A total of 500 free meals are set to be handed out to people in Manchester city centre this week to help combat Blue Monday and the old January blues.
If there’s one thing that always cheers us up, it’s free food.
The brand-new food-to-go brand Good Eats, from the same people behind YO! Sushi, is announcing itself to Manchester locals with an irresistible offer that’ll make sure you remember their name.
Popping up over at their own Good Eats kiosk in the Tesco Express on Market Street, they’ll be handing out free customisable deli trays every day from Monday, 15 January until Friday and all you have to do to grab one is simply turn up and say the right phrase. Easy as.
Credit: Good Eats (supplied)
With their customisable deli trays usually priced at £7.95 each being handed out for free, the new delivery and click-and-collect service is giving away nearly £4,000 of free food to us Mancs.
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From crispy chicken karaage tossed in a spicy Korean sauce with a side of sweet potato wedges and crunchy Asian slaw, veggie-friendly Moroccan ‘No ‘Meat’balls’ in a rich tomato sauce with Persian salad and customer favourite mac ‘n’ cheese on the side, they aren’t skimp on the selection or serving sizes.
Giving out 100 free meals per day throughout the week of Blue Monday from 11am until 5pm, you simply need to turn up at the kiosk and quote the code ‘DELITRAYTODAY‘ to secure some free scran.
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We’re feeling a bit more cheered up already.
100 free meals up for grabs per day from Manchester’s Tesco Express store on Market Street.
And the good news doesn’t stop there either. Good Eats will be extending the joy with some brilliant ongoing savings. Tesco Clubcard holders in Manchester will also be able to make the most of their new Good Eats kiosk with exclusive Meal Deals.
Customers can choose from any breakfast main and hot drink for just £2.95 every morning, including nourishing berry porridge or a naughty full English wrap, but things get even better at lunchtime when you can get a bowl, salad or wrap with a side and drink for a £5.95. Absolute bargain.
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Favourites include the flavour-packed peri-peri chicken bowl, smokey harissa chicken wrap, Persian salad and many, many more.
It goes without saying that once the word gets out, these free meals are going to be snapped up fast, but luckily you’ve got five whole days to try and get your hands on some and Good Eats has plenty of other offers running throughout January.
Free food is always a nice pick me up but here are some other resources in case you’re struggling at any point this month:
Irish Festival Village returns to Manchester with live music, fry-up pizzas and loads of Guinness
Daisy Jackson
A huge Irish Festival Village has returned to Manchester city centre today to kick off the St Patrick’s Day celebrations.
Over the coming 10 days, there’ll be live Irish music, street food, retail stalls and – of course – plenty of Guinness flowing.
The main event is now open at St Ann’s Square, where a gigantic marquee festooned in green, white and orange has been installed.
Inside here, the bar is being run by the O’Shea’s team, and the stage will host loads of live music and great craic.
Outside you’ll find Birchwood Pizza, who have got a menu of pizzas inspired by the Emerald Isle.
Pizzas include the What’s the Craic (a fry-up pizza with white pudding and Dubliner sausage) to The Black Stuff (black pudding, rosemary potato and streaky pudding).
The Irish Festival Village has opened as part of the wider Manchester Irish Festival celebrations across Greater Manchester.
The Irish Festival Village is back in ManchesterIrish pizzas at the Festival Village on St Ann’s SquareYou can shop Irish treats outside
There’ll also be a Saint Patrick’s Day parade on Sunday 16 March, which will weave its way from the Irish World Heritage Centre all the way onto Deansgate.
The parade will showcase and champion local groups and organisations such as GAA clubs, Irish dance classes, marching bands, and pipe bands, along with a strong representation of the 32 counties in Ireland.
And it handily winds up around King Street, just beside the Irish Festival Village.
The gathering spot will be open from Friday 7 March all the way through to St Patrick’s Day itself – find out more HERE.
There’s a bakery in Manchester where you can decorate your own adorable tiny bento cake
Daisy Jackson
We’ve found a wholesome activity that’ll suit even the most cack-handed of bakers – a workshop where you can decorate your own miniature bento cake.
This Manchester activity has shot to the top of our list of our favourite things to do locally, perfect for a hen do, a birthday, a mate date or a date date.
Bento cakes, or lunchbox cakes, have all the elaborate decorations of a full celebration cake but made miniature, for a treat that doesn’t have to be shared out to dozens of people.
From swirls of buttercream frosting to pretty piped love hearts to cursive writing atop your cake, there are loads of decorations you can add to your own creation.
At Vanilla Ice Cakes in Chorlton, you’ll sit under the expert eye of owner Fiza, a master baker who’s been in the game for more than a decade.
She’ll guide you (and sometimes step in to help you) as you fumble your way through decorating your own cake.
As you arrive for your workshop you’re presented with two adorable vanilla sponge cakes, a classic base for a proper Victoria sponge or a more elaborate celebration cake.
Other cakes at Vanilla Ice CakesYou can mix up your own buttercream icingMaster baker Fiza at work at the bento cake workshopThe bento cake workshop space in ManchesterOne of our creations at the bento cake workshop in Chorlton, Manchester
Each class includes hot drinks, plus a plate full of Vanilla Ice Cakes’ delicious brownie bites.
From here, you’re taught the basics of piping, building a buttercream ‘dam’ before spooning in a filling of choice – jam, Nutella or Lotus Biscoff.
After applying a crumb coat (Great British Bake Off fans will already be on the right page here), the real fun begins.
Fiza will help you to whip up a smooth buttercream in whichever colour you wish, before letting you run riot with a piping bag.
You’ll practice swirls, rosettes, hearts, and even writing in icing ahead of decorating your actual cake.
You can see how we got on below, then book your own spot HERE.
Danny Jones -
15th January 2024 
