The Alchemist has teamed up with Grey Goose and social enterprise Foodinate to gift customers a cocktail in exchange for food to raise awareness of rising food poverty.
The Swap Shop initiative invites you to “swap a tin of food for a free cocktail”.
According to the Trussell Trust 1, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has seen an increase in people relying on food banks across the country, with 100,000 households using them for the very first time over the lockdown period.
Foodbank usage is expected to increase even further over Christmas.
The Swap Shop initiative – which is now in its second year – will once again aim to raise awareness for rising national food poverty and will do so by encouraging guests to exchange a “non-perishable food item” in return for a cocktail.
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Every guest donating a non-perishable food item will receive a much-loved colour changing cocktail, although The Alchemist has said that larger donations are welcomed.
All donations will then be taken to The Mustard Tree charity ready for those in need.
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The Alchemist Spinningfields, New York Street and Media City will accept food items throughout the day, and will also be respecting necessary social distancing measures by offering a takeaway cocktail for those unable to enjoy in the venue.
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Tackling food poverty has been a long-term passion for The Alchemist.
Last year’s Swap Shop initiative saw over 3,000 donations collected, and the brand has been partnered with Foodinate since May 2018, helping to provide hot and nourishing meals for those in need in local communities when guests order any menu items marked with the Foodinate fork logo.
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To date, The Alchemist has provided 65,000 meals for the social enterprise.
Speaking on the initiative, Hannah Plumb – Culture and Talent Director at The Alchemist – said: “We love the work carried out by Foodinate. It’s a truly fantastic initiative tackling food poverty across the country which is an issue we’re passionate about at The Alchemist.
“The Swap Shop is a fun and engaging way to encourage customers to donate to their local food banks, who need our support now more than ever.”
The Swap Shop 2020 will take place for one day only on Tuesday 13th October.
Eats
A pub in Stockport has launched a full Scotch egg menu
Daisy Jackson
It’s one of the world’s greatest snacks, especially when paired with a decent pint – and now a local pub is doing a whole Scotch egg menu.
The Davenport Arms over in Stockport is running a ‘Scotch Egg Week’, with a whole host of different Scotch eggs.
There’s even a dessert one, made with a Creme Egg instead of a real one.
The historic pub, which is known locally as The Thief’s Neck (and displays both names on its signs), is filled with cosy corners and snug rooms.
It’s an independently-run pub that operates under the Robinson’s Brewery family, with beers brewed just down the road in Stockport.
And now the local boozer is doing a full menu of homemade Scotch eggs, for one week only, each served with the perfect condiment.
There’ll be ‘The Classic’, where pork meat is wrapped around a perfect jammy-yolked egg, served with house piccalilli.
The Manchester EggA classic Scotch eggThe Davenport Arms, known locally as The Thief’s NeckInside the pub
Or you can get the much-loved Manchester egg, which features black pudding and a pickled Scotch egg, served with mustard mayo on the side.
Fish fans can grab a smoked haddock Scotch egg served with a curried mayo.
And for vegetarians, there’s one made with cheese and onion instead of meat, served with a house tomato relish.
There’s even a sweet one – a Creme Egg encased in brownie mix, and then wrapped in a Biscoff crumb, served with ice cream.
And if you really can’t decide, The Davenport Arms will do you a full platter of all of the above, for £29.95.
The Scotch Egg menu is available from Monday 30 March until Saturday 4 April and you can see more HERE.
One of Manchester’s grandest restaurants has finally reopened TWO YEARS after fire
Daisy Jackson
One of the most historic restaurants in Manchester has reopened at last, two years after a fire forced its closure.
Mount Street Dining Room & Bar – which many of us may remember as Mr Cooper’s – stands within the Grade II-listed Midland Hotel.
The grand dining room dates all the way back to 1903, when it opened with the hotel as the Grill Room.
The restaurant was at the epicentre of the Industrial Revolution and was frequented by railway travellers, perhaps best-known for hosting a lunch between Charles Rolls and Henry Royce in 1904, who went on to form the world-famous Rolls-Royce brand.
The Midland’s restaurants has gone through several changes in the decades since, undergoing a major £14 million refurb in 2020 to relaunch as Mount Street Dining Room & Bar.
Its interiors are inspired by the hotel’s early 1900s art deco and railway heritage, with a menu that focuses on locally-sourced British produce.
But the restaurant has been shut since early 2024, when a fire damaged the entrance and trellising around its main entrance on Mount Street.
The beautiful bar areaA glimpse of the menu at Mount StreetCocktails and British food
The Midland has finally managed to get the restaurant back open again this month, with a new food and cocktail menus, which aims to offer refined but simple British dining.
Expect dishes like pork and black pudding bonbons, white onion soup with crispy potatoes, smoked British salmon with lemon gel and dill mascarpone, and slow cooked beef daube with confit garlic mash.
Plus desserts such as rice pudding with Anise glazed pearsand Bakewell pudding with cherry syrup.
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen inside this beautiful, storied dining room – and it looks just as beautiful as we remember.
Emily Sergeant -
8th October 2020 
