A new dessert place selling school cake and custard is coming to Manchester and we’re already a little bit obsessed.
Called Little Blonde Bakes, it opens this Friday in Ancoats with a menu featuring comforting winter warmers including sprinkle-loaded school cakes and cornflake tarts, served with a generous helping of warm custard.
Those after a classic hit of nostalgia won’t be able to refuse a slice of old school cake and custard, whilst the more adventurous among us are sure to be tempted by the chocolate old school cake, served with a bright green minted custard.
Elsewhere on the menu, you’ll find cornflake tarts (again served with a big pot of custard) alongside a long list of made-to-order pancake stacks, crepes, ice cream sundaes and milkshakes loaded with sweet shop favourites like white Kinder Buenos, Biscoff, Nutella and more.
Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Launched by baker Francesca Harrison, who hails from Ramsbottom, she told The Manc that she’s been baking for six years – first at home, before moving to open a cafe alongside her mum Jayne in Bury.
The pair first launched their cake business in 2016, selling bespoke cakes, cupcakes and blondies from their kitchen at home, before opening their own site in Bury.
Now, Francesca is branching out on her own with her own cake and dessert business – taking over the former Lazy Tony’s Lasagneria kitchen on Radium Street in Ancoats.
Inside she’s cooking custom American and European-style pancakes on bespoke griddles, before loading them up on every layer with custom sauces and pieces of chocolate, because, she tells us, there’s “nothing worse” than a dry pancake. We couldn’t agree more.
She’s also serving up ultra-indulgent Sundaes stuffed with her homemade, warm fudge brownies and a variety of sauces, with other choices including warm cookies, bubblegum topped with Millions, Nutella Oreo, Kinder, Biscoff and Milkybar.
Due to open this Friday, her treats are priced from just £4 with Sundaes starting at £4.50, milkshakes at £5.50, crepes at £7 and pancake stacks at £8. All will be available for delivery exclusively via Uber Eats starting 18 November.
Northern Quarter favourite The Pen and Pencil announces massive 10th birthday party and huge offers
Daisy Jackson
The Pen and Pencil, an absolute staple for brunches and drinks in the Northern Quarter, is celebrating a major milestone this month with a huge party and some unbeatable deals.
The bar and restaurant will be marking 10 years on Tariff Street in September – and it’s only right that we all pile in to celebrate with them.
This spot is one of the city’s original bottomless brunch venues and is similarly famed for its happy hour offerings, and opened in 2015 to bring a taste of Manhattan to Manchester.
Pen and Pencil took its name from the infamous New York City bar that was seen in Mad Men.
And now as it turns 10 years old, it’ll be throwing one big party on Saturday 27 September, featuring 10 hours of DJs, free pints of Red Stripe at 10pm, and a special bottomless brunch offering.
Those DJing on the day will include Drag Race UK’s Banksie, as well as Les Croasdaile, Mark Hogg, Danny Ward and A Deeper Groove.
Pen & Pencil has amazing deals for its 10th birthdayPen & Pencil is a Northern Quarter OG
The Pen and Pencil 10th birthday party will kick off from 2pm and run until late – but if you can’t make that one, there’ll be celebrations all week (and, indeed, month) long.
On Tuesday 23 September, you’ll be able to play for double prize money in The Pen and Pencil quiz, as well as enjoying happy hour drinks all night.
Then on Friday 26 September, it’ll be an all-night happy hour, with free tequila shots at 10pm and music from DJs Nev Johnson and Gareth James from 7pm.
All September long, there’ll be 50% off food every Monday, two-for-£10 cocktails every Wednesday, £10 burgers every Thursday, happy hour all night on Fridays, 10 dishes for £10 and two bloody Marys for £10 on Sundays, plus DJs on Fridays and Saturdays.
There’s a new colourful art installation outside the venue inspired by the bar’s New York roots.
Owner Kevin Connor said: “We’re really excited to be celebrating being part of the Manchester community for ten years!
“New York’s Pen and Pencil was a classic steak and cocktail joint, and we’re proud to have created our very own iconic Northern Quarter hangout. We hope everyone will join us in celebrating ten years on Tariff Street.”
Walk-ins are welcome for The Pen and Pencil 10th birthday party on Saturday 27 September, but booking is encouraged – book your spot HERE.
Featured image: The Manc Group
Food & Drink
Manchester restaurant to give out FREE katsu curries to people called ‘Kat’ or ‘Sue’
Emily Sergeant
In what is a small stroke of genius, a restaurant chain has decided to give out free katsu curries to anyone called ‘Kat’ or ‘Sue’.
Throughout September, award-winning restaurant chain Banana Tree – which has a Greater Manchester site down at Salford Quays – is shining the spotlight on its popular katsu creations, and as a clever way of celebrating National Katsu Day on 27 September has announced a pretty unique giveaway.
That’s right – the restaurant will be serving up katsu dishes to people called Kat, Sue, and every delicious variation of the names in between.
Anyone named Kat, Katie, Katherine, Sue, Suzy, Susan, Suzanne – or close enough to qualify, the list goes on – can head to their local Banana Tree restaurant, and all they’ll need to do is show proof of name and they can enjoy a free katsu dish of their choice, worth up to £16.75.
The chain’s kastu lineup includes three star dishes.
First there’s the much-loved Katsu Curry, as well as the all-new Katsu Burger, which is made from either a crispy chicken or veggie fillet, spicy mayo, puffed noodle crunch, and a drizzle of Katsu sauce tucked into a soft Shokupan bun with a side of salt n pepper chilli chips.
Then there’s also the intriguing newcomer, the Katsu Carbonara – which is described as being a daring East-meets-West mash-up and ‘unapologetically’ Banana Tree.
Banana Tree is giving away free katsu curries to people called ‘Kat’ or ‘Sue’ / Credit: Banana Tree
With each of these dishes usually priced around the £16 mark, the giveaway isn’t just a way of marking National Katsu Day, but it’s also a way to sample the some of the restaurant’s biggest crowd-pleasers entirely free of charge.
To avoid any confusion on who makes the cut, Banana Tree will reveal the full qualifying list of name variations on Instagram soon, so keep your eyes peeled.
“Our Katsu range is one of our proudest creations, so National Katsu Day felt like the perfect moment to have some fun with our fans,” a Banana Tree spokesperson said ahead of the giveaway.
The free katsu offer is available for four days only from Monday 22 to Thursday 25 September, and you just need to head to the Banana Tree website to sign up to the Big Flavour Club here.
Georgina Pellant -
15th November 2022 
