A coffee shop in Manchester is hiring for the dream job of a sandwich tester – and if you’re anything like us you’ll already be polishing up your butty eating CV.
200 Degrees coffee shop is on the hunt for a Manc with a ‘passion for sandwiches’ to help it taste its new menu of sarnies. If that isn’t a dream role, to be honest we don’t know what is.
Requirements include a ‘passion for sandwiches’, and the ‘ability to consume a large amount of bread’.
The lucky sandwich tester must also be happy to travel to a 200 Degrees coffee shop, give feedback on sandwiches and be photographed on eight different platforms.
The sandwich tester also cannot be vegan or vegetarian, as they will be required to eat some meat products, in exchange for a ‘competitive salary’ (and by that, they mean all the sandwiches you cant eat).
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So far, so standard. However, the ad also says that no previous experience eating sandwiches is required, which does seem a bit odd to us. How else does one become a qualified sandwich expert, if not by eating lots and lots of sandwiches, we wonder?
Image: The Manc Group
Sharing the roles with followers, a post shared on 200 Degrees Instagram reads: “We have an amazing opportunity to join the 200 Degrees Family (well, for one day only)
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“We’re unleashing our brand-spanking-new menu and are now searching for an exceptional human to join the team as our Sandwich Tester.
“If you have a passion for sandwiches, this could be your perfect role.”
Those wanting to apply are instructed to pile on in the comments and tell the coffee shop why they would be the best choice for the sandwich testing job – and there already seems to be some stiff competition.
One person said: “I spend my whole life thinking about my next meal and reviewing food all around the UK. Ohhhh and I’m a sucker for a sarnie!!!”
Another said: “I’ll do it! Im the perfect candidate. Always hungry, drink all the coffees, eat all the food categories and I own stretchy pants… I’m also fundraising manager for Footprints so you’d be support charity too…”
A third added: “Not a day goes by where I don’t eat bread – I have a breadmaking tattoo! Sandwiches are my most common lunch (80% or more), so I think the passion is there. Also photos of me tend to come out alright. Sign me up!”
A fourth commented: “Every November and December, I meticulously review every supermarket Christmas sandwich in can find, you can see all of them in the highlight on my page – this may be the actual perfect job for me.”
Applications for the role are open until midnight on 12 August via 200 Degrees Instagram.
Featured image – The Manc Group
Eats
Huge bakery chain Gail’s confirms move to Prestwich – but spells village’s name wrong in signs
Daisy Jackson
After months of swirling rumours, bakery group Gail’s has finally confirmed it’s moving to Prestwich – but locals have spotted a glaring error at the first hurdle.
The popular artisan bakery will be moving onto Bury New Road, right in the heart of the suburb and directly opposite the new Rudy’s pizzeria.
Prestwich locals have been hearing whispers of a Gail’s arriving for a few months, and finally the London-founded cafe has stuck up signs to confirm it’s on the way.
But the sign contains one crucial mistake – it’s spelled Prestwich wrong.
The red window displays now read ‘Hello Preswich. We’ll be baking here soon’.
One local messaged Gail’s to point out the error and to say it’s ‘not a great first impression for the locals…’.
Gail’s has since confirmed it’s in the process of fixing the signs.
The arrival of both Gail’s and Rudy’s has already caused a stir in Prestwich, which has always been fiercely independent and has only a handful of chains within it (Greggs and Costa are perched by the tram stop).
In fact, one local business-owner shared a moving statement about his concerns for the future of local businesses just a few weeks ago.
Gail’s has confirmed it’s opening a bakery in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc Group
First formed in the early 1990s as a wholesale-only operation, Gail’s opened its first cafe on Hampstead High Street in 2005.
Today the brand has more than 100 sites spread across London, Oxford, Brighton and further afield, and is known more as a customer-facing cafe and bakery.
It’s famed for its freshly-baked loaves, cinnamon buns, ham and cheese croissants and coffees, and is likely to go down a storm in Prestwich.
But the signs have been causing a bit of a stir in the wrong way this weekend – in a local Facebook group, one person commented: “Not locals who own it then.”
Another described it as an ‘epic fail’.
And one person said: “Oh the DRAMA of it all.”
Someone else joked: “I cannot wait for Gais to come to Preswich.”
Hot Blobs – Retro drink makes return to Manchester Christmas Markets, but what is it?
Daisy Jackson
It’s funny how we all turn a blind eye to the temperature outside when it comes to the Christmas Markets.
At a time of year where should probably all be hibernating inside, droves of us instead head out to brave the elements all in the name of the festivities.
Of course, the Manchester Christmas Markets sell all sorts of wares to take the edge off, and we’re not just talking about the stalls selling woollen mittens everywhere.
Our favourite winter warmers tend to take the form of a tray of piping hot garlic potatoes, or a mug of hot chocolate, or another boozy beverage that’s massively underrated.
The drink in question is a Hot Blob, which is listed on the menu at the Piccadilly Gardens markets as ‘legendary’.
A bold claim, but a lot of long-time Manc residents will understand why.
The Hot Blob is a jaw-clenchingly sweet concoction served piping hot at the Manchester Christmas Market, similar to a hot toddy.
It’s made with Australian fortified white wine, lemon, sugar, and boiling water.
Hot Blobs – Retro drink makes return to Manchester Christmas Markets, but what is it? Credit: The Manc Group
The drink was first invented by Yates, that well-known pub chain, which started life as Yates’s Wine Lodge up the road in Oldham.
According to Pubs of Manchester, the Hot Blob has a tendency to ‘speed up drunkenness to a young drinker’.
These days, it’s pretty rare to come across one on a menu, but back in 1990s it was a staple in a few pubs around town.
There even used to be a ‘Blob Shop’ on High Street, run by local legend Ged Ford (now in charge of the equally legendary Millstone pub), which found itself in a state of utter carnage when the IRA bomb went off.
The long-lost institution specialised in ‘cheap wine, cheap beer, and plenty of blobs’.
The old Yates Blob Shop on High Street, Manchester. Credit: deltrems@flickr
Ged sold 6,000 a week.
And while the drink may have fallen out of favour since then, there are still healthy numbers being sold at this time of year, even if they are a damn sight more expensive than they were in the 1990s (£6 a pop, plus a glass deposit).
Anyway. If you’re sick to the back teeth of the endless gluhwein being peddled across the markets, make a beeline for Manchester Winter Ale House at Piccadilly Gardens, where you can find Hot Blobs as well as boozy Vimto and cask ales.
The Manchester Christmas Markets officially end on 22 December.
Georgina Pellant -
8th August 2023 
