Five of Manchester’s finest and best-loved restaurants are battling it out in a unique cooking and cocktail and service competition on Wednesday 20 October.
As part of Edrington UK’s ‘CREATE’ project – an advocacy programme highlighting the strength in collaboration between the kitchen, the front of house, and the bartender teams – the chefs and bar staff at Australasia, Tast, Tariff & Dale, The Alchemist, and New World Trading Company – who own The Botanist – have been prepping and practicing ahead of the brand-new competition that’s challenging them to think differently about spirits.
The chefs and bar staff have been tasked with coming up with some tasty dishes and cocktails that each use a different brand of spirit, and these will then be expertly presented by the front of house to an exclusive, industry-leading judging panel on Wednesday.
Forget wine, the chefs taking part in CREATE will be cooking with Highland Park single malt whisky, Roku gin, and more.
CREATE is focusing on the importance of food pairing and service when creating the perfect consumer experience.
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It may be a competition, but this one-of-a-kind project has also given the participants one-on-one time with CREATE’s industry experts to allow for mentorship and coaching ahead of the big day.
CREATE’s founders say the project is about “crafting the spirit in food, together”.
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The restaurants and bars have been tasked with coming up with some tasty dishes and cocktails that each use a different brand of spirit / Credit: The Manc Group
The Manc’s very-own Food & Drink Editor, Georgina Pellant, will be on the judging panel at the competition – which is taking place at the neutral venue of Hilltop Country House in Macclesfield.
And our presenter and food-enthusiast, Joe McGrath, was also lucky enough to get to chat with two chefs and one bartender last week to find out how they were getting on in preparation for the big day and even get to sample some of the amazing food and drinks they’ve created and perfected using their chosen spirit.
The lucky winner of the competition will get some amazing prizes that will benefit the team at the restaurant, with features in CLASS Magazine, bespoke bar kits, and first-class butchery courses all up for grabs.
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Edrington UK will also be taking five of the winning accounts front of house staff through WSET Level 1 in Spirits.
All the restaurants taking part will get to make valuable connections and build long-lasting relationships with Edrington UK’s committed customers too.
CREATE kicks off at 9am on Wednesday 20 October at Hilltop Country House.
Featured Image – The Manc Group
Food & Drink
Bundobust is giving away free beer after ’embarrassing mess-up’ – on one condition
Daisy Jackson
Bundobust has hit the free beer klaxon again, giving away hundreds of pints next week after a ‘real mess-up’.
The beloved Indian street food brand, which has two sites in Manchester as well as its OG restaurant over in Leeds, shared a statement that says ‘Well this is embarrassing’.
Bundobust has revealed it had planned a huge free pint giveaway for National Beer Day on Monday…
Except National Beer Day isn’t actually until June. They were looking at the American calendar, the silly sausages.
But not one to throw a good marketing stunt away, Bundobust has decided to crack on with its free beer giveaway as planned, on one condition – you must order in an American accent.
The restaurant will be handing out hundreds of free pints of its own Bundobust Brewery beer on Monday 7 April.
Just pop in with a friend, and any time one of you orders a beer and wishes them a ‘Happy National Beer Day’ (don’t forget the accent) you get a free beer for you and your mate.
Bundobust said: “Well this is embarrassing. We’ve really messed up this time.
“For weeks now, we’ve been planning to give away hundreds of FREE PINTS of Bundobust Brewery beer this National Beer Day, Monday 7th April.
Bundobust is giving away free beers after ’embarrassing mess-up’. Credit: The Manc Group
“All you’d have to do is bring a friend in, any time one of you got a Bundobust Brewery beer and wishes us “Happy National Beer Day” you’d get your beer PLUS a free one to give to your mate.
“So simple. So elegant! Only one problem though. Monday 7th April is National Beer Day in America. Ours is 15th June.
“We don’t want to wait that long though!! Also we’ve already programmed the “free beer for a mate” button into the till, which takes a good 5 minutes, so we’re going to go ahead with it this Monday 7th April!
“There’s one catch though: you have to do an American accent when you say “Happy National Beer Day”. Deal? See y’all on Monday, pardner.”
Their cock-up is our win – free beer deal is available at all Bundobust sites from 12pm on Monday.
One of Manchester’s best-loved independent cafes is coming to Bolton
Danny Jones
A much-loved independent Manchester cafe is heading out of the city centre for the first time as they plan to open a brand new premises over in Bolton.
Bolton as a town and wider borough has no shortage of cosy little caffs, but the addition of this latest place for a brew, butty and a bake is sure to be an instant hit just as it was in Ancoats.
To call Cafe Cotton a cult favourite would be grossly understating things at this point: the Blossom St spot tucked into Hallé St Peter’s is not only a beautiful space inside but looks out onto Manchester’s trendy and ever-bustling Cutting Room Square, making it a great place to sit with a coffee.
With that in mind, as they prepare to open their third location further out towards Lancashire, Boltonians have every reason to be very excited.
Cafe Cotton is coming to a town in Bolton. (Credit: The Manc Group)
The indie success story began way back in 2013, if you can believe that, serving sandwiches, sweet treats and more to the Manc masses.
Oh yeah, they also do bloody brilliant coffee that’s considered some of the best in the city.
Opening another venue on the ground floor of Neptune Mill in neighbouring Piccadilly East just this past January, the expansion of the brand has been a relatively steady one despite more than a decade of loyal patrons and new customers becoming each year.
However, good things come to those who wait, as we’re sure the Bolton natives will vouch for when the next Cafe Cotton opens up in Farnworth Green.
The opening date might still be up in the air, but here’s a little glimpse at the kind of goodness they can expect to enjoy:
The new addition is part of the overall Farnworth regeneration project, which is being headed up by investors Capital and Centric, who are famously responsible for numerous new developments in and around Manchester in recent years. Over £20 million has been set aside for the wider plans.
Cotton Cafe’s founder, Chris Griffith, said of the soon-to-open site: “We’ve been on an amazing journey growing Cotton, and we’re incredibly grateful for the loyal following we’ve cultivated. Now, Farnworth Green feels like the perfect next step.
“This isn’t just about opening another café; it’s about investing in a community. The bakery is a big move for us too, allowing us to craft everything from scratch and supply all our locations with freshly made goods.
“We’re also buzzing to team up with Bolton Council to offer apprenticeships, helping young people take their first step into the industry.” The authority itself is actually looking for a project lead as we speak.
Is this the start of a big period of change for Bolton?
Emily Sergeant -
19th October 2021 
