Popular independent Italian restaurant Vero Moderno is hosting a free-to-attend dinner in partnership with Italian craft beer company Menabrea as it looks to share the magic of the Italian tradition of ‘midnight spaghetti’ with Mancunians.
On the continent, it’s not unusual for groups to flock home and commune over a late-night bowl of simply-cooked noodles.
Beer is poured, ingredients from the kitchen are brought out and the party comes together to enjoy a delicious meal at midnight. So far, so magical.
But whilst we expect quite a few readers are no stranger to drunkenly cooking a bowl of pasta late at night in their kitchen, we’d hazard a guess not many have done it like this. Until now, anyway.
This Thursday, locals will have the chance to experience the tradition of midnight spaghetti themselves as a late-night pasta feast comes to the Chapel Street restaurant.
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Taking place from 930pm to 1am, the one-off dinner will be held alongside Italian craft brewers Menabrea on Thursday 25 August, giving local pasta fans a chance to partake in a long-standing tradition.
Image: Supplied
Stevie Parle, the well-known chef and restaurateur of London pasta kitchen Pastaio, has developed a midnight spaghetti recipe especially for the evening, keeping things simple with a mixture of classic ingredients like garlic, chilli and olive oil.
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Throughout the night, the restaurant’s team will serve up hearty-yet-simple portions of pasta alongside free-flowing pints of Menabrea’s popular Italian craft beer.
After that, you can party the night away with a DJ and enjoy different interactive areas throughout the night. Menabrea will be served throughout the night, alongside a delicious twist at midnight.
The evening will begin with a workshop led by Stevie, where attendees can learn about how they can recreate their own midnight spaghetti evening at home with friends and loved ones.
Guests will be sampling free-flowing pints of Menabrea throughout the session, to truly uncover how Italian flavours can come together.
Speaking on the upcoming event, Angus Lawrie, spokesperson at Menabrea, said: “As an award-winning Italian birra with 170+ years of brewing expertise, we are passionate about facilitating authentic Italian experiences through the highest quality food & drink.
Image: Vero Moderno
“Italy is integral to the Menabrea brand and Italians always have a special way of doing everything, which is why we can’t wait to launch Menabrea Midnights and bring this unmissable concept to the UK.”
Chef, restaurateur at Pastaio and Menabrea Midnights partner, Stevie Parle, added: “I’ve been cooking Italian food professionally since I was 17 and have been obsessed with pasta my whole life.
“It’s great to be working with Menabrea, as they share my values and always strive to produce the very best and most delicious results, be that in beer or classic Italian cookery.”
Tickets are free to those who register via Eventbrite here but be quick as there is only a limited number available.
Feature image – Vero Moderno
Eats
Manchester steakhouse Gaucho is serving a bottomless brunch with non-stop wine and cocktails
Georgina Pellant
Manchester has a new three-course bottomless brunch offer, and it sounds like an absolute beast of a deal – with premium cuts of steak, unlimited starters, and an hour and a half of free-flowing drinks.
Launched by Argentine steakhouse pros Gaucho,the new bottomless deal gives diners 90 minutes to indulge in drinks like citrus negronis, pornstar martinis, spritzes, lager and wine, with a choice of red, white and rose.
Spanning three courses and 90 minutes of drinks, starter dishes are unlimited whilst main highlights include Gaucho’s cuts of free-range Aberdeen Angus beef, reared on the flat grasslands of the Pampas. Think premium wet-aged sirloin with chimichurri and French fries and spiral-cute churrasco de cuadril marinated in garlic, parsley and olive oil.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
On the unlimited starters menu, you’ll find a mouthwatering selection of morcilla, chorizo and picante rojo sausage with a lemon aioli, a selection of empanadas, beetroot ceviche with nasturtium and mango nectar, plus prawn tostadas on Arepa bread.
Add in desserts like chocolate brownies with white chocolate ice cream and apple pancakes with Calvados caramel, Nutella and a dulce de leche mousse, and we’ll be surprised if you find yourself going home hungry.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Available on the last Saturday of the month between 11am and 4pm at Gaucho’s glitzy restaurant on Deansgate, dine inside a converted church surrounded by crystal chandeliers and deep leather booths whilst the restaurant’s in house saxophonist plays along to the resident DJ’s beats.
Greater Manchester chocolatier Slattery’s is selling a Hacienda-inspired Easter egg
Georgina Pellant
Greater Manchester chocolatier Slattery’s is selling a Hacienda-inspired Easter egg, and it looks absolutely brilliant.
Featuring an Acid House smiley face in The Factory’s signature black and yellow stripes, a green bucket hat, silver music notes and a Brit Pop-style electric guitar emblazoned in the Union Jack, Slattery’s has really gone all out this year.
The special Madchester Easter egg also features Oasis’s debut 1997 album Definitely Maybe, although the Whitefield-based chocolatiers told The Manc that customers can opt to request a different album cover on their egg if they prefer.
Priced at £21 each, the edible work of art is made of milk chocolate and decorated with edible icing to create the effects of the album covers, bucket hats and other nostalgic Madchester memorabilia.
It is available to purchase in person from the Whitefield chocolatier’s store, and customers can also place orders for collection closer to the Easter weekend if they prefer.
However, it is not available through the online shop as due to its delicate nature the Hacienda-inspired egg is not able to be delivered by courier.
The family-run Slattery Patissier and Chocolatier is one of Greater Manchester’s absolute go to’s for a sweet treat, spanning three floors and attracting visitors from far and wide.
Based in Whitefield, Bury, it’s so much more than a cake shop: selling everything from handmade Belgian chocolate, freshly-made cream cakes, tarts, pastries, tortes and gateaux, all made fresh each morning, plus chocolate novelties, bars and gifts ranging from Easter eggs to chocolate lollies, discs and tubs, plus a dedicated vegan chocolate range.
Add to that bespoke build your own chocolate hampers that are packed and ribboned whilst you wait, and a selection of specially selected wines, beers and liqueurs, and it’s not hard to see why so many flock here – not just at Easter, but all year round.
Georgina Pellant -
23rd August 2022 
