Venues don’t last long in Manchester’s effervescent food and drink arena unless they can find ways to keep things fresh. That’s why the innovative Don Giovanni is still one of the most beloved local restaurants 36 years and counting.
The Rainy City’s multi-award winning, independently-owned Italian restaurant prides itself on traditional recipes whipped up by the ancestors of Ancoats’ Little Italy neighbourhood, and in almost four decades this commitment to authenticity hasn’t changed. But similarly, Don Giovanni has never been afraid to mix up the dining experience. The carefully curated Christmas Day 2021 menu is the perfect case in point.
In order to help Manchester celebrate the upcoming winter season in style, Don Giovanni is opening its doors on December 25 – serving up an unparalleled FIVE-COURSE meal.
Described as a “blend of British classics with an Italian twist”, the special menu is a mouth-watering mixture of locally-sourced meat, seafood and pasta dishes – complete with tasty winter trimmings like honey roasted vegetables and rosemary gravy.
The festive feast kicks off – quite rightly – with a tall glass of Prosecco, followed by Primi, Secondi and Dolce courses.
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‘Primi’ plate options include Zuppa Di Barbavietole Carrote (roasted parsnip and carrot soup); Pate di Fegatini (chicken and duck liver pate with toasted bread and homemade chutney); Crocchetta di Pesce (freshly-made haddock and salmon fishcakes with homemade sweet chilli dip); and Buffalo Mozzarella with fresh figs, Parma ham and honey.
Among the ‘Secondi’ courses you’ll find several lip-smacking British-Italian fusions, including Achino Alla Casalinga with turkey breast, chipolata sausage, carrots, sprouts, sage and chestnut stuffing; Costata Al Ferri 28-day aged British rib-eye steak with fries and garlic butter sauce; and Ravioli di Spinachi pasta filled with ricotta and spinach in butter and sage sauce.
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Other options at the halfway mark in this marathon of a meal include a roasted butternut squash risotto dish with thyme and parmesan shavings and a Branzino Al Caroccio sea bass with cherry tomatoes and ocean fresh clams.
Down in the ‘Dolce’ category is a selection of Italian cheeses; Italian Christmas pudding served warm with custard; a chocolate fondant with homemade vanilla ice cream; and Tiramisu Bundino Al Caramello with salted caramel sauce, honeycomb pieces and vanilla ice cream or clotted cream.
You can get all of this on Christmas Day for £69.50 per person (adults). For children under 12 the price is £34.75.
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Don Giovanni will also be on hand to help Mancs ring in the New Year with a fittingly fun-filled and energetic party on December 31. A DJ is set to soundtrack the entire evening and you can even arrange for a bottle of midnight bubbly to be delivered to your table ahead of the countdown when you book.
If you’re living on the other side of the Cheshire border and don’t fancy wandering too far from home this year, it’s worth noting that Don Giovanni’s stunning sister venue People in Hale is also launching its own mighty festive meal for 2021.
The new hotspot is already in the holiday spirit, designing a five-course Christmas Day menu that’s plated up in merry, music-laden, jolly surroundings with a Champagne sorbet as a palette cleanser.
Starter dishes include chicken liver and brandy pate; wild mushroom soup; whipped goat cheese; Atlantic fresh prawns; and deep fried brie.
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The mains, meanwhile, consist of four delicious options: roast turkey; 56-day dry aged fillet beef medallions; rosemary and garlic roasted cod loin; and Pithivier filled with kale, spiced pears, butternut squash and feta cheese.
Christmas pudding, sticky toffee pudding, chocolate torte, and Hale Mess are all available on the desserts menu.
Prices are £75 per adult, with 50% off for children aged under 12.
There’s also gift vouchers available – which may prove to be a handy little pressie idea for a loved one this year. These can be purchased as standard for £50, £75, or £100 (or specifically chosen values).
People has also started running its ‘Ultimate Party Menu’ moving into winter – with two courses for £29.95pp or three courses £34.95pp (available until January 2). A cracking option for work, family and friend get-togethers.
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Roll on Christmas 2021… Book a table at Don Giovanni for Christmas Day here. Reservations can also be made by emailing [email protected] or calling 0161 228 2482.
Featured image: Supplied
Christmas
Chester Zoo reveals new plans for ‘spectacular’ winter light trail
Emily Sergeant
Chester Zoo has revealed new plans for a “spectacular” lights trail this winter, and it sounds even more magical than ever.
Is it too early to mention the ‘C’ word? Probably, considering it is the middle of July… but despite how far in advance it may seem, Chester Zoo has wasted absolutely no time at all in revealing exciting plans for the return of its massively-popular lights trail this winter.
Lanterns and Light is by far one of the UK’s largest charity zoo’s best-loved events each year, so it’s absolutely no surprise to hear it’s making a 2024 comeback.
Set to feature a raft of new additions, and therefore more animal lantern puppets than ever before, the zoo is promising that this year’s Lanterns and Light will be even longer and “more exciting” than what visitors saw in back in 2023 – with the event running all the way through to New Year’s Day for the first time in its history.
The zoo will be teaming up with entertainment giants, Sony Music, once again to deliver this year’s beloved festive spectacle.
Chester Zoo has revealed new plans for the return of its ‘spectacular’ winter light trail / Credit: Chester Zoo
Opening to the public for some festive family-friendly fun from 15 November, organisers say visitors should expect to take a journey through a number of distinct and vibrant lands, where they’ll encounter an exciting lineup of costumed characters and new animal puppets – including meerkats, peacocks, red pandas, and snow leopards.
An “incredible” new soundscape will add to the immersive experience, while animal lanterns such as dragonflies hovering over water, elephants in permafrost, and exotic birds flying overhead, decorate the route of the stunning light trail.
If the lights and sculptures themselves weren’t impressive enough as it is, there’ll also be a whole new festive menu on offer at food and drink markets stationed in various locations within the zoo too.
🎄Christmas is JUST around the corner!❄️
More LIGHTS, more LANTERNS, more ANIMAL PUPPETS, more MAGIC, more of EVERYTHING you love…
Don’t forget to greet Father Christmas in his workshop!🎅 Tickets to Lanterns & Light are selling fast, so get them while you still can👇 pic.twitter.com/B8cmwrLr76
Heidi Budden, who is the Marketing Manager at Chester Zoo, expects this year’s Lanterns and Light to be a “wonderful evening” and says it gives visitors the chance to “play a part in helping wildlife to thrive”.
“We’ve made the light trail even longer and packed it with exciting new elements,” she added.
“There’ll be more animal lanterns than ever before, and never-before-seen interactive puppets including energetic meerkats, colourful peacocks and playful snow leopards, all joined by many of the family favourites from years gone by that people have grown to love.”
There’ll be more animal lantern puppets than ever before at this year’s festive spectacle / Credit: Chester Zoo
Lanterns and Light will return to Chester Zoo from Friday 15 November 2024, and run on selected evenings right through to New Year’s Day – with tickets now on sale.
Ticket sales will help to support the zoo in its conservation efforts to protect some of the planet’s most threatened species.
The lyrics to Auld Lang Syne for New Year’s Eve, and what the song means
Daisy Jackson
The clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, the confetti is thrown, the kisses are exchanged, and then up starts Auld Lang Syne and you realise, once again, that you don’t know the lyrics to the iconic song.
This classic song is traditionally sung as we welcome in a new year, but you may (like us) find yourself singing the words as ‘dah daaah dah dah daaah dah dah, dah dah daaah dah Auld Lang Syne.”
Well it’s time to stop that behaviour and learn yourselves the Auld Lang Syne lyrics, quick time, before we hit 2024.
The text of the song is actually from a Robert Burns poem, penned way back in 1788 and based on an old Scottish folk song.
It was set to a tune a decade later, and since then has been recorded by dozens of different artists.
Auld Lang Syne can loosely translate as ‘old long since’, or ‘days gone by’ or ‘old times’.
So its meaning roughly is ‘for the sale of old times’.
There are longer versions of the song, but the lyrics to the most commonly-played version of Auld Lang Syne are below.
So hold hands with your loved ones, crack open the champers, and ring in a very happy new year.
What are the lyrics to Auld Lang Syne?
Fireworks on New Year’s Eve, when the song Auld Lang Syne is traditionally sung
Should auld acquaintance be forgot And never brought to mind? Should auld acquaintance be forgot And the days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear For auld lang syne We’ll drink a cup of kindness yet For the sake of auld lang syne
And surely you will buy your cup And surely I’ll buy mine! We’ll take a cup of kindness yet For the sake of auld lang syne
We two have paddled in the stream From morning sun till night The seas between us Lord and swell Since the days of auld lang syne
For old acquaintance be forgot And never brought to mind Should old acquaintance be forgot For the sake of auld lang syne?
For old acquaintance be forgot And never brought to mind Should old acquaintance be forgot In the days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear For auld lang syne We’ll drink a cup of kindness yet For the sake of auld lang syne