aims to drive awareness of Manchester’s favourite venues. Each can has an image of one of the music venues including the Albert Hall, Hidden, Band on the Wall, Matt & Phred’s and Mint Lounge. There’s also a QR code on the can, which will give the drinker access to live streamed events, gig tickets and radio stations while the venues remain closed.
Christmas by Nico
Six by Nico has announced its next menu. ‘Miracle On’ will be a Christmas themed tasting menu, centered around a nostalgic look back at the festive season.
Dishes on the six-course menu will include ‘Memories of a Christmas Market’, sausage and onion compote with smoked sausage foam and crispy onions and ‘Partridge in a Pear Tree’, partridge boudain, pumpkin and pear with beech smoke and game consommé.
Chef Nico Simeone said: “Most of us are familiar with the classic Christmas lunch and all its trimmings but this festive season our team at Six by Nico wanted to bring the magic of Christmas nostalgia to the plate with our ‘Miracle On’ menu and create the ideal Christmas dining experience for all our customers”.
