Food & Drink
New business is delivering chef-quality BBQ boxes directly to your doorstep
Perfect for those post-lockdown summer barbecues
A new Stockport business is putting every failed cook’s barbecue woes to bed with its high quality, chef-prepared barbecue boxes.
Now, everyone loves a back garden barbecue with their family and mates on a hot summer’s day – but I can say with confidence that no one enjoys the prep, the cooking and the clean up of these garden bonanzas.
But all you barbecue-phobes out there need not to fear, because a new business born out of Stockport is now delivering chef-prepared BBQ boxes across the whole country.
Sou Chef was launched just five weeks ago by Charlie Bown, who has an extensive background in the world of restaurants and food delivery. For its wide selection of barbecue boxes, Sou Chef works closely with restaurant suppliers, butchers and chefs who have a combined experience in the field of over fifty years.
The inspiration behind Sou Chef is simple: Using the industry recognised cooking technique known as Sous Vide, the aim is to serve and deliver high quality food without the fuss and mess of a typical home-cooked barbecue.
Their food is home delivered ready-marinated in recyclable, temperature-controlled packaging directly to customers’ doorsteps along with tailored cooking guidelines – from there, all you’ll need is a barbecue, oven, pan and a big appetite to enjoy.
There are four different barbecue boxes on offer, all of which take between thirty to thirty-five minutes to cook: The Big BBQ Feast box contains nine different items such as twenty-eight day aged chateaubriand, slow-cooked barbecue pulled pork, tandoori marinated chicken legs (a personal favourite) and a selection of honey roasted vegetables and rosemary roasted potatoes. This box typically serves six people.
The BBQ Essentials box, on the other hand, contains – you guessed it – all your barbecue essentials such as twenty-eight day aged ribeye and sirloin steaks, Sous Vide barbecue ribs, vegetables, potatoes and a portion of pickled red cabbage, which is made up of eleven ingredients and slowly reduced in red wine and balsamic. This will cover four people.
For the couples out there, there’s also the Luxury BBQ for Two box, which contains slow cooked barbecue ribs, twenty-eight day aged chateaubriand, roasted vegetables and potatoes and a selection of peppercorn and Dianne sauces.
And last but not least, there is the BBQ Dinner Date box consisting of slow cooked barbecue ribs, twenty-eight day aged ribeye steaks, honey roasted vegetables, garlic and rosemary potatoes, pickled red cabbage and a selection of peppercorn and Dianne sauces.
The boxes give amateur chefs the perfect opportunity to show off their culinary skills to friends and family, and don’t require any last minute trip to the supermarket – they provide everything you could possibly need for the perfect barbecue.
They can also be delivered across the whole country – all you need to do is select your delivery date, where you’ll then receive a one hour delivery slot on your chosen date. Delivery is Tuesday-Saturday.
For more information and to order your own chef-quality barbecue box, visit the official Sou Chef website here.
Food & Drink
Popular Italian launches new menu with fresh cheesy pesto pasta and king prawns
If you’re in search of an authentic Italian dining experience in Manchester, look no further than Italiana Fifty Five
A popular Italian restaurant in Manchester has launched a new A La Carte menu.
Italiana Fifty Five has added some appetising new dishes to its menu to expand its offering this spring.
Diners can sample the newly added seasonal items and its authentic classic Italian favourites at all three of its Manchester sites – at the Great Northern, Liverpool Road and Didsbury.
The new A La Carte dishes include Gamberoni Grigliata which is tiger prawns cooked in garlic, butter, lemon and fresh chilli and served with toasted altamura bread for £13.95.
Also new to the menu is the Zoupa which is a hearty seafood soup with king scallops, king prawns, and muscles for £13.95.
Brand new appetisers include the Insalata Tricolore with avocado, beef tomato and buffalo mozzarella for £9.50, and the Bruschetta Speciale made with toasted sourdough bread and buffalo mozzarella spread, roasted heritage cherry tomatoes, garlic, onion, fresh basil and pesto for £9.75.
And if that’s not enough to entice you, diners can also tuck in to the new risotto and pasta dishes, including Risotto Zafferano which is a saffron risotto with parsley, garlic, onion and pecorino cheese for £14.95.
And the Trofie ala Pesto made with trofie pasta in homemade pesto sauce, finished with buffalo mozzarella for £14.95.
Complete your visit on a sweet note and indulge in one of Italiana Fifty Five’s best-loved desserts such as the Tiramisu or panna cotta.
To find out more or book a table at Italiana Fifty Five, click HERE.
Food & Drink
Restaurant famed for ‘cheese wheel pasta’ and ‘towering lasagnas’ looking to come to Manchester
A taste of la dolce vita could be coming to Manchester
The ‘OTT’ group famous for its pasta served in a wheel of cheese and 10-level lasagnas is reportedly looking to open a new Italian restaurant in Manchester city centre.
French-based Big Mamma Group, which owns over-the-top Italian restaurants in London – Gloria, Carlotta, Jacuzzi, Ave Mario and Circolo Popolare – will open a new venue in Gary Neville’s under-construction St Michael’s development off Deansgate.
Its restaurants are known for their flamboyant, retro interiors, resembling vintage maximalism Italian eateries, as well as US-style red sauce joints.
The regularly changing menus feature a variety of Italian classics, including fettuccine alfredo al tartufo, spaghetti with meatballs, a famous ’10 level’ lasagne and carbonara served in a huge cheese wheel.
The Manchester restaurant will be the first UK venue to be located outside of London and will – sit alongside the also announced Japanese-Peruvian restaurant Chotto Matte, also to be built at St Michael’s.
The move follows a host of other operators in the capital choosing to open new sites in Manchester.
Soon to arrive in the city will be the likes of Caravan, Flat Iron, Soho House and Blacklock.
Big Mamma – which was founded in 2013 by French entrepreneurs Victor Lugger and Tigrane Seydoux – has more than 20 restaurants across Europe including Paris, Monaco, Milan, Madrid and Berlin.
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Food & Drink
High-end Japanese restaurant MUSU offering 30% off in March
Take advantage of vibrant Japanese dining experience
High-end Japanese restaurant MUSU is offering 30% off in March for customers who sign up to its new free rewards programme.
The contemporary Japanese eatery, nestled in the heart of the city centre on Bridge Street, is launching its own membership rewards programme.
The scheme is free to join and will give members 30% off their food bill throughout March upon signing up.
Rewards customers can enjoy discounted prices on menus including the Omakase – the theatrical, educational sushi experience which is served individually to diners at the restaurant’s six–seat omakase counter.
This also includes the full Land of the Rising Sun tasting menus, which take in a range of cooking styles from all over Japan, devised by chef-patron Mike Shaw.
Then from April, members of the programme will be able to take advantage of a series of other rewards, including 30% off any food bill when dining at lunch time, 10% off when dining at dinner on any menu, and a 10% discount on private hire and private dining.
The restaurant has a closed-off area for its private dining experience for guests to enjoy, which is regularly used by celebrities and food critics alike.
On top of this, members celebrating their birthdays at MUSU will receive a complimentary drink, and every reward programme member will be entered into a monthly prize draw to win a 12-course Land of the Rising Sun experience, complete with wine pairings.
You can get early access to the restaurant’s special events, like its live tuna cutting experience, where a whole bluefin tuna is carved in front of diners, while its expert sushi chefs talk you through the provenance of the fish and the skills displayed in this ancient craft.
You can sign up to MUSU’s free rewards scheme, HERE.
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