A Manchester cafe is giving away massive prizes in a Willy Wonka-style giveaway, with golden tickets hidden in its cakes.
Loaf MCR, which has sites on Oxford Street, Affinity Living, and in Selfridges Trafford Centre, will be hiding the golden tickets beneath its mini loaf cakes.
Anyone lucky enough to find one will win prizes including two tickets to see Jason Manford with a chance to meet him, a meal for four at Bundobust, and a Birthday Party Cake Package worth £200 from Loaf.
The golden tickets are going to be hiding underneath Loaf’s Willy Wonka-inspired special loaf, a super-chocolatey chocolate sponge with a smooth ganache centre and a white chocolate-infused buttercream.
The cake is then topped with colourful sweets inspired by Roald Dahl’s classic tale, like a swirly lollipop, fizzy sweets, popping candy and pink mushroom foams.
ADVERTISEMENT
A golden ticket sticker will be hidden in five of the £4.50 loaf cakes between Monday 27 November and Sunday 10 December.
Loaf MCR wants to spread a little festive cheer as Christmas approaches and is offering Mancs five chances to win big.
ADVERTISEMENT
As well as the three massive prizes already announced, there are still two top-secret rewards to be revealed.
Inside Loaf’s all-pink cafe on Oxford Street. Credit: The Manc GroupLoaf’s doing a huge golden ticket giveaway to spread Christmas cheer. Credit: Loaf MCR
Aiden Ryan, founder of Loaf MCR, said: “We love to play with nostalgia and Willy Wonka gives just that! We love that we can infuse Christmas with a little bit of magic.
“At Loaf, we believe in giving people great experiences, and what better way than to start the Festive season with a treasure hunt?
ADVERTISEMENT
“We’ve partnered with some great Manchester businesses to make this happen!”
There’ll be a limited number of the special-edition Willy Wonka loaf cakes available.
Once all five golden tickets have been found, there’ll be one last chance to win ‘The Golden Key’, which will get you free coffee and cake from Loaf MCR for a year.
But you won’t be able to find the golden key through cake – this prize will be given to someone nominated by the community of Manchester, and will reward someone who deserves something special this Christmas.
Prizes including in the Loaf MCR Willy Wonka giveaway
A Birthday Party Cake Package worth £200 from Loaf MCR, including 50 mini loaf cakes and a birthday cake.
Ultimate Christmas Dinner for four at Bundobust, Indian street food and craft beer specialists, to taste their festive menu. (Yes, your first drink on the house too!)
Two tickets to see Manchester’s favourite comedian Jason Manford live at the AO Arena and a meet and greet.
Two more prizes to be revealed this week…
The Loaf MCR x Willy Wonka giveaway will run from Monday 27 November until Sunday 10 December.
Family behind Salvi’s launch new concept, weeks after iconic restaurant closure
Daisy Jackson
Just weeks after the closure of its iconic, 16-year-old Italian restaurant in the Corn Exchange, the family behind Salvi’s have revealed a brand-new concept.
And this time, the reins are being handed over to the next generation.
Salvi’s founder Maurizio Cecco has helped to shape Amò, but it’s all the brainchild of his daughter, Sienna.
Sienna will run the business out of a unit up on Deansgate Mews, serving fresh pasta dishes, pizza sandwiches, tubs of tiramisu, and two-for-£10 spritzes.
The deli aspect of the original Salvi’s has been carried over to Amò too – you’ll find shelves almost to the ceiling filled with Italian pasta, wine, olive oils, pistachio spreads, and more.
Sienna has grown up in restaurants, with her parents launching Salvi’s when she was just two years old.
She said she wants the space to be a livelier, fresher version of the Italian restaurant that has been so loved by Mancs for so many years.
Sienna outside AmòFresh pasta dishesInside Amò by Salvi’sTheir viral frozen crema di caffeLemon granitaInside Amò by Salvi’sTiramisu pots
Amò, which is Neapolitan slang for ‘my love’, will have loads of fresh Italian dishes, including arancini, gnocchi, and hearty pasta plates.
At lunchtimes, guests can order from a £10 lunch menu, with dishes changing daily depending on the best produce the kitchen can get – it could be a pizza sandwich with proscuitto and tomato, a spicy pasta, or a gnocchi bake, always served with your choice of soft drink.
With its position on Deansgate Mews, Amò basks in the sunshine at lunchtimes.
And while it’s definitely a different concept to the original Salvi’s, Amò looks set to carry the family’s Italian food legacy into its next generation.
Award-winning Didsbury bakery La Chouquette reveals incredible new site
Daisy Jackson
La Chouquette is one of Greater Manchester’s top bakeries – an award-winner, with queues down the street every weekend for its authentic French pastries and loaves.
And now they’re ready for a new chapter, revealing a major expansion today.
Owners Catrina and Flo have painstakingly expanded the bakery into the unit next door, creating what feels like a true French bakery.
And in the midst of this huge renovation project, they’ve welcomed a tiny new baby boy – quite the summer for the couple.
Catrina and Flo launched La Chouquette in lockdown, and in a time where people could only get their hospitality fix from takeaways, immediately became one of the most popular spots in the region.
Their success has been so great, you’ll still consistently find queues down the street every weekend, for their top sellers like their authentic almond croissants.
Then in October 2024, they grew the business and launched Piqniq, a new deli in Didsbury village, serving freshly-baked baguette sandwiches, breakfast butties, toasties, tiramisu pots and their legendary pastries.
The new-look La Chouquette features beautiful details like mosaic floors, rich blue walls, wooden shelves, and brass light fixtures.
La Chouquette’s best-selling almond croissantsInside the stunning new La Chouquette in DidbsuryNew savoury bakesThe chausson aux pommesThe counter stuffed with artisan French bakesChocolate chip cookies and cinnamon buns
The huge new counter displays more pastries and breads than ever before, like a hearty chausson aux pommes filled with apples that will be perfect for autumn, plus seasonal treats like a rhubarb creme brulee pastry, and homemade quiche.
Speaking at the grand relaunch today, Catrina said: “The layout has changed, it looks so much more chic, it looks like a traditional French bakery. We’re really excited about it.”
As for what’s on the counter, Flo reassured fans that their beloved almond and pistachio croissants remain, but with some new savoury editions, like a truffle croque monsieur made with croissant dough.
La Choquette has reopened today, and will be open seven days a week from 7am until 5pm.
Daisy Jackson -
28th November 2023 
