The Blues Kitchen is teaming up with Manchester’s DevilDog Sauces to host a Flamin’ Hot Wing Eating Competition this month.
And if you’re feeling brave enough, you can stick your name down now.
For the fifty brave foodies who fancy taking part in the challenge, there’ll be five rounds of fiery heat in the path to crowning glory.
In each round, The Blues Kitchen’s infamous wings will be coated in one of DevilDog’s glorious spicy sauces, with a one-of-a-kind, fire-in-your-mouth sauce like you’ve never experienced before lined up for the grand finale.
The evening will be hosted by Manchester’s very-own Tilly Tillz, who will makes sure the audience are entertained while the competitors are tackling a range of chilli peppers.
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The first round sees competitors munch on wings coated in DevilDog’s ‘Mango, Scotch Bonnet & Lime’ sauce, which is a nice, light 400,000 Scoville units to start. Round two will be the ‘Reaper, Scorpion & 7 Pot Chilli’ sauce, which is a blend of Carolina Reaper (around 1.6 million Scoville units), Trinidad Scorpion Butch T (1.2 million units), and 7 Pot Primo (up to 1.3 million units), which makes for an extra hot sauce that will most likely cause competitors to break a sweat.
Credit: The Blues Kitchen x DevilDog Sauces
Round three is the lethal ‘Naga Viper’, a fiery combination of the Trinidad Scorpion, the Naga Morich, and the Ghost Pepper, with Asian spiced plum and raspberry.
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The legendary Caroline Reaper makes a comeback in round four, with a dash of blackberry, lemon and thyme. This pepper is red and gnarled, with a bumpy texture and small pointed tail – the devil embodied in the form of a pepper.
Not for the faint hearted, this one is super hot and the gateway to the last round.
Survivors will proceed onto the fifth and final round, and for this one, DevilDog Sauces have created a very special sauce especially for the occasion that’s made with Armageddon Chilli – clocking in at 1.3 million Scoville units, 400 times hotter than your average jalapeño – white vinegar and red bell peppers.
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Credit: The Blues Kitchen | DevilDog Sauces
What will the champion get once they’re crowned the winner? Well, first and foremost, they’ll receive the grand prize of eternal glory – but they’ll also get a nice £50 tab to spend on food and drink at The Blues Kitchen.
Don’t worry if you’re not up for the challenge, then you can just go along and watch for free, and tuck into some not-so-spicy wings too while you’re at it.
Think you’re brave enough though? You can sign up to the challenge here.
‘It means everything’ – Skof chef Tom Barnes speaks on historic Michelin star win for Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Skof chef and owner Tom Barnes has issued a statement following his first Michelin star win last night, saying it ‘means everything’.
In case you missed it, the Michelin Guide UK & Ireland ceremony for 2025 was hosted in Glasgow yesterday evening, and it was here that Manchester restaurant Skof and its chef and owner, Tom Barnes, scooped its first Michelin star in what was a monumental win for his team and the city’s culinary scene as a whole.
Manchester had only one Michelin star before last night’s ceremony, held by Mana in Ancoats – but prior to Mana, the city had famously not had a star for more than 40 years.
Skof only opened its doors to the public last May, and can be found inside an old textile warehouse just a short stroll from Manchester Victoria station.
Skof chef Tom Barnes has spoken out on his historic Michelin star win for Manchester / Credit: Cristian Barnett
Following the impressive victory last night, chef Tom Barnes took to Instagram to issue a statement shortly after the ceremony was over, sharing his gratitude to his team for helping Skof achieve such a prestigious honour.
His statement reads: “I opened Skof to share my own take on fine dining with Manchester and beyond, so to be recognised by the Michelin Guide for what we do, means everything.
“The idea of building something that people love and that celebrates this industry was the fire inside that pushed me to try again when something didn’t work, or to tweak a dish to see if an even better version could be achieved.
“This determination of mine wouldn’t have got me very far if it wasn’t shared by my team. Words will not be enough to show my thanks for their ambition, hard work and, above all, skill. Every single one of them is vital to the success of Skof and every accomplishment is theirs to claim.
“The encouragement from our guests and supporters has given us hope to keep going through a very long build and has made us smile countless times. You’ve brought so much joy into our restaurant and without you, it wouldn’t be the same. Thank you.
“To Carla and my family, you have been there for me at every step of this wild journey, this is your success too.
“And to my work family, Simon, Sam, and the support from the team at UMBEL restaurants and ASM Global, thank you for your trust and for helping me grow.”
Chef and owner Tom Barnes said a special thank you to his Skof team / Credit: Cristian Barnett.
After thanking his team, his loved ones, and his mentors within the industry, Barnes then closed out his statement by congratulating all of the other ‘amazing restaurants’ who gained and retained stars at the ceremony last night – particularly his colleagues from restaurants he’s trained at and worked in through his career.
“I hope the hangovers aren’t too bad this morning,” his statement comically concluded.
Elsewhere at the ceremony last night, Ormskirk restaurant Moor Hall became only the tenth establishment in the UK and Ireland to be awarded the hugely-coveted honour of having three Michelin stars, in what was another huge win for the North West.
Featured Image – Cristian Barnett
Food & Drink
Beloved Manchester street food venue Grub shares major update on its future
Daisy Jackson
2025 will be the last year that legendary street food venture Grub will operate from its current home in Manchester.
In a major update shared today, the enterprise – which is one of the city’s very first and most prominent street food businesses – confirmed that it will ‘cease to exist’ in its current form this winter.
Grub wrote that the building they have occupied for the last six years, on Red Bank in the Green Quarter, will be undergoing redevelopment.
And so it’ll be the end of an era for Grub – but they’re urging fans not to panic.
The much-loved venue said that it will now be ‘returning to the street’, returning to its roots as a travelling food festival, filled with street food chefs, pop-up bars and ‘unbeatable vibes’.
They wrote in their ‘big Grub update‘ that: “For too long venues, food halls & restaurants have been taking the STREET out of STREET FOOD (that includes us!) but we’re on a mission to bring it back.”
Although Grub will continue to operate on Red Bank throughout summer, they’ve already lined up some other venues to host events at this year, and are on the look-out for even more.
The venue’s independent cinema, Cultplex, will move to a new home, and its sister site Fairfield Social Club will continue to operate from Angel Meadows unaffected by Grub’s closure.
Grub will ‘cease to exist’ at its current home in Red BankGrub paved the way for street food in ManchesterCredit: The Manc Group
Grub wrote: “We just wanted to let you know 2025 will be GRUB’s final year at our current home. But DON’T PANIC!
“The only reason for this is that our fantastic landlords (who have supported us through thick & thin) are getting round to re-developing the building we live in.
“This was supposed to happen in 2021 so we’re very happy we’ve managed to hang around for 6 years.
“So GRUB at Red Bank will cease to exist in winter 2025 but that isn’t the end for GRUB as we’ll be returning to THE STREET.
“Yes GRUB will go back to being a travelling food fest packed with the best street food chefs, pop up bars & unbeatable vibes that only a proper street food market can deliver.
“For too long venues, food halls & restaurants have been taking the STREET out of STREET FOOD (that includes us!) but we’re on a mission to bring it back. We’ve already got venues lined up for summer but we’re on the lookout for more, it’s going to be lovely.
“Before that all happens we’ll be having one last SMASHING summer at Red Bank with a few foodie surprises & special events. More news soon!
“Thank you one & all for your support over the many years we’ve been chugging along, it really is very much appreciated and we hope to see you soon. Much love”
Emily Sergeant -
3rd November 2021 
