Eats

Five golden tickets with massive prizes are being hidden in cakes in Manchester

Loaf MCR is taking inspiration from Willy Wonka.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 28th November 2023

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.

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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.

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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 Group
Inside Loaf’s all-pink cafe on Oxford Street. Credit: The Manc Group
Loaf's doing a huge golden ticket giveaway to spread Christmas cheer. Credit: Loaf MCR
Loaf’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?

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“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

  1. A Birthday Party Cake Package worth £200 from Loaf MCR, including 50 mini loaf cakes and a birthday cake.
  2. 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!)
  3. Two tickets to see Manchester’s favourite comedian Jason Manford live at the AO Arena and a meet and greet.
  4. 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.

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Bakery chain Gail’s is attempting to win over Prestwich after spelling mishap

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Gail's will hand out free tea in Prestwich to apologise for spelling the village's name wrong

Gail’s has announced a plan to try and make amends with Prestwich after spelling the village’s name wrong on the new bakery’s signs.

The massive bakery chain finally confirmed that it would be moving into the suburb on the fringes of Bury and Manchester, but made a fatal flaw at the first step.

Gail’s put big red temporary signs in the windows of the old bank it’s moving in to – and managed to spell Prestwich wrong.

The huge posters are missing the letter ‘T’, instead saying ‘Hello Preswich’.

More than a few eyebrows were raised locally, with people saying it’s ‘not a great first impression for the locals…’.

And now Gail’s is attempting to put things right by offering free tea to Prestwich residents.

In new material released today, they wrote: “Oops… people of Prestwich, we owe you a ‘T’.

“You may have seen how we missed out a ‘t’ in our new bakery signage.

“We’re sorry for the mistake, and to make up for it we’d like to brew you a tea when we open.”

The new advertising has a QR code which people can scan to claim their free cuppa.

Gail’s has also passed its thanks on to ‘local resident Clair’, who actually came up with the suggestion on The Manc’s LinkedIn post here.

With this development, Gail’s has now confirmed it’ll be opening in Prestwich – directly opposite the new Rudy’s – in early 2025, with free tea served then to those who scan the QR code.

Gail's will hand out free tea in Prestwich to apologise for spelling the village's name wrong
Gail’s will hand out free tea in Prestwich to apologise for spelling the village’s name wrong
Huge bakery chain Gail's confirms move to Prestwich - but spells village's name wrong in signage
Huge bakery chain Gail’s confirms move to Prestwich – but spells village’s name wrong in signage

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Featured image: The Manc Group

Eats

Salon Madre – A new tequila bar and pool hall is opening in Manchester

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Salon Madre is a new Mexican pool hall and tequila bar in Manchester

A new tequila bar and pool hall is set to open in Manchester in a couple of weeks, from the same team behind Madre.

The huge new space, Salon Madre, will be serving up the tacos and burritos that have made the Mexican restaurant at Kampus so well-loved.

And all that’s alongside a drinks menu that centres around tequila, including frozen, classic and flavoured margaritas and palomas.

Can’t stomach tequila? There’ll also be wines on draft, Corona and local beers.

The food menu will show off signature dishes like al pastor tacos, with daily rotating specials, plus Gringas, nachos and Madre’s huge burritos.

Salon Madre has taken over a spot just off Kampus’s lush garden that was previously home to a Seven Brothers taproom, right next door to Madre itself.

Salon Madre is a new Mexican pool hall and tequila bar in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Salon Madre is a new Mexican pool hall and tequila bar in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Salon Madre is a new Mexican pool hall and tequila bar in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Salon Madre is a new Mexican pool hall and tequila bar in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group

As well as all the Mexican food and drink goodness, the bar will have four pool tables and will be screening Lucha Libre (Mexican wrestling) and American sports.

The dream is to bring the fun and liveliness of a Mexican pool hall to the heart of Manchester, in this beautiful spot right near Piccadilly and Canal Street.

Salon Madre will open on 6 December at Kampus, with bookings for Christmas groups and parties now available.

Follow @Salon.Madre for more info. 

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Featured image: Supplied

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