Eats

The clocks change this weekend – but you can get a free coffee to make up for losing an hour in bed

Deliveroo is handing out free breakfast and coffee vouchers, hooray.

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 24th March 2023

The clocks are finally going forward this weekend, marking lighter evenings and what feels like the official start of spring.

But the one downside is that we’ll all lose an hour in bed on Sunday, which is always a bit of a killer.

Thankfully there are 2000 free coffees and breakfasts being handed out across the nation to soften the blow a little.

Deliveroo has teamed up with some of the biggest cafe brands in the country to give away thousands of £7 vouchers, which can be spent on hot drinks and breakfast items.

The vouchers will be available to tired Brits on Sunday 26 March – the day the clocks go forward – from 7am.

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Deliveroo is handing out breakfast and coffee vouchers this weekend. Credit: Supplied
Leon breakfast. Credit: The Hoot Leeds

Aisha Jefferson from Deliveroo said: “We know that losing an hour of valuable sleep will be a shock to the system for many of our customers. That’s why, for one day only, Deliveroo is giving away thousands of free hot drinks and breakfast items from much-loved partners, Starbucks, Caffè Nero or LEON, to help bring a smile to the nation’s faces.”

You can redeem them against any hot drinks and breakfast dishes from Starbucks, LEON, Joe & The Juice, Pret A Manger and Caffe Nero.

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Those Sunday scaries could be softened with a LEON avocado and halloumi muffin, alongside a Moju ginger shot, for just 18p with a Deliveroo voucher.

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Or you could get a bacon and egg muffin with a side of hash browns, or a pot of porridge with a latte, completely covered by your voucher.

Deliveroo’s other suggested breakfast orders include a plant-based sausage ciabatta with a tea from Caffe Nero, and a full breakfast bundle with a big discount from Joe & The Juice.

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The £7 voucher code NOYAWNSHERE will go live at 7am on Sunday 26 March, to the first 2000 Deliveroo customers to place an order.

Featured image: Supplied

Eats

Meet the team that reimagined The Horse and Jockey into a gastropub masterpiece

Lydia Mastrolonardo Lydia Mastrolonardo Horse and Jockey pub review Chorlton Manchester

The Horse and Jockey is a historic neighbourhood pub that has forever been a cornerstone in the heart of Chorlton, with its iconic Tudor exterior and outdoor seating looking out onto The Green. 

Since the team behind the well-known and loved The Black Friar and Leo + Roobs in Salford, headed by Managing Director Neil Burke and Executive Chef Ben Chaplin, reopened the pub in October 2025, we have since seen some significant changes.

Positioning themselves as Chorlton’s first-ever proper gastropub, they’ve expertly balanced maintaining the pub’s character and restoring the cosy indoors while catering for Manc foodies, with an ever-evolving menu consisting of fresh local produce as well as a wide selection of Joseph Holt award-winning beers.

They’ve even helped spearhead the Boddingtons revival across their sites.

neil burke ben chaplin
Credit: Bigger Boat Hospitality

We’re not the only ones who have noticed the hard work these two have put in – the transformation has led to the Horse and Jockey being crowned as one of the best local boozers at the Pub and Bar Awards.

Today, we had a chance to talk with Ben, who is the mastermind behind their delicious dishes and makes it all possible…

For anyone who doesn’t know you, give us a little bit of background on your career as a chef thus far?

“I started in the kitchen when I was 15 and worked my way up through different kitchens. Ended up working for Aiden Byrne, who remains the youngest person ever to achieve a Michelin star at 22. I worked for him for about nine years, ran one of his pubs for him and helped develop Manchester House.”

“I then went off and worked as head chef at Australasia for two years and 20 Stories for another three years before meeting Neil. Together we opened The Black Friar in 2021, Leo + Roobs in 2024, now the Horse and Jockey and are 100% looking for more venues.” 

How would you sum up the Manc food scene at the minute?

“Very diverse. Within the industry side of it, it’s difficult with a lot going on with VAT and wages, but there are some great venues doing some great food even just in Chorlton alone, and there is a lot of choice – I actually think it rivals London.”

Manchester’s mouthwatering annual Pie Festival at The Black Friar returns
This has become a staple of their annual calendar of events. See more from this year’s edition HERE.

We already know you’ve worked wonders bringing The Black Friar back to life and taking it beyond just a pub – what lessons have you taken from that experience to the Horse and Jockey?

“I think not just the Horse and Jockey but one of our values as a company for Bigger Boat is we are ‘yes people.’ So trying new things and not just saying no to something because we don’t want to do it, saying yes first and trying to find a way to achieve it.”

“It’s something that we don’t just do here, but we do it at the cafe, The Black Friar, and we’re going to do it going forward, opening more and more places.”

If you could describe how the approach is different between the two venues, what would you say?

“The spaces in The Black Friar allow us to do a lot more events; we obviously have a bigger outdoor area, so that leads to us being able to sell different areas for different events. We don’t have that as much here, and this is more of a neighbourhood, local pub, serving gastro-style food.

“The Black Friar we can go from events to weddings pretty seamlessly – we do a lot more there as there’s space for it and even more to come.”

They’ve even started doing a picnic basket offer. (Credit: The Manc Eats)

What is your favourite dish on the menu?

“We change the menu so often here (the Horse and Jockey) following the seasons, often changing a dish a week. However, right now my favourite is probably our lamb rump with a red pepper and harissa hummus with a hazelnut and sesame seed dhukka.”

And if you could sum up the food in three words, what would they be?

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“Evolving, tasty and bold.” 

These two truly know what they’re doing with these restorations, and we can’t wait to experience what else they take over in the future.

Don’t believe us? Go on down and try it for yourself.

You can read our full review of the food and drink from when they first reopened the gorgeous suburban, village-style spot down below.

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For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE

Featured Images — The Manc Group/Press shot (supplied via Bigger Boat)

Eats

Robinson’s Brewery among latest to join the crucial ‘VAT’s the Problem campaign’

Danny Jones Danny Jones VAT's the Problem petition

In case you missed the news, local Greater Manchester business Robinson’s Brewery are among several big names to join the growing ‘VAT’s the Problem’ hospitality campaign.

The Stockport beer makers are just one of the latest recognisable brands to rally behind the initiative set up by well-known British chef Tom Kerridge.

As well as appearing on the likes of Great British Menu, MasterChef, and Saturday Kitchen, the restaurateur also sadly had to close his Manc restaurant at the Stock Exchange Hotel back in 2022 amid the ever-lingering cost of living crisis, as well as rising energy bills and business rates.

Spearheading this mass petition since the start of June, Kerridge is now being backed up by the likes of Robinson’s and many more who believe the change could prove vital for countless operators within the industry to survive.

Sharing a lengthy statement in the caption of a post on their social media profile, ‘Robbie’s’ wrote: “Hospitality is one of the UK’s greatest success stories. It employs millions of people, gives young people their first jobs, creates lifelong careers, keeps high streets alive and brings communities together.

“But the sector is under enormous pressure. Rising energy costs. Food inflation. Huge employment costs. Unjust business rates. The highest tax burden in the UK economy. And on top of all of that – a 20% VAT rate that is among the highest in Europe.

“Countries including Spain, Italy, France, Ireland and Germany know how important hospitality is to society, and they know it pays too much tax. That’s why they already support hospitality with lower VAT rates. The UK deserves the same.”

Proposing – along with their fellow campaigners across the country – for the VAT to be cut in half, they believe that 10% would not only help keep struggling bars, restaurants and more alive, but help further invest in job creation, aid customers when it comes to overall costs, and therefore “strengthen high streets and local communities.”

It isn’t just a case of reducing obstacles for those working within the sector, but an effort to help bring prices down across the board across Great Britain. Those who passionately serve the population are falling short, while those who want to patronise their favourite places can’t make ends meet.

‘We were so lucky to have it’ – Has Manchester’s hospo scene reached a dangerous tipping point?
And this is the result.

“Because when hospitality businesses close, communities lose far more than places to eat and drink; they lose connection, opportunity and local identity. Help us, help our industry.”

Besides soon-to-be Prime Minister and outgoing Mayor Andy Burnham having been vocal in championing the campaign, others getting behind the movement range from native names like the Third Floor Rising cafe in Afflecks to fellow famous chefs like Scotland’s Tom Kitchin.

Issuing a statement to The Manc, the brewery’s MD for their pubs, William Robinson, went on to add: William Robinson, Managing Director of Pubs, went on to say: “The compounding impact of taxes on pubs and hospitality is really beginning to bite the sector; the changes to National Insurance and National Minimum Wage increases affect hospitality businesses especially hard.

“To be able to invest in our teams and future growth, hospitality needs to be given the same support it receives in other European countries. This will also allow us to employ and invest in younger team members and through that help them to develop skills which they can use throughout their careers.”

You can support the VAT’s the Problem campaign by signing the petition right HERE.

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE

Featured Images — Robinson’s Brewery (supplied)

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