Eat Well MCR has officially launched ‘Marketplace’ – an online shop selling produce and meal kits from the region’s best restaurants, growers, producers and makers – today.
The Marketplace comes after a successful six months for Eat Well MCR – launched by founder Mary Ellen McTague in response to the growing food crisis worsened by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic – and will see all the profits generated go directly back into Eat Well MCR’s other focus of producing and distributing meals for the vulnerable in the Greater Manchester region.
This his new one-stop-shop will feature a star lineup each week of top quality fruit and veg from Manchester Urban Diggers, selected cuts from Littlewoods Butchers, cheeses from the renowned Courtyard Dairy, gorgeous natural wines, and they’ve not forgotten the treats either, with Krum, Siop Shop and Pollen are all involved too.
Every week, different restaurants – Honest Crust, The Creameries, Elite Bistros and Tampopo – will also offer the best ready meals and meal kits you’ll ever get your hands on.
Pippy Eats’ notoriously difficult-to-snag crispy chilli oil will be available alongside Into the Gathering Dusk’s intricately crafted homemade vermouths and concoctions, ready to be poured over ice whilst you wait for the oven to warm up.
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In bringing the best in local produce, provisions and delicious booze to your door every week, Eat Well MCR is able to direct all profits into continuing their work for the Greater Manchester community and provide nutritious meals cooked with love to those most in need.
The organic veg boxes and locally farmed meat are sourced from within a 50 mile radius of Manchester.
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This allows the collective to extend their support to the region’s farmers and the wider supply chain, who are all caught up in the collateral damage caused by the impact the COVID-19 crisis has had on the hospitality industry.
Speaking on the launch of Marketplace, Mary Ellen McTague – Founder of Eat Well MCR – said: “We are so proud of what we created during the lockdown.
“Since we started all this, two things have become very clear to us – firstly that we couldn’t lose the momentum we had gathered; we have an incredible group of people doing incredible things. And secondly, the businesses in our collective have thankfully reopened so we knew it was imperative to evolve in order to continue.
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“Food inequality is endemic in Greater Manchester and we are not about to walk away from that.
Thanks to those fabulous people who have supported us and bought through the Eat Well Marketplace. We love you 🧡 pic.twitter.com/SMuOUq9FQX
She continued: “Manchester is ringed by wonderful growers, producers and makers.
“We also wanted to shine a light on them through the Marketplace, and support our local food economy during a tough time whilst holding our main goal of helping to tackle food inequality at the heart of what we do.”
Orders for the first round of deliveries from the Marketplace can be placed between 12pm on Friday 2nd October – 5pm on Monday 5th October, with the first deliveries being fulfilled on Friday 9th and Saturday 10th October.
Click-and-collect services from Cloudwater Brewery will also be available on these dates.
You can find more about the Marketplace from Eat Well MCR here.
Eats
Viral chicken shop Wingstop is opening inside the Manchester Arndale
Daisy Jackson
Wingstop, the chicken shop famed for its vast range of wing flavours and sauces, is opening another spot in Manchester city centre.
The brand will be taking over the old Yo Sushi site in the Manchester Arndale, which shut down just last month.
It’ll mean there’ll be two Wingstop locations within a few minutes’ walk of each other, with another takeaway already well-established on Piccadilly Gardens.
Wingstop UKI has found viral fame with people taste-testing its wide range of hand-sauced chicken wing flavours, ranging from garlic parmesan all the way up to the eye-watering ‘Atomic’.
As well as chicken wings, it serves delicious tenders and burgers, all cooked to order.
There are also a range of sides, including loaded fries, sweet potato fries, and cajun fried corn, plus dips like ranch, honey mustard, and blue cheese.
Wingstop is also famed for its thick milkshakes – which are a necessity if you order your chicken down the spicier end of the scale.
Established in Texas in 1994, Wingstop rose rapidly to become one of the fastest-growing restaurant chains in the US.
The brand launched in the UK market in 2018, and into Ireland last year, and now operates more than 85 locations.
Wingstop is opening in Manchester Arndale
Wingstop will be moving into the 5,928 sq ft unit upstairs in Manchester Arndale, just opposite Next.
Scott Linard, Portfolio Manager for M&G Real Estate, said: “We are thrilled to welcome Wingstop to our vibrant F&B offer; an addition we’re sure will resonate with our younger visitors.
“With the additions of popular restaurant chains like Wingstop, coupled with the arrival of new retailers such as Arc’teryx, Alo Yoga, Pro:Direct and Sephora, we are strategically creating a destination where people across the North West and beyond want to spend their time.”
Steve Gray, Head of European Retail Asset Management at Global Mutual, said: “Wingstop will join Manchester Arndale’s varied F&B mix, including Popeyes, Sides, Hotel Chocolat, Joe & The Juice and Café Nero.
“In-demand operators like this help create energy and momentum that allows the brands across the scheme to thrive, driving increased footfall, longer dwell times and a more compelling offer for visitors.”
The best cheese tasting party in the North is BACK at a new Manchester venue
Danny Jones
That’s right, one of the biggest and best cheese tasting nights in the entire land is returning to Greater Manchester at a brand new city centre venue.
Not to be over-the-top, but this isn’t just another experience sampling possibly the greatest foodstuff on Earth, it’s a fully-fledged cheese-lovers’ party.
Some of you may have come across Homage2Fromage before, but for anyone unaware of the Yorkshire-born event, it started out as a monthly cheese tasting club and went on to expand across the dairy-adoring North at large.
Relaunching here in Manchester for 2026, all you lactose-intolerant people better watch, because Home2Fromage is coming back with a vengeance and heading to the Northern Quarter. Here’s how it went down the last time we visited one in Leeds:
Leeds, Sheffield, Harrogate, Manchester and who knows where else next.
Posting up in a relatively recent addition to NQ‘s bar and restaurant scene, The Faraday – a pub on Lever St that replaces the old Seven Sins back in October – it looks set to be an ideal venue for the regular evening series.
Homage2Fromage will be making its Manc return this month, and better still, they’re holding a cheeky little giveaway to sweeten the pot.
As in the deal, we mean – not the inevitable bowls full of olives, chutney, oil and various other dips…
To welcome this celebration of all things cheese coming back to Manchester city centre, they’re giving away a bunch of free tickets: 20 pairs in total.
Worth over £50 a piece for each twin set of tickets, you’d be a fool not to at least throw your hat in the ring for this one.
As you can see, the competition closes this Thursday, 19 February, ahead of the full relaunch party next week (Wed, 25 Feb), and all you have to do to enter is fill out this super quick survey.
It really is as simple as that; a few quick words are all that stand between you and a potential mountain of cheese and more.
You can find all you need to know about the event right HERE, and in case you haven’t popped into The Faraday just yet, see more down below.
It’s still somewhat early days, but we can see ourselves spending a fair bit of time in this up-and-coming Manchester watering hole, especially when there’s cheese nights involved.
Emily Sergeant -
2nd October 2020 
