There aren’t many things we love more than meat and gravy wrapped in pastry, so when we heard that there was going to be an eight-course tasting menu revolving almost entirely around pie, we started salivating so much we practically had to wipe down our keyboards.
In what might just be the best food concept we’ve heard of in a while, the brand-new pie-tasting menu is the calorific lovechild of beloved Mancunian brands, Ate Days A Week and Baldy’s Pies, two of the best and most decorated pie-makers you’ll find anywhere in the region.
This is an idea that has never been done before as far as we can tell (certainly not in Greater Manchester, anyway) and is exactly what it sounds like: plates upon plates of pies, pies, pies, a.k.a. a Northerner’s gravy-soaked wet dream.
Popping up in the equally popular Deep South-inspired bar Notion over in Stockport, where Ate Days A. Week serve up pies week in and week out, the unique and exclusive dining experience is designed not only to fill bellies near to bursting but “elevate the humble pie to new heights”.
We’re drooling and these aren’t even the actual pies you’ll be trying — you’ll only get to see them on the night.
That’s the word of the event’s co-creator and Ate Days A Week founder, Andy James, who is promising to give diners a food memory “you never knew you wanted”, not mention “intrigue, delight and wow” customers some seriously interesting and even daring twists on a classic dish adored by all.
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But as if the SK and Wigan staples’ expertise wasn’t enough, the inaugural edition of ‘PieSessions’ boasts some an even bigger culinary calibre, as the two brands will also be joined by fellow Wigan-based favourites and this year’s Bake Off: The Professionals finalists, Harwoods Patisserie, as well as former MasterChef contestant, Scott Eckersley-Bell, who’ll be serving some signature Scotty’s Pies.
With the menu broken up into eight different courses featuring four pie dishes and four snacks, each team has come up with their own clever and boundary-pushing creations. Trust us when we say you’ll never have sat down for a pie like any of these before.
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Raise your hand if you’ve ever had a Japanese-inspired pie with katsu chicken curry, miso mash, furikake and a teriyaki bacon flake. Nope? Didn’t think so. How about a poached fish pie with curried cauliflower, spinach and mushroom soaked in a leek and cream sauce with a potato and chive rosti on the side?
The pie tasting menu for the first-ever PieSessions night at Notion Bar, Stockport
Of course you haven’t! Literally no one has ever tried any of these utterly incredible-sounding concoctions but we can’t wait to be among the first to try them — and so can you. You’ll probably beat us there though as our mouths are watering just typing this up.
As you can see, the selection of snacks and non-pie-related dishes are no joke either; we’d pay silly money for a beef short rib slider to start off a meal and those desserts look so devilish we’re not sure we’ll ever be absolved.
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Better still, since it’s taking place on an early mid-week evening at one of Stockport‘s best bars, we can’t think of many better ways to get you looking forward to a post-work treat.
To be honest, we’re pretty sure this is going to make our week full-stop.
Now, while securing a spot for PieSessions isn’t cheap, make no mistake: this isn’t just sitting down to scran any old pie you could order from the pub or a pasty shop — it’s an original dining experience celebrating one of the nation’s most iconic dishes and best-loved ways to devour meat and carbs.
That being said, costing £80 for admission per head, it’s still a very reasonable and competitive price compared to most high-end tasting menus and one thing we can guarantee is that you’ll feel much fuller than you would with most others.
Doors open from 6:30pm on 21 November at Notion; you’ll get a welcome drink upon arrival and there’ll be two bars serving drinks all night long. We honestly can’t wait for this and if you didn’t get excited by reading those menus alone, we’re not sure there’s help for you (sorry not sorry).
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There’s only a handful of tickets still left so grab yours whilst you still can HERE.
Featured Image — Supplied/Notion Bar (via Facebook)
Eats
‘This isn’t just like home, this IS home’: Saffa Soul is feeding communities straight from the heart
Danny Jones
That quote isn’t one of ours, nor is it from the owners themselves: that’s what a South African native had to say as they literally welled up eating the food being served by Saffa Soul, who have officially been named among the Best Street Food in Britain.
And now they’ve taken up a new residency right here in Greater Manchester – Circle Square in the city centre, to be specific.
Keshal Devchand, a.k.a. ‘Huggy’, is the man behind the brand, bringing those tears to people’s eyes not just here in town but up and down the UK, as they found out not so long ago during the annual British Street Food Awards (BSFA) last year.
Winning the 2025 title, the reigning champions are simply meeting demand by posting up with their latest semi-permanent space, as an incredible rise in popularity has only ramped up since taking the crown. How they’ll fare remains to be seen, but as always, “the food speaks for itself.”
To be honest, we have every faith they’re going to be just as big a hit as the new resident kitchen inside The Taphouse as they were on Temperance Street and as their various street food stalls up and down the nation since this incredible journey started just 19 months ago.
Yep, this unbelievably hearty, authentic and award-winning foodie phenomenon isn’t even two years old yet, but the Johannesburg-born concept is already on course to write itself into cultural and culinary annals if they carry on the way they’re going.
Not only is everything from the braai (barbeque) meats, to the rich and smoky curries, that famous bunny chow, homemade sauces and everything in between unbelievably flavourful, this stuff is steeped in not just tradition but pure hard work.
‘Huggy’ and co. refuse to do anything that isn’t the real ‘saffa’ way, and it’s these simple but faithfully sustained principles that have seen this food connect with literally tens of thousands all over.
And that’s not just in this country: these guys have already journeyed through the likes of city-centric face-offs, and regional BSFA showdowns, to heading to Germany for the continental equivalent, where they also notched ‘Future Food Legend’.
It’s not hard to see why they’re officially the ‘People’s Choice’ and already mean so much to so many.
From importing wood from his homeland and stoking the fires by hand with a bellow, to keeping his mum’s yellow lentil recipe alive and sharing those same childhood memories with Manc, Brits and, indeed, the rest of the world, Huggy is doing proper boots on the ground community work.
Our favourite story from our recent visit was Huggy telling us about how their appearance at the 2025 European Street Awards turned into so much of a big deal that the entire South African consulate in Munich shut down early so they could eat his food for lunch. Just WOW.
And that’s not just for those who hail from South Africa and have since emigrated; as seen by his various pop-ups since starting out, Saffa Soul is a real come-one, come-all affair.
This is proven even more to be the case by his upcoming plans, too, as not only is the team looking to start their own regular Sunday roast club with inspiration from Supper, but they’re even going to be doing ‘beer cooler’ events in the summer.
Picture South African tradition, part US cook-out, with a sprinkling of Aussie and classic British BBQ parties – it’s one of the things we’re most excited about this year.
We’ve also had a little glimpse at other menu items soon set to be introduced into the rotation, and all we can say is that we’re already salivating.
Honestly, we implore you to go and show Huggy’s gang some love, and we promise you won’t leave a single scrap on your table.
A tiny tiramisu hatch is opening in Ancoats this week
Daisy Jackson
A brand-new dessert spot is set to open its doors (or should that be windows) in Ancoats later this week.
Layr is a new business that is selling just one thing, and doing that one thing really well – tiramisu.
The tiramisu hatch is set to open on Thursday 29 January, with a menu of three different tiramisu flavours, each served individually portioned.
This new addition to Ancoats will be serving freshly-made, alcohol-free, Halal desserts, starting off with a classic tiramisu where sponge is soaked in espresso, then layered with vanilla marscapone and cocoa dust.
Layr has also created a new matcha tiramisu, where the sponge is soaked in matcha instead of coffee.
And completing the menu is a pistachio Layr, with pistachio marscapone, nuts, and pistachio sauce.
Layr’s tiramisu hatch on Radium Street is the latest dessert spot to open in this corner of Ancoats, in a building that’s become a bit of an incubator for sweet treats.
Pistachio tiramisu from the Layr dessert hatchA trio of tiramisu
The building is perhaps most famous for launching The Flat Baker, who operated out of a corner unit for years before becoming too successful and jumping down the road with their own proper bakery and cafe.
Layr also neighbours Baby Mayhem, famed for its extravagant doughnuts, including its bakes topped with ice cream ‘spaghetti’.
Layr will be open from 5pm until 10pm on Thursdays and Fridays, and from 4pm until 10pm on Saturdays and Sundays.
Danny Jones -
8th November 2023 
