A new drive-thru dessert shop has opened up in Manchester, and it’s already proving popular among those with a sweet tooth.
Your Girl Can Bake – which is based in Higher Ardwick, and brands itself as ‘the UK’s first car dessert dine in’ – is the brainchild of 24-year-old Ikraa Riaz, who has loved baking since she was 10 years old, but had never actually dreamed she would be able to make a living from it.
After graduating from university with biology degree last year, Ikraa first decided to set up an Instagram account to sell her tasty creations – and it went down such a treat that the young entrepreneur has now launched the drive-thru dessert service.
Customers receive a platter of handmade fresh desserts in the comfort of their own vehicle – and Ikraa says people from all over the UK can’t get enough of it.
“We only launched last week but the response has been absolutely amazing,” Ikraa told the MEN.
“We’ve had people driving hundreds of miles to come and try our treats.
“When I was little, I would find any excuse to bake cupcakes and brownies for friends and family, and I would always try and perfect the recipes or get creative.
“When I started uni, I was only baking in my spare time but I knew when I finished my degree that I wanted to get back into it and I always had a desire to own my own business.
“To make a living doing what I love is a dream come true.”
Ikraa runs Your Girl Can Bake with two of her family members and makes all of the sweet treats fresh and by hand every day, allowing customers to book a slot to drive up and tuck in to their heart’s content.
You can order up to 10 dishes, and choose from a menu of sweet and savoury plates.
Your Girl Can Bake is the brainchild of 24-year-old Ikraa Riaz, who has loved baking since she was 10 years old / Credit: Instagram (@yourgirlcanbake)
Think everything from loaded waffles drenched in chocolate, huge bowls of pick n mix, cookie dough topped with a huge selection of chocolate delights, chocolate fondues, brownies, and so much more.
Don’t have a raging sweet tooth? There’s also a number of savoury dishes to try including nachos, samosa chaat, Gulab Jamun, the far-less chocolatey Indian dessert Falooda.
Explaining why she decided to set up the firs-of-its-kind business, Ikraa said: “Sometimes sitting in your car is just much more private and personal because you don’t have people around you like you do in the restaurant.
“I wanted to create a place where you could have that drive in experience but for desserts and sweet treats.”
Northern Quarter favourite The Pen and Pencil announces massive 10th birthday party and huge offers
Daisy Jackson
The Pen and Pencil, an absolute staple for brunches and drinks in the Northern Quarter, is celebrating a major milestone this month with a huge party and some unbeatable deals.
The bar and restaurant will be marking 10 years on Tariff Street in September – and it’s only right that we all pile in to celebrate with them.
This spot is one of the city’s original bottomless brunch venues and is similarly famed for its happy hour offerings, and opened in 2015 to bring a taste of Manhattan to Manchester.
Pen and Pencil took its name from the infamous New York City bar that was seen in Mad Men.
And now as it turns 10 years old, it’ll be throwing one big party on Saturday 27 September, featuring 10 hours of DJs, free pints of Red Stripe at 10pm, and a special bottomless brunch offering.
Those DJing on the day will include Drag Race UK’s Banksie, as well as Les Croasdaile, Mark Hogg, Danny Ward and A Deeper Groove.
Pen & Pencil has amazing deals for its 10th birthdayPen & Pencil is a Northern Quarter OG
The Pen and Pencil 10th birthday party will kick off from 2pm and run until late – but if you can’t make that one, there’ll be celebrations all week (and, indeed, month) long.
On Tuesday 23 September, you’ll be able to play for double prize money in The Pen and Pencil quiz, as well as enjoying happy hour drinks all night.
Then on Friday 26 September, it’ll be an all-night happy hour, with free tequila shots at 10pm and music from DJs Nev Johnson and Gareth James from 7pm.
All September long, there’ll be 50% off food every Monday, two-for-£10 cocktails every Wednesday, £10 burgers every Thursday, happy hour all night on Fridays, 10 dishes for £10 and two bloody Marys for £10 on Sundays, plus DJs on Fridays and Saturdays.
There’s a new colourful art installation outside the venue inspired by the bar’s New York roots.
Owner Kevin Connor said: “We’re really excited to be celebrating being part of the Manchester community for ten years!
“New York’s Pen and Pencil was a classic steak and cocktail joint, and we’re proud to have created our very own iconic Northern Quarter hangout. We hope everyone will join us in celebrating ten years on Tariff Street.”
Walk-ins are welcome for The Pen and Pencil 10th birthday party on Saturday 27 September, but booking is encouraged – book your spot HERE.
Featured image: The Manc Group
Eats
Manchester restaurant to give out FREE katsu curries to people called ‘Kat’ or ‘Sue’
Emily Sergeant
In what is a small stroke of genius, a restaurant chain has decided to give out free katsu curries to anyone called ‘Kat’ or ‘Sue’.
Throughout September, award-winning restaurant chain Banana Tree – which has a Greater Manchester site down at Salford Quays – is shining the spotlight on its popular katsu creations, and as a clever way of celebrating National Katsu Day on 27 September has announced a pretty unique giveaway.
That’s right – the restaurant will be serving up katsu dishes to people called Kat, Sue, and every delicious variation of the names in between.
Anyone named Kat, Katie, Katherine, Sue, Suzy, Susan, Suzanne – or close enough to qualify, the list goes on – can head to their local Banana Tree restaurant, and all they’ll need to do is show proof of name and they can enjoy a free katsu dish of their choice, worth up to £16.75.
The chain’s kastu lineup includes three star dishes.
First there’s the much-loved Katsu Curry, as well as the all-new Katsu Burger, which is made from either a crispy chicken or veggie fillet, spicy mayo, puffed noodle crunch, and a drizzle of Katsu sauce tucked into a soft Shokupan bun with a side of salt n pepper chilli chips.
Then there’s also the intriguing newcomer, the Katsu Carbonara – which is described as being a daring East-meets-West mash-up and ‘unapologetically’ Banana Tree.
Banana Tree is giving away free katsu curries to people called ‘Kat’ or ‘Sue’ / Credit: Banana Tree
With each of these dishes usually priced around the £16 mark, the giveaway isn’t just a way of marking National Katsu Day, but it’s also a way to sample the some of the restaurant’s biggest crowd-pleasers entirely free of charge.
To avoid any confusion on who makes the cut, Banana Tree will reveal the full qualifying list of name variations on Instagram soon, so keep your eyes peeled.
“Our Katsu range is one of our proudest creations, so National Katsu Day felt like the perfect moment to have some fun with our fans,” a Banana Tree spokesperson said ahead of the giveaway.
The free katsu offer is available for four days only from Monday 22 to Thursday 25 September, and you just need to head to the Banana Tree website to sign up to the Big Flavour Club here.
Emily Sergeant -
21st September 2021 
