One of Manchester’s newest food and drink festivals has just revealed it will be giving away 2,000 free pints for free this weekend as it celebrates its second year in the city.
If your bank balance is looking anything like ours after the Bank Holiday weekend, free pints at Kantina should be welcome news indeed.
Available to the first 2,000 people who sign up, revellers will get to enjoy a pint of Camden Hells on the house at Escape to Freight Island during the Kantina Weekender, which runs from Friday 10 to Sunday 12June.
The huge foodie festival will bring some of the UK’s most celebrated chefs to Manchester for a weekend of culinary delights.
Image: Escape to Freight Island
Teaming up Michelin-starred chefs with its bread and butter Manchester traders, there will be some next-level collaborations taking place across the weekend from the likes of Budgie Montoya of Sarap in London and Luke French of Michelin-recommended JÖRO in Sheffield.
Elsewhere, the festival will host some special supper clubs and house a weekend-long bar takeover from the Soho House team.
There will also be free-flowing beer from the Pomona Island taproom and fermented delights from a special natural wine bar hosted by Bench director Jack Wakelin.
Madre’s upscaled tacos will partner with AngloThai’s co founder and head chef John Chantarasak, whilst Carnival, the new grill concept to overtake Baratxuri’s space, will be headed up by award-winning chef, butcher, restauranteur and food critic Richard Turner (ex-Hawksmoor).
Budgie Montoya of Sarap in London will bring his Filipino flair as he partners up with Lucky Foot, ETFI’s brand-new deep-fried and charcoal-grilled chicken trader, whilst elsewhere an event called ‘Sous Do Ray’s’ will see sous chefs from some of the most celebrated restaurants in the country deliver their own take on Voodoo Ray’s pizzas.
Representing Manchester, Pippa Middlehurst (aka Pippy Eats of South East Asian noodle and dumpling fame) will return for a second collaboration with family-run Vietnamese restaurant Mi & Pho, whilst Mary-Ellen McTague (Eatwell MCR, The Creameries in Chorlton) teams up with Sheffield’s Bench founders, Ronnie Aronica and Jack Wakelin.
Image: Escape to Freight Island
Over at Birmingham chef Brad Carter’s One Star Döner Bar, the Michelin-starred chef will partner with the equally talented Cornerstone founder Tom Brown and renowned indie food consultant, Lap-fai Lee.
Meanwhile, Luke French, head chef and owner at the acclaimed 3 AA Rosettes and Michelin Guide 2021 recommended JÖRO in Sheffield, will host a very special and limited supper club over the weekend – combining local produce with Asian influences and pushing culinary boundaries.
On the sweets front, a selection from Happy Endings, famous for their ice cream sandwiches, will be available alongside offerings from Gooey and Batard.
You can sign up here to get your free pint at Kantina this weekend.
Feature image – Escape to Freight Island
News
New data reveals a third of Brits admit to secretly sneaking off work early on a Friday
Emily Sergeant
Surprising new data has revealed that a third of Brits admits to secretly sneaking off work early on a Friday.
After a long and tiring week, most of us would love the chance to clock off work a little earlier than usual on a Friday, but for a lot of workers, this isn’t always a possibility – and for some, they even have to work longer at the end of the week to make sure everything has been finished off and tied up before the weekend arrives.
But since there has been a noticeable rise in remote working and working from home, a new survey has revealed that working attitudes have changed.
Virgin Media has released new broadband data that reveals a drop in traffic on Friday afternoons during the summer months – with as much as an 8% dip between 3-5pm compared to the winter, as remote workers clock off early.
A third of Brits admit to secretly sneaking off work early on a Friday / Credit: Glenn Carstens-Peters | Robin Worrall (via Unsplash)
The Friday traffic drop-off comes from Virgin Media’s broadband network analysis, which it says is a ‘reliable indicator’ of the connectivity habits of the British public.
Alongside the network data, Virgin Media also asked Brits about their work policies and working habits ij a bid to fully understand the trend.
Nearly a third (30%) of Brits say they have a formal early Friday finish in place during the summer, but despite almost half of UK adults (48%) saying they’re not authorised to finish early on a Friday, 32% have admitted to regularly logging off with or without official permission.
Surprising new data has revealed Brits’ working habits / Credit: Chuttersnap (via Unsplash)
Many Brits have also confessed to working ‘on the move’ on a Friday afternoon too.
15% admitted to having worked from the train station as the weekend creeps nearer, as well as 14% from the park, 10% from the pub, and many as 30% of 18-24-year-olds worked from the car while travelling for the weekend.
“Our network traffic analysis is revealing changing workplace habits in real time as the nation takes advantage of long summer Fridays,” commented Jeanie York, who is the Chief Technology Officer at Virgin Media O2.
“We’re continuing to boost our fixed and mobile networks so whether Brits are working from their local park, or finishing their work at home, we’re ready to keep them connected.”
Featured Image – Israel Andrade (via Unsplash)
News
Tiny Manchester pub brilliantly condemns ‘alarming rise’ in hate speech
Daisy Jackson
A micropub in Manchester city centre has spoken out about an ‘alarming rise’ in hate speech.
The Victoria Tap, a tiny little boozer at Manchester Victoria train station, strongly condemned any racist, homophobic or sexist conversations taking place in its venue.
The pub said ‘there is absolutely no room for it’ within its walls.
In a statement – which has been met with praise from customers and followers – they added that anyone bringing hate speech to the pub ‘can let the door kick you on the way out’.
The Victoria Tap wrote: “We’ve noticed an alarming rise in racist, homophobic and sexist slurs/comments/conversations lately and we just want to say that there is absolutely no room for it here.
“This is a safe space for everyone.
“If you, or someone in your group, want to disturb this philosophy, you can let the door kick you on the way out.”
The Victoria Tap has brilliantly condemned ‘alarming rise’ in hate speech
Praising their statement, one person wrote: “Great to read this. There is NO place for this. All public spaces should be welcoming.”
Another said: “Pubs should be welcoming environments for people of all walks of life. There’s no room for misogyny, racism or discrimination of any kind. Those who espouse those thoughts need a good hard look in the mirror.”
Someone else commented: “That’s how I see the Vic Tap. Great place for a safe quiet pint. Keep up the great work guys as it’s a fantastic venue.”
The Victoria Tap opened at Manchester Victoria back in 2023, completely transforming a space that was previously a bin store.
As well as its cosy interior, it has a small beer garden which overlooks the tram tracks in and out of the train station.
It’s operated by the same team behind the Piccadilly Tap and the even newer Oxford Tap.
We know exactly where we’ll be heading for our next pint now. Good work, Victoria Tap.
Georgina Pellant -
8th June 2022 
