Food & Drink
The Greater Manchester pie makers who won big at this year’s British Pie Awards
A fantastic result for some of Greater Manchester’s best pie makers…
The 2022 British Pie Awards have concluded for another year with a number of Greater Manchester’s best pie makers dominating the prizes.
It’s no secret that we have some seriously good pie offerings up here in the North, with the range of fillings, flavours and varieties being endless.
And this range shone through at the British Pie Awards this year, with a number of local pie makers from the region coming home with an abundance of awards.
@britishpieawards / Instagram
This year’s award ceremony saw a record-breaking 976 entries from 179 pie makers from across the country, with 151 judges being tasked with the enviable task of tasting and ranking each pie into gold, silver and bronze awards.
There were twenty-three different classes of hot and cold savoury and dessert pies and pasties for the judges to consider in the contest, which returned to its traditional March timing after the pandemic saw 2021’s event moved to September.
Here are the pie makers who did Greater Manchester proud at the British Pie Awards this year…
@atedaysaweekmcr / Instagram
Ate Days A Week
Award-winning pie butty specialists Ate Days A Week in Stockport won several awards for a variety of their pie offerings, including their Lamb Pie of the Tiger pie, which scooped gold.
The restaurant’s new beef madras pie Madrassive Attack, and their Ox Cheek Pie of the Tiger were both awarded silver, while the Salt & Pepper Chicken Pie landed bronze.
The head-chef and owner of Ate Days A Week Andy James recently confirmed that he will be permanently moving his pies from Stockport to the city centre in a venue ‘close to Albert Square’ later this year.
Manchester’s Finest Group
H.M Pasties
Bolton-based H.M Pasties was also recognised at the awards, with their Cheese & Onion Pie winning silver and their Traditional West Country Style Pasty and Creamy Leek & Mushroom Pie both scooping the bronze awards.
And H.M Pasties isn’t known just for its pie offering; its owner Lee only employs ex-offenders out of the belief that giving people the chance to hold down a job is ‘vital’ to preventing re-offending.
The job gives his employees a steady income, a regular routine and a motive to cook at home and gain back their independence.
All the ingredients are sourced exclusively from local prison farms and gardens.
H.M Pasties, Norris Street, Bolton, BL3 6HQ.
hmpasties.com
@patelspies / Instagram
Patel’s Pies
Patel’s Pies was born from a collaboration between the fantastic Vaso Kitchen and Stockport’s Bernie’s Grocery Store, and has become quickly known and loved for its selection of Indian inspired pies.
And its popularity shone through at the British Pie Awards, with them coming home with two silvers thanks to their Aloo Matar and Chickpea & Paneer pies.
Patel’s Pies can be found at the newly renovated Band on the Wall, Bernies Grocery Store in Heaton Moor and Altrincham and A Taste of Honey in Didsbury.
Patel’s Pies Facebook Page
Patel’s Pies Instagram Page
@frasersbutchers / Instagram
Fraser’s Butchers
Fraser’s Butchers in Bolton had a hugely successful night at the British Pie Awards, with them winning three awards for their classic pie offerings.
Their Pork Pie and Huntsman Pie (which is made up of pork, turkey and stuffing) were both awarded with silver, while their famous Meat & Potato Pie was commended with bronze.
Fraser’s Butchers, 272 Rishton Lane, Great Lever, Bolton, BL3 2EH.
frasersfoods.co.uk
Food & Drink
Italiana Fifty Five’s new winter menu features pasta so fresh it’s made in front of you
So, so good!
Italiana Fifty Five, the popular Italian spot with locations in the city centre and Didsbury, has launched a brand new winter menu and it’s a must-try for pasta fans.
They’re serious about fresh pasta, and in the front window of their Wilmslow Road restaurant you can see chefs prepare various types of pasta on traditional equipment.
This includes everything from rigatoni cylinders to squiggly ribbons of reginette.
Manchester’s Finest Group
New additions to the menu include a carbonara, made to the traditional recipe with egg and parmesan, as well as a fresh ravioli with spinach and sage.
You’ll also find an eight-hour cooked beef shin ragù with pappardelle, and an oven-baked vodka sauce dish, complete with crispy bits on top.
Other new additions to the menu include a cappellacci di burrata, served in a meaty Tuscan sauce, and a mushroom-heavy reginette dish.
Manchester’s Finest Group
There’s a couple of autumnal-leaning starters too, including bruschetta topped with stracciatella di bufala, and some Sicilian-style arancini too.
The new menu is available at all sites, however you’ll only find the fresh homemade pasta in the Didsbury branch. Get yourself booked in HERE.
Italiana Fifty Five have extended their August 50% off deal on their a la carte menu, so you can now grab a bargain until Sunday September 15th.
This means dishes like their trofie with pesto, lobster ravioli and their famous linguine pecorino, served flambéed at the table from a giant wheel of cheese are still half price.
The a la carte menu is available all day, every day, and takes in a breadth of Italian classics, antipasti and pasta dishes, pizza, cuts from the grill and desserts.
Manchester’s Finest Group
You’ll be able to kick off with dishes like mozzarella fritta, calamari and capesante gratinate – seared scallops finished with parmesan cheese under the grill.
It will also, of course, include perhaps its most famous dish – the linguine pecorino, which is flambéed tableside in a huge wheel of aged pecorino cheese.
For pushing the boat out, there’s also a sharing slab of chateaubriand steak, carved at the table and served with parmesan baby roast potatoes and a cherry tomato and parmesan salad.
Manchester’s Finest Group
Then you can finish up with homemade desserts, like a panna cotta, pistachio cannoli or a classic tiramisu.
The offer is available at all three Italiana Fifty Five sites – Liverpool Rd, Great Northern and Didsbury Village.
Get booked in HERE.
Food & Drink
Popeyes opening new drive-thru in Manchester tomorrow with FREE chicken
It’s the second Popeyes to open in Manchester
Louisiana-style fried chicken chain Popeyes has announced plans to open more restaurants this year, including a second site in Greater Manchester – which opens tomorrow, Friday April 26th.
The chain opened its 33rd UK site in Piccadilly Gardens in October last year, which proved an instant hit with visitors forming queues along the street and around the corner just to sample its classic Southern fried chicken.
Regular customers have learned to take early lunches to avoid the rush as it fills up with hungry people every day.
Now its new drive-thru, located on Bury New Road, is opening tomorrow, Friday April 26th, with both the doors and lanes officially opening from 11am.
Greater Manchester and the North West’s first drive-thru location, the restaurant will mark the brand’s 11th opening in 2024 and 47th site in the UK.
And of course, they’re giving away FREE chicken on opening day, with the first three people queuing both on-foot and in cars winning free Chicken Sandwiches for a whole year.
As well as that, the first 25 customers in both queues will also be rewarded with a free Chicken Sandwich and exclusive Popeyes merchandise.
You’ll have to get there early if you want to be one of the first three, however, as fans queued for more than 16 hours when the Piccadilly Gardens site opened last year.
And from Saturday, April 27th, you’ll also be able to grab breakfast at the new restaurant.
The ‘Brekkie’ menu features British Breakfast classics with a New Orleans twist, like the Big Cajun Breakfast Roll, Cajun Hash Browns and Nutella-topped buttermilk biscuits.
Breakfast will be available until 11am every day, and will even include a Bacon Roll Meal for just £1.99, which includes a Bacon Roll, a Hash Brown and a drink.
For those who have not yet had the pleasure of sampling Popeyes’ crunchy flavoursome goodness, its menu features classic offerings like the Chicken Sandwich, with signature 12-hour marinated chicken and original Southern biscuits and gravy.
Additionally, a variety of side dishes like mac & cheese, mash with Cajun gravy, and original biscuits will be served, alongside milkshakes in various flavours including vanilla, chocolate, mocha, and specialities like Oreo, Lotus Biscoff, and strawberry cheesecake.
What’s more, fans across the UK can now start their day with a Cajun twist – with Popeyes Breakfast Menu now available nationwide.
Tom Crowley, Popeyes UK Chief Executive Officer, commented: “Following the success of our Manchester Piccadilly restaurant, we are thrilled to bring our newest Popeyes to Bury New Road, marking our third restaurant in the North West.
“Our new restaurant will also be a Drive-Thru, meaning customers in Greater Manchester can enjoy our Famous Louisiana Chicken by dining in, via the Drive Thru lane, or by ordering online for kerbside collection.
“Our most recent openings have been some of the biggest to date, not just in the UK but for Popeyes globally, and we’re confident that Bury New Road will be just as popular.”
If you fancy winning free Chicken Sandwiches for a year, but don’t have time to queue up outside the new restaurant, then keep your eyes peeled on our Instagram tomorrow, Friday April 26th, as we’re going to be running a competition where you can win just that!
T&Cs: Offer entitles the holder to 3 free Chicken Sandwiches per week for 52 weeks. The 12 months starts on receipt of the email containing the first 3 links. Available in any Popeyes Louisiana Chicken UK restaurant, only on our Classic or Spicy Chicken Sandwich. Non transferable, not valid in conjunction with any other offer. Offer is redeemable only when you order online for collection through our website. Over 18s only.
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