A chef near Greater Manchester has expressed his disbelief after his pub was named one of the best in the UK.
Luke Payne, who is both head chef and co-owner of The Pack Horse in Hayfield, tweeted his delight yesterday after his pub was ranked as one of the country’s finest offerings.
The ‘seasonal, contemporary gastropub’ in Hayfield, which is located near Kinder Scout in the Peak District, has been named as one of the top 50 gastropubs for 2022.
Swadale heritage breed pork chop with its own crackling, Navarrico Judion beans in a leek, garlic and smoked pig stock cassoulet, and salsa verde / Image: The Pack Horse Hayfield
Writing “thank you, thank you, thank you” on his Twitter, the chef tweeted his heartfelt thanks to all of those who had supported the pub during the voting process and helped them make it into the prestigious top 50 list.
“The top 50. Wow. I genuinely didn’t think we would do it,” he wrote, seemingly in disbelief.
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The news comes after the pub ‘sneaked’ into the 2021 long list at number 79, following one of the most difficult periods for hospitality in recent history.
Each year, Top 50 Gastropubs list fifty of the best in the country (although we know all too well in the north that there are many, many more than that, being particularly spoilt in this part of the country).
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Last year, however, the guide extended its list to 100 in a bid to encourage more diners to get out and spend money in their local venues.
At the time, list Editor Nicholas Robinson told the Morning Advertiser: “What’s great about gastropubs is the diversity of the food they offer. It’s not all fine dining with foams and gels, but a real mix of high-end, refined restaurant quality dishes mixed with pub classics and simple food.”
Image: The Pack Horse Hayfield
Image: The Pack Horse Hayfield
“But what ties all amazing gastropubs together is the quality of their ingredient, the skill of the chefs behind the dishes and the environment you eat in.”
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At The Pack Horse Hayfield, there are several menus on offer: an a la carte, a bar snack menu, and a Sunday roast list.
Regularly changing to fit the seasons, those that appear on the website are sample menus just to give you a flavour for the variety on offer.
A Sunday Roast at the award-winning pub, officially listed in the Top 50 Gastropubs for 2022 / Image: The Pack Horse Hayfield
With a snacks section offering everything from rock oysters (served raw or Korean-style) to Manchester eggs and Cobble Lane charcuterie; and starters ranging from High Peak lamb kofte to Loch Fyne diver scallops and Cured chalk stream trout, the menu is certainly a varied one.
Elsewhere, impressive-sounding mains listed on the sample a la carte include the likes of local estate venison loin wellington with a pickled walnut duxelles, Swaledale mutton rogan josh, and a wild rabbit and smoked pig’s head pie with its own liquor.
As for pudding, crowd-pleasing favourites include poached pears, vanilla creme brulee with shortbread, salted caramel custard tart, pistachio cream, or Baron Bigod cheese served with a treacle and walnut malt loaf and balsamic onions.
It’s easy – for us at least – to see why the Pack Horse has made it onto the list. We think Luke Payne is just being very modest, which is rather charming actually.
To find out more and book a visit, head to the pub’s website here.
Oasis finally confirm ‘private ballot’ ticket information for reunion tour
Daisy Jackson
Oasis have just announced more information about how tickets will be sold through a ‘private ballot’ for their extra reunion tour dates.
The group added two additional shows at Wembley Stadium after their initial 17 gigs across London, Manchester, Dublin, Edinburgh and Cardiff generated huge demand and sold out in a day.
Oasis and Ticketmaster came under fire though for the use of dynamic pricing, which saw ticket prices shoot up by hundreds of pounds by the time people made it through the online queues.
For these additional reunion tour dates at Wembley, ticket sales will look a little different.
They’ll be using a ‘private ballot’, which will give first dibs to those who missed out on the first ticket sale.
You’ll only be invited to register for the sale if you signed into your Ticketmaster account on Saturday 31 August, and joined a queue for a specific show.
And you’ll only receive an invitation if you DIDN’T manage to bag tickets the first time round.
THEN you’ll be able to register for the actual ballot, which still doesn’t guarantee you a ticket but does at least get you into a (hopefully less lengthy) queue.
“Invitations to enter the private ballot will be sent overnight tonight (Saturday) to eligible fans we have been able to identify.
“If you signed into your Ticketmaster UK account on Saturday, 31st August, and were able to join a queue for a specific show, but didn’t get a ticket-then you may be eligible to take part and will receive an email on how to register for the ballot.
“Keep an eye on the inbox associated with your Ticketmaster account, and don’t forget to check your junkmail.
“Once successfully registered, you will be entered into the ballot for a code for access to the final Wembley on sale.
“Due to the demand for the shows and to avoid last week’s long queues, codes will be strictly limited. Entry to the ballot does not guarantee you will receive a code.
“The ballot is only open to invited fans. You must register with the email to which your invitation was sent and which is registered with your Ticketmaster account.
“All other entries will be discounted. If you do not receive an email then unfortunately you will not be eligible for the ballot.
“You will be automatically discounted from the ballot, even if you go through the registration process.”
Featured image: Simon Emmett
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Manchester Airport named UK’s worst in annual Which? survey for third year running
Emily Sergeant
Manchester Airport has officially been declared the worst airport in the UK, according to a new survey by Which?… yet again.
The summer travel season may be drawing to a close now, with hundreds of flights having taken off and landed in our region over the last couple of months, but for any Greater Manchester holidaymakers who are still yet to jet off, an annual ranking by consumer choice group Which? has proved to be pretty grim reading.
That’s because several terminals at the UK’s third largest airport have found themselves at the bottom of the list in Which? latest findings.
Manchester Airport has hit back at the survey and defended itself, saying its own passenger surveys suggest people are “much more positive” about the airport, adding that it was “proud to give people in all parts of the North easy and affordable access to nearly 200 different destinations across the world”.
For its annual survey, Which? spoke to nearly 7,000 passengers to gather feedback about their experiences of flying from UK airports over the last 12 months, and asked them to score the airports across 11 categories.
Manchester Airport has been named the worst in the UK for the third year running / Credit: The Manc Group
Some of these categories including seating, staff, toilets, and of course, the queues we all dread at check in, bag drop, passport control, and security.
And just like in both 2022 and again in 2023, it was Manchester Airport Terminal 3 that ranked right at the bottom, receiving the lowest customer satisfaction score of 37%.
Manchester Terminal 1 ranked one place above that with a score of 40%, while Manchester Terminal 2 was a little further up the the list with a score of 51%, and just saw Luton Airport, London Stansted, and Belfast International Airport sandwiched in between it.
According to Which?, some of the complaints it received about Manchester Airport from passengers who responded to the survey this year was that older people struggled with long walks due to travelators being broken since 2021, difficulties with finding a seat, and “horrendous” queues with people apparently being “corralled like cattle”.
As mentioned though, Manchester Airport has slammed Which?’s findings in a formal statement.
The UK’s third largest airport has hit back at the survey results and defended itself / Credit:
Describing the survey as “disappointing to see”, Manchester Airport’s statement reads: “We understand not every experience is perfect and want all passengers to feel able to raise their concerns directly with us. That is why we speak to them on a daily basis, surveying hundreds of people a month to get in-the-moment feedback from a full range of perspectives.
“That is in stark contrast to Which?, which conducted a tiny and unrepresentative survey of its members six months ago, asking them to recollect airport experiences that could have been as far back in time as April 2023.
“Which? fully understands that its readers form a narrow group of passengers whose views cannot in any way be taken to represent those of the travelling public at large, but chooses to promote its survey findings as if they do.”
Manchester Airport says it’s disappointing see Which? “chase cheap headlines” with its “sensational and over-simplified characterisation of airports” and the different roles they play, adding: “To make matters worse, it has printed inaccurate statements about our facilities and security waiting times that paint a more negative picture than reality.