Simon Wood, former MasterChef champ and owner of Wood in Manchester, has sparked a debate about freebies today.
The celebrated chef has exposed a customer who emailed asking for a ‘complimentary dessert’ to help them mark a special occasion.
Simon has labelled their request as ‘unbelievable…’ as he shared a screenshot of the email in question.
The customer had written to Wood restaurant, on First Street, to ask: “As it’s the first anniversary from me and my husband, would it be possible to give us a good table with a nice view and a maybe a complimentary Dessert? As I want to surprise my partner.”
And Simon has slammed them for ‘trying to scrounge off small businesses’ as he sparked a debate about freebies on social media.
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The chef-patron wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “Unbelievable…. Free food for celebrations, that’s why we’re here after all….”
Simon later wrote: “Restaurants aren’t here to give things away for free. Pop into McDonald’s and ask for a complementary cheeseburger and see what happens.
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“People need to stop trying to scrounge off small businesses.”
Unbelievable….
Free food for celebrations, that’s why we’re here after all….
Many people have agreed with Simon Wood, saying it would be ‘unfathomable’ that people would ask for freebies in any other industry.
Others agreed that complimentary extras are always nice but ‘you don’t ask for them’.
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But some people think Simon has been too harsh and that the customer has done nothing wrong by at least asking.
On Simon’s side, one person wrote on X: “Nothing wrong in mentioning a celebration and asking for a nice table. But that is where it should stop. If the restaurant then want to treat you to a complimentary surprise then that is up to them.”
Another said: “Imagine this in any other industry. ‘Hi M&S, it’s my birthday! Can I have a free dress’. Unfathomable. To surprise your other half/celebrate, order things from the menu. Support restaurants when they desperately need it. Ensure there’s a place to go for a 2nd anniversary!”
Someone else commented: “I just don’t understand some people. Yes, it is nice to get freebies, but you don’t ask for them!”
And one agreed: “Asking for the table is definitely okay, asking for complimentary stuff is mental.”
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But one person said: “Tbf, I’ve had a complimentary dessert served when it was my birthday, it was a lovely touch. To ridicule someone for asking is a bit much.”
Another posted: “They only asked. In the words of my very wise mother: Shy bairns get nowt.”
And someone else went so far as to say: “You’d think they had asked for the whole meal for free lmfao. You stingy a**hole”
What do you reckon? Was the customer in the wrong to ask Simon Wood for a freebie on their anniversary?
This Manchester bar serves a bottomless cheese fondue with endless beer and wine
Georgina Pellant
There’s a bar in Manchester serving a bottomless cheese fondue with endless wine and beer, and it honestly sounds like the perfect treat.
While it might scream cosy winter night in, with a huge outdoor terrace, The Mews is also a firm favourite during the summer months.
Add in a board of melt-in-the-mouth charcuterie, springy pieces of garlic sourdough and a host of crunchy cheese biscuits, and you’ve got yourself the ideal afternoon if you ask us.
But there’s more. Alongside all that cheese and meat and bread, included in the price of The Mews’ bottomless fondue, cheese lovers can also enjoy 90 minutes of non-stop drinks.
Bottomless cheese fondue at The Mews on Deansgate in Manchester. (Credit: The Manc Eats)
Costing £37.50 each, included in the deal is a huge pot of melted Italian Fontina cheese served with homemade garlic croutons, sourdough crackers, and slices of British charcuterie.
You’ll also get to enjoy an hour and a half of endless pints of house pilsner and carafes of red or white wine to enjoy alongside.
Serving up to six people, the bottomless cheese fondue is available only when you pre-book, so make sure to get in touch ahead of your visit to let The Mews know that you’re coming.
If you’re not on the sauce, you can opt for the cheese fondue alone. Without the booze, it’s quite a bit cheaper at £25 for one, and £2.50 on top for any additional people who want to get stuck in.
Housed up on Deansgate Mews, just behind the main hustle and bustle of Deansgate, there’s plenty of space inside as well as a large, secluded terrace that is quite the suntrap (when the Manchester sun is shining).
Popular Manchester restaurant bar to give out FREE sausage rolls to people called ‘Greg’
Emily Sergeant
One of Manchester’s much-loved restaurant bars is doing a free sausage roll giveaway next week… but there’s a catch.
The catch being you have to have a certain name in particular.
It was only last week that popular high street chain Pret A Manger announced it would be slinging out free sandwiches to any Mancs with ‘Nic’ in their name over the late May bank holiday weekend, and now Tariff & Dale is getting it on the giveaway action, and it’s all to celebrate the iconic event that is National Sausage Roll Day.
In case you didn’t know – which is very likely, let’s be real – next Thursday (5 June) is the day dedicated to all things sausage roll.
So what better way to mark the occasion than with free portions of Tariff & Dale‘s legendary meaty treat?
The popular Northern Quarter restaurant bar is known for its creative comfort food, craft beers and cocktails, and laid-back industrial vibe, with one of the cult-classic dishes on its menu having always been the honey pork sausage roll – which just so happens to be a whopping 15-inches long, by the way.
Resembling something more of a pork wellington than a sausage roll, if you will, the dish is crispy, golden, and glazed with honey on top.
But to celebrate National Sausage Roll day, instead of parting with £9.50 for a portion or £48 for the full 15-inch thing, people with one specific name can actually get a slice for completely free of charge.
Tariff & Dale is giving away FREE sausage rolls to people with this name next week / Credit: Supplied
And that name is ‘Greg’, because if we’re honest, when it comes to sausage rolls, we all tend to think of Greggs.
So whether your surname is Gregory or Gregson, or you’re simply just called Greg, then all you need to do to claim your complimentary slice of sausage roll heaven is head on down to Tariff & Dale next Thursday 5 June from 12pm up until 9pm.
Daisy Jackson -
16th December 2023 
