The Blues Kitchen is teaming up with Manchester’s DevilDog Sauces to host a Flamin’ Hot Wing Eating Competition this month.
And if you’re feeling brave enough, you can stick your name down now.
For the fifty brave foodies who fancy taking part in the challenge, there’ll be five rounds of fiery heat in the path to crowning glory.
In each round, The Blues Kitchen’s infamous wings will be coated in one of DevilDog’s glorious spicy sauces, with a one-of-a-kind, fire-in-your-mouth sauce like you’ve never experienced before lined up for the grand finale.
The evening will be hosted by Manchester’s very-own Tilly Tillz, who will makes sure the audience are entertained while the competitors are tackling a range of chilli peppers.
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The first round sees competitors munch on wings coated in DevilDog’s ‘Mango, Scotch Bonnet & Lime’ sauce, which is a nice, light 400,000 Scoville units to start. Round two will be the ‘Reaper, Scorpion & 7 Pot Chilli’ sauce, which is a blend of Carolina Reaper (around 1.6 million Scoville units), Trinidad Scorpion Butch T (1.2 million units), and 7 Pot Primo (up to 1.3 million units), which makes for an extra hot sauce that will most likely cause competitors to break a sweat.
Credit: The Blues Kitchen x DevilDog Sauces
Round three is the lethal ‘Naga Viper’, a fiery combination of the Trinidad Scorpion, the Naga Morich, and the Ghost Pepper, with Asian spiced plum and raspberry.
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The legendary Caroline Reaper makes a comeback in round four, with a dash of blackberry, lemon and thyme. This pepper is red and gnarled, with a bumpy texture and small pointed tail – the devil embodied in the form of a pepper.
Not for the faint hearted, this one is super hot and the gateway to the last round.
Survivors will proceed onto the fifth and final round, and for this one, DevilDog Sauces have created a very special sauce especially for the occasion that’s made with Armageddon Chilli – clocking in at 1.3 million Scoville units, 400 times hotter than your average jalapeño – white vinegar and red bell peppers.
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Credit: The Blues Kitchen | DevilDog Sauces
What will the champion get once they’re crowned the winner? Well, first and foremost, they’ll receive the grand prize of eternal glory – but they’ll also get a nice £50 tab to spend on food and drink at The Blues Kitchen.
Don’t worry if you’re not up for the challenge, then you can just go along and watch for free, and tuck into some not-so-spicy wings too while you’re at it.
Think you’re brave enough though? You can sign up to the challenge here.
Tesco are introducing ‘VAR-style’ self-checkouts in the UK
Danny Jones
Many people think VAR has already gone too far and want it gone from football full stop, and we’re here to tell you that you’re a fool; your hopes are in vain, and the technology is only going to become more common as time goes on. Sorry.
So much so, in fact, that Tesco look are bringing in their own virtual referee into self-checkout systems in shops. You could say the ‘game’s gone…’
Of course, we’re being a bit flippant here, but if you have seen ‘VAR’ and ‘Tesco‘, you’re not seeing things: this is genuinely a thing that is being rolled out here in the UK, with video footage of the supermarket chain’s next self-checkout technology going viral online.
Thought you’d got away with sneaking an extra little something in the bag without paying? Think again.
— UB1UB2 West London (Southall) (@UB1UB2) May 28, 2025
We’ll admit, this was the first time we’d come across the technology, but as it turns out, the updated self-checkout service has been in place for a while.
Similar VAR checkouts have already been installed at other retailers, Sainsbury’s and ASDA, although some reports claim that while stores capture footage of shoppers to check if they’ve scanned all of their items, it is thought that not all of these self-service tills show a playback when an error is detected.
Although this particular speculation has sparked some uproar and debate online, many have quite rightly pointed out that CCTV records your movement in any given shop.
Regardless, it’s fair to say that aside from the obvious memes and people poking fun at the new system, many on social media have shared some pretty strong opinions on the matter.
Not that it matters much – it’s likely this will soon become increasingly the norm, with the likes of Sainsbury’s having already introduced barriers which require customers to scan their receipt in order to leave at branches such as the site on Regent Road Retail Park over in Salford.
As yet, it’s unclear how many of these new self-service tills are in operation and whether they are limited to larger supermarket locations of their Express convenience stores, but don’t be surprised if you come across one.
Put simply, if a barcode isn’t registered before being put on the scale and/or set aside to be packed away, the Tesco till will read: “The last item wasn’t scanned properly. Remove from bagging area and try again.”
Addressing these new VAR-style checkouts in an official statement, a company spokesperson said: “We are always looking at technology to make life easier for our customers.
“We have recently installed a new system at some stores which helps customers using self-service checkouts identify if an item has not been scanned properly, making the checkout process quicker and easier.”
What do you make of the new Tesco and their new VAR self-checkout technology?
Popular Manchester restaurant bar to give out FREE sausage rolls to people called ‘Greg’
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s much-loved restaurant bars is doing a free sausage roll giveaway next week… but there’s a catch.
The catch being you have to have a certain name in particular.
It was only last week that popular high street chain Pret A Manger announced it would be slinging out free sandwiches to any Mancs with ‘Nic’ in their name over the late May bank holiday weekend, and now Tariff & Dale is getting it on the giveaway action, and it’s all to celebrate the iconic event that is National Sausage Roll Day.
In case you didn’t know – which is very likely, let’s be real – next Thursday (5 June) is the day dedicated to all things sausage roll.
So what better way to mark the occasion than with free portions of Tariff & Dale‘s legendary meaty treat?
The popular Northern Quarter restaurant bar is known for its creative comfort food, craft beers and cocktails, and laid-back industrial vibe, with one of the cult-classic dishes on its menu having always been the honey pork sausage roll – which just so happens to be a whopping 15-inches long, by the way.
Resembling something more of a pork wellington than a sausage roll, if you will, the dish is crispy, golden, and glazed with honey on top.
But to celebrate National Sausage Roll day, instead of parting with £9.50 for a portion or £48 for the full 15-inch thing, people with one specific name can actually get a slice for completely free of charge.
Tariff & Dale is giving away FREE sausage rolls to people with this name next week / Credit: Supplied
And that name is ‘Greg’, because if we’re honest, when it comes to sausage rolls, we all tend to think of Greggs.
So whether your surname is Gregory or Gregson, or you’re simply just called Greg, then all you need to do to claim your complimentary slice of sausage roll heaven is head on down to Tariff & Dale next Thursday 5 June from 12pm up until 9pm.
Emily Sergeant -
3rd November 2021 
