A restaurant in Manchester has created what it says is the ‘world’s hottest curry’ and will be dishing it up to customers in honour of National Chilli Day this Thursday.
Zouk Indian restaurant, located just off Oxford Road next to the Manchester Metropolitan University campus, has previously made this super-hot chicken curry for special occasions – now, it’s bringing it back with even more heat added.
Made using the renowned fiery chilli pepper the Carolina Reaper, which holds the Guinness Book of World Records title of world’s hottest chilli, Zouk’s special karahi brings an eye-watering heat that’s not for the faint of heart.
Image: Zouk
A popular late-night meal originating in northwestern Pakistan, the karahi is typically prepared in a reduced tomato and green-chilli base – but at Zouk. the team are using a mixture of fresh, dried and pureed Carolina Reapers in their dish.
According to owner Tayub, this brings a ‘triple hit of heat’ so intense that the restaurant is asking guests to sign a disclaimer before they dig in.
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“Last time we did this we were really surprised by how many people wanted to take up the challenge and give the Carolina Karahi a try.” said Tayub.
“Manchester has some real chilli lovers out there!”
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Image: Zouk
“Our food is usually more about flavour than heat but it’s National Chilli Day, so you’ve got to go all out.”
According to the restaurant, its chefs even struggle with the heat a little when preparing the dish – but they’re eager to see how many chilli lovers can muster it this week.
Available for one day only, the Carolina Karahi is priced at £14.95 for dine-in only – but, if you manage to finish the dish, you won’t be charged and you’ll even be treated to a free ice cream sundae afterwards.
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On top of that, those who finish the whole thing will also be invited back to enjoy one of Zouk’s huge Sunday roast sharing platters on the house at a date of their choosing.
If this sounds like a bit of you, you’ll need to make a reservation for Thursday 24 February and include the booking reference ‘Caroline Reaper’.
Feature image – Zouk
Food & Drink
Salford industrial estate bakery with incredible cinnamon rolls to open new site
Daisy Jackson
Mayya Bakery, a local ‘hidden gem’ with incredible cinnamon rolls, is set to open a brand-new bakery that will make it significantly less hidden.
Until now, Mayya has been quietly trading from an industrial estate in Salford, where it’s built a great reputation for its bakes despite an off-the-beaten-track-location and relatively little social media fanfare.
It opened its doors in 2024, operated by former primary school teacher Meli and her husband, dentist Oguz.
This is an artisan bakery with a real Turkish flare, with plenty of comfort food like freshly made gözleme (or gozzies for short) and bigger dishes if you fancy sitting in.
Their counters are stuffed with sweet bakes, like their perfect cinnamon rolls, plus loaves, babka, cookies, and homemade cheesecake.
For bigger dishes, you’ll find breakfast dishes like Turkish eggs, Simit (a traditional sesame bagel) breakfasts, and menemen.
The counters at Mayya Bakery’s current locationIncredible cheesecake at Mayya BakerySigns on Chapel Street Salford for the new Mayya Bakery
And now Mayya Bakery has revealed plans to open a new location in a much more prominent spot in town, with signs appearing in the windows of a unit on Chapel Street.
The sign reads: “Everything is homemade – including this picture.”
It also quips: “They called us hidden gem… not hidden anymore.”
Mayya will open on Chapel Street soon – keep an eye on our food and drink Instagram page The Manc Eats for the latest.
Sacha Lord set to back local hospitality again with money behind the bar of one Greater Manchester pub
Danny Jones
Local figure Sacha Lord is once again looking to help support Greater Manchester’s food and drink scene once again this spring by putting a total of £2.5k behind the bar of one lucky pub.
Well, let’s be honest, we’re about to be the real lucky ones.
It’s far from the first time that the Night Time Economy Advisor has done this, having previously put sizeable sums towards shared tabs on a few ocassions over the last few years.
Lining up his next handout for this coming early May bank holiday (perfect timing), it’s going to be a super and potentially very sloppy Sunday…
Tell me your favourite pub in Greater Manchester.
Bank Holiday Sunday 3rd May, I’ll be turning up and putting £2500 behind the bar.
Sharing the video above online earlier this week, the 54-year-old simply wrote, “Tell me your favourite pub in Greater Manchester. Bank Holiday Sunday, 3rd May, I’ll be turning up and putting £2500 behind the bar.”
The message is as straightforward as ever: “Support your local pub.”
Now obviously, the fact that people can reply with their go-to boozers and help influence the decision is one thing – something that has certainly always created an attraction each time he’s done this – but it’s also just a good way of marketing these watering holes to begin with.
Whether or not someone’s favourite public house tucked away in one of the 10 boroughs, or their bar of choice here in Manchester city centre, ends up being selected or not, it’s obviously great publicity having their names plastered on a notable social media account.
This is especially so when you see how much the post itself ends up being reshared and the overall exposure Lord ultimately lends them via creating such a big crowd discussion.
Here’s hoping we get proper beer garden weather over that long weekend.
It’s also worth noting that the further support stunts like this have helped garner support for other regional businesses – in particular, indies that are battling the cost of living crisis and so many other challenges within the sector – has proved crucial for some places to stay open to begin with.
A good example is the Thirsty Korean, who teamed up with the Altrincham-born entrepreneur to cover hundreds of bills back in 2023, and has now been able to expand into a larger venue down the road from their original Chorlton location.
The obstacles facing the hospitality industry remain varied and numerous, but gestures like this can go a long way to helping prop up those who need it.
Georgina Pellant -
22nd February 2022 
