Two of Manchester’s beloved independent eateries have announced the launch of a takeaway Christmas Day service to make the festive period a little less stressful.
Tucking into a hearty meal is no doubt one of the real highlights of Christmas day, but having to adequately plan and prepare for the whole thing to go off without a hitch, and then ensure everything is cooked to perfection, is really quite the task.
It can stress even the best of us out.
Which is why both Trof and Herd – two popular restaurants in the heart of the Northern Quarter – have today launched a service that lets you place an order for your Christmas dinner to be pre-made and collected to take all that worry away.
How brilliant does this sound?
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With “no pre-dinner stress, no big shop and more importantly, no pots to wash” Trof’s Ultimate Christmas Dinner Kit can simply be collected from the restaurant from Christmas Eve – between 10am – 4pm – and then all you’ll need to do is follow the super-simple reheat instructions for a delicious three course meal.
To start, you can chose from Celeriac & Apple Soup (truffle oil, chives) or VEChicken Liver Pate (winter chutney, sourdough toast), for the main course, it’s a choice of either Roast Cheshire Turkey (roast potatoes, bread sauce, pigs in blankets, gravy), or Mushroom & Cranberry Wellington (roast potatoes, gravy, seasonal vegetables), and then for dessert, it’s either Christmas Pudding (with brandy sauce), or Buche De Noel (chocolate yule log) with dark chocolate sauce.
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The Ultimate Christmas Dinner Kit is priced at £35 per person, and includes a bottle of Prosecco for two people.
Trof NQ
Designed to “take the stress out of Christmas day cooking” with everything prepared as much as possible so you can “enjoy more time out of the kitchen and more time getting merry after this dreadful year”, Herd’s Christmas Trimmings Hampers could be a real lifesaver.
Each hamper comes loaded with everything you need to accompany the perfect Christmas dinner.
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You can take your pick from a hamper for two (£35), four (£55), or six people (£75), and if you feel like pushing the boat out a little further, you can also add on a Herd fillet of beef wellington to you hamper for the ultimate Christmas feast.
The Christmas Trimmings Hampers are available to purchase now for collection from the 22nd – 24th December and will come with full reheating and cooking instructions, plus a little Christmas treat.
Herd NQ
Not only does this concept take huge weight off your shoulders at a busy time, but it’s also a great way to help out local / independent hospitality businesses when they truly need it more than ever and are feeling the lasting effects of lockdown.
This is brilliant and unique way to do your bit for hospitality if you can this year.
You can find out more information about Christmas offerings and place your orders via the Trof NQ website here, and through the Herd NQ website here.
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The Manc Group has partnered with Deliveroo to help local restaurants deliver during lockdown as part of our #StillServingMCR campaign.
Working alongside Deliveroo, The Manc will ensure all restaurants on the service will get the amplification they need across our social platforms. We’ll update our one million-strong audience on your latest updates and deals and we’ll create conversations with the masses about our favourite scran from your menus.
Basically, we will champion you, and we will go above and beyond to do it.
Beloved Northern Quarter restaurant TNQ announces shock closure after two decades
Daisy Jackson
One of the Northern Quarter’s most long-standing restaurants has announced its shock closure after almost 22 years in Manchester.
TNQ, an independent restaurant with a British menu, said that the current climate has made the restaurant ‘no longer a viable business’.
In a shockingly honest statement, the business said that its energy bills have rocketed to a staggering £8,000 per month, and that the two owners have forgone their salaries to try and keep TNQ afloat.
But despite being ‘busy and often fully booked’, the business has been left in a ‘heartbreaking situation where we have to close the doors for good’.
“Thanks E-on and thanks Rachel Reeves”, TNQ said in a statement today.
As for the staff who work at the High Street restaurant, TNQ bosses say they’re committed to paying them ‘every penny they are owed’ and are helping them to find new jobs in the industry.
TNQ said of their staff: “Our amazing team have worked blood sweat and tears over the years, grafted 80 hour weeks busting a gut to deliver our best for our guests. We are incredibly grateful to all our staff for their endeavours, loyalty, commitment and support over the 22 years.
“We are so sorry to all of them that we can no longer continue.”
TNQ statement in full
Unfortunately this is a heartbreaking situation where we have to close the doors to TNQ for good after nearly 22 years.
We have got through the banking crisis, double dip recessions and Covid but the current climate has made the restaurant no longer a viable business.
Our E-on bills are up to £8000 per month, wage costs have rocketed particularly after the last two budgets, food costs have soared and business rates continue to increase.
This has created a perfect storm resulting in the permanent closure of our beloved restaurant.
Last October we borrowed £100k which was personally guaranteed by 2 of the shareholders in order to try and weather the storm and 2 owners stopped being paid salary but unfortunately this wasn’t enough to save our restaurant.
Our amazing team have worked blood sweat and tears over the years, grafted 80 hour weeks busting a gut to deliver our best for our guests. We are incredibly grateful to all our staff for their endeavours, loyalty, commitment and support over the 22 years.
We are so sorry to all of them that we can no longer continue. We are committed to paying all our staff every penny they are owed. We are also working with our friends in the industry to find new jobs for everyone where we can. It is a truly gutting and heartbreaking situation. Sorry.
Thank you to all our partners and suppliers over the years, many of whom we have formed great friendships with.
Finally, thank you to all our wonderful guests who have supported us over the years, many of whom we are proud to call our friends. We will be in touch with all our bookings in due course and we can only apologise that we can no longer accommodate you.
Our restaurant has been busy and often fully booked but it’s just not enough to be a sustainable business. We are so sorry but this is goodbye from us at TNQ, one of the longest established independent restaurants in our magnificent city.
A restaurant in Manchester is hosting a bottomless carbonara night
Daisy Jackson
A restaurant in Manchester has announced its first-ever ‘Carbonara Night’, with unlimited helpings of the popular pasta dish.
The Pasta Factory on Shudehill will be inviting diners to tuck into bottomless carbonara, with the chance to eat it all for free.
The restaurant recently celebrated its 10th birthday in the city, where it’s been serving fresh pasta dishes made by hand every single day.
When The Pasta Factory first opened, it chose not to sell carbonara, worried that the traditional recipe (guanciale, egg yolk, cheese – and absolutely no cream) wouldn’t be to the taste of diners in Manchester.
But realising there was an appetite for authentic Italian cooking, carbonara has made its way onto the menu and become a firm favourite.
And now The Pasta Factory is hosting an entire night dedicated to this delicious pasta dish.
There’ll be bottomless carbonara being served up in this cosy corner of Manchester, for one night only this month.
Your booking will get you a table for 90 minutes, during which time you can order unlimited portions of carbonara.
And if you manage to eat more than five carbonaras, Pasta Factory will give you your meal for free.
The bottomless carbonara night at Pasta Factory in Manchester will take place on Wednesday 18 February, with tickets priced at £30 per night.
Emily Sergeant -
19th November 2020 
