If you fancy dining out a little differently, this cookery school in Didsbury is just the ticket.
Called Food Sorcery, classes here are run by a team of professional chefs – all with their own specialist areas of expertise.
Down at the school, they host a range of classes, giving you the opportunity to learn how to create your own restaurant-quality food from scratch at home.
Under the guidance of a professional chef, you can try your hand at a whole host of cuisines from Japanese and Sri Lankan to Thai, Italian and French – but we opted for their ‘cooking together’ class, an easy-going option that’s designed to be just as fun as it is informative.
The outside terrace at Food Sorcery has some glorious views overlooking the river
Perfect for doing with a mate or a date, the dishes you’ll learn to cook here often change regularly.
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On the night we went down, they were running a class on preparing an Asian-inspired menu of pulled chicken salad and caramelised lime fish. Big fans of that style of food, we got stuck right in.
Greeted with a glass of prosecco on arrival and some tasty little nibbles to pick at, after a quick meet and greet we seated ourselves down on the outside terrace which has some glorious views overlooking the river.
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Bubbles done, we made our way inside for a quick Q&A with our expert chef for the night, before getting stuck into preparing our first course: the aforementioned pulled chicken salad.
And so the class began: with us peeling ribbons off carrots, chopping and slicing shallots, coriander, peppers, and mixing in sugar to a pre-prepared dish of fish sauce and sesame oil to create the most simple yet delicious dressing (whilst quietly thinking, this is so lovely, why don’t I ever bother to do this at home?)
All of your ingredients are laid out on your station for you ready to start cookingSome of our handiwork on the evening, a fried rice dish and a pulled chicken salad
At times, it felt a little like a race – there are no cooking instructions on your station, so you really have to pay attention to what you’re being told as you go along. That said, it’s made as easy as possible with all of your ingredients and equipment laid out ready straight from the beginning – including some hunks of pre-cooked chicken that we merely had to pull apart with our hands and lay into the serving dish.
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Across from us, there was a couple on a first date who looked to be having the very best time – laughing and joking as they put together their meal before sitting down in the communal dining area to share it together.
Salads devoured and we’re back into the kitchen and onto the main event. This time, we were really cooking – not just assembling.
Once the heat is on in the pan, the pressure goes up a little bit and whilst we definitely over-watered our caramel sauce at one point our friendly chef was on hand to help advise how to correct it.
Preparing out caramelised fish by searing it in the pan before making our sauce The stations at Food Sorcery are well spaced out and all set up for cooking in pairs
Disaster averted, we ended up with a really tasty main course and a whole new skill set under our belts. Safe to say, cooking with raw cane sugar can finally be ticked off the bucket list.
After securing a few drinks from the bar to help us get over the pressure of wanting (and failing) to get it all absolutely perfect, we sat down at the table to enjoy our caramelised fish and realised it was much, much better than we thought it was going to be. That is to say, it was lovely and we (correction, I) was stressing out over nothing.
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To finish, the team had pre-prepared a gorgeous passion fruit creme dessert for us which we got stuck into with vigour. Sweet and moreish, the little ramekins were emptied in a matter of moments alongside further gin and tonics in what made a perfect end to the evening.
For those looking for a fun activity to do together, we couldn’t recommend the experience more.
Not only are you guided by an expert but all the ingredients are provided for you and you don’t even need to bother with the washing up – an absolute winner in our books.
Having had a taste, we’re already eyeing up our next class. Baking, maybe, or Japanese. We can’t quite decide.
Food & Drink
The best picky bits and Christmas party food in M&S this year
Daisy Jackson
Can some scientist please explain why us Brits have such a compulsion to roll out the picky bits and party food (ESPECIALLY if it comes from M&S) as soon as there’s a vague sense of occasion?
Birthday party? Picky bits. BBQ season? Picky bits. Had a long day at work and can’t decide what to have for tea but definitely don’t want a Pot Noodle? Picky bits.
And when Christmas or New Year’s Eve rolls around, the urge to consume random little morsels of food intensifies.
Whether it’s British classics squashed down into tiny portions and jammed on a buffet table or fancy little appetisers you hand around a party, we just can’t get enough.
Which is why we’ve raided the shelves at M&S once again to bring you all the best picky bits and party food available for Christmas 2024.
As for prices, the more premium M&S Collection party food items are generally priced at £7.50, with the more standard range coming in at £5.50 each, and all available on a four-for-three offer.
And yes, you might end up spending an obscene amount of money on miniature food items that won’t do a single thing to quell an appetite, but my gosh, won’t you feel like a prim and proper princess when you slide those teeny weeny fish and chips in front of your guests.
Let’s begin.
Brits abroad
M&S party food 2024 – chicken shawarma and Middle Eastern flatbreadsM&S party food 2024 – patatas bravas stacks
M&S might be the most staunchly British institution of modern times, but us Brits also love nothing more than to lift the culinary expertise of other countries onto our own plates.
And this year is no exception – M&S has whipped up a whole host of party food inspired by international favourites.
From little potato stacks that pay homage to everyone’s favourite tapas dish, patatas bravas, to tiny chicken shawarma kebabs to Middle Eastern Flatbreads, if you want a little spice on your Christmas buffet, they’ve got it.
Well aren’t you a fancy pants?!
‘Ooooh, someone’s doing well’ comes the chorus of praise as you hand around your mini prawn thermidor (these tiny gold trays even have a cheddar cheese crumb on top).
‘Wow, that must’ve been a good Christmas bonus’ they say as they accept a mini coquille St Jacques, complete with extra-small shell.
If upper middle class was a nibble, it would probably look like these guys.
Little Britain
Mini scampi and chips, and miniature pies at M&SMini Yorkshire puddings and cheese and ham scones from M&S party food range
Imagine all your classic British dishes, pub food, Sunday dinners, comfort meals cooked by your mum – you picturing them? Okay, now imagine them again but really, really small.
Now you’ve got a good idea of the items in our next M&S party food category.
There are mini Yorkshire puddings filled with slow-cooked beef, red wine and mushroom jus, and a garlic and herb crumb.
There are neat little cheddar and ham scones, miniature pies filled with beef and ale or chicken and leek, and even picky bit-sized scampi and chips portions, complete with newspaper wrapping. Cute!
The classics
M&S prawn selectionM&S pigs in blankets and halloumi in blanketsM&S Smoked salmon appetisers
These are not just buffet food items, these are M&S buffet food items, and that means they come with a bit of pizzazz.
Yes, there are pigs in blankets, but there are also halloumi pigs in blankets (which they weirdly haven’t made vegetarian) served with a hot honey drizzle.
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We love a battered prawn on a party food selection and M&S has done a selection of tiger prawn nibbles – prawn baguette toasts, prawn and coconut bites, and prawn and potato lattice balls. The word prawn is starting to look weird.
There are also smoked salmon appetisers, where smoked salmon strips are rolled around a honey roast salmon mousse. Hope ya like very small fish!
I’d love to be a fly on the wall when the M&S party food is discussed, because I’m pretty sure no one around that boardroom table is telling them ‘No, Arabella, that’s a silly idea’. Arabella does what she wants.
This year, she’s heard all the ‘girl dinner’ trends and gone ‘WE SHOULD MAKE A CHRISTMAS DIP’ – the result is a turkey feast dip topped with shredded turkey and bacon, cranberry sauce, cranberries and a stuffing crumb. WHY, ARABELLA?!
They’ve also brought back the novelty-shaped bao, this year in two festive shapes – penguins and polar bears.
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And of course you can still get miniature steak sandwiches and I don’t know why that makes me so uncomfortable, but it does.
A very yeehaw Christmas
M&S Mini beef burgersBuffalo chicken croquettes and New York deli spring rolls at M&S
Giddy up, cowboy, it’s time for the rootin’-tootin’ M&S party food show!
Everyone’s favourite fancy supermarket has gone stateside this year, drawing inspiration from the healthiest of nations… America.
There are Buffalo chicken croquettes, served with an extra Buffalo sauce dip, mini beef burgers (always the hardest thing to eat), and, weirdly, spring rolls inspired by a New York deli?
They’ve shoved salt beef and sauerkraut into a spring roll and then served it with a mustard and gherkin dip. You do you, M&S.
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Now you’re just showing off
M&S party food 2024 – the charcuter-tree. Credit: The Manc Group
You’re presenting your charcuterie on a flat board? Peasant.
Real fancy people present their cured meat and cheese selection in the shape of a Christmas tree (obviously) and M&S have got a build-you-own kit available for £25.
An extra shout-out to the security-locked Serrano ham joint, which came with its own block and knife, for another statuesque meat buffet option.
10 of the best new bars and restaurants to open in Greater Manchester in 2024
Daisy Jackson
Another year has ticked by and once again, Greater Manchester has proven itself as a global heavyweight when it comes to new bars and restaurants.
As the city expands ever-further, with new neighbourhoods springing up like daisies, there’s been a flurry of new openings across the city region.
From the small teams painstakingly hand-rolling pasta or laminating croissants to much larger ventures flinging out sunny brunch dishes or slabs of meat, there’s been something to excite just about every palate in 2024.
With so many new spots to check out, you’re bound to have missed a few – so we’ve pulled together our 10 favourites to add to your visit list in 2025.
Cacio e pepe pasta. Credit: The Manc GroupSoup and a steak sandwich. Credit: The Manc GroupThe Paris hot chocolate. Credit: The Manc Group
In smaller Greater Manchester towns, new openings don’t come along every day – which might be why Cafe Continental caused such a stir initially when it launched in Stalybridge.
But as the months have ticked on this neighbourhood restaurant has proved that it’s far from a flash in the pan.
It looks like it’s been plucked from a pretty Parisian back street and has a menu that will stand the test of time, from a cacio e pepe pasta with an egg yolk on top to spicy twice-fried chicken buns and steak sandwiches.
That’s alongside excellent cocktails and one of the internet’s most viral sweet treats, a proper Paris hot chocolate, where you dollop thick cream into dainty cups of molten hot chocolate.
Blacklock’s cocktail trolley which roams their new Manchester restaurants. Credit: The Manc GroupBlacklock’s all-in platter outside their new Manchester restaurant. Credit: The Manc Group
Easily up there with the biggest openings in 2025 is Blacklock, which ventured out of its native London for the first time this year and landed in a basement unit on Peter Street.
Here, it’s all about the meat-heavy menu of reasonably-priced British classics, affordable cocktails, and its legendary white chocolate cheesecake scooped straight from the dish and dolloped onto your plate.
Blacklock is a modern take on a traditional chop house and proudly offers ‘hearty fare and rowdy comfort’.
A menu highlight is their all-in platter, where chops are piled high on charcoal-grilled flatbread which soaks up the meat juices. Delicious.
Pasta and pizzetta dishes at Onda in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Surely one of the greatest success stories in recent years, Onda has gone from a humble kitchen within Exhibition food hall, to a resident at New Cross in Ancoats, to its very own shiny restaurant at Circle Square in the blink of an eye.
From this massive new space, you can watch a team of chefs carefully making fresh pasta in the open kitchen, and glimpse their now-viral tiramisu drawer in action.
Even six months down the line, it’s damn-near impossible to book a table here, with people still waiting months to sample their delicious pastas, including fan favourites like nduja and vodka sauce, cacio e pepe bucatini, and a selection of thick-crusted pizzettas.
The tiramisu might have sent their popularity sky-high, but the quality and prices here prove that it deserves every bit of success coming its way. This place is not a novelty.
Rudy’s, Prestwich and Altrincham
Rudy’s in Altrincham. Credit: The Manc GroupRudy’s Prestwich. Credit: The Manc GroupRudy’s opened two new restaurants in Greater Manchester this year
Some might think that Rudy’s is getting a little big for its boots, now with 29 restaurants across the UK – properly impressive growth considering they were just a tiny pizzeria in Ancoats less than a decade ago.
But these top-quality Neapolitan-style pizzas are the stuff of legend for good reason and are pulling in big crowds in every suburb they land in.
This year alone they’ve launched new restaurants in Altrincham and another in Prestwich, the latter of which has gone into a vacant bank building on the high street of the Greater Manchester suburb.
Will anything ever stop these guys in their tracks? Doubt it…
Medlock Canteen, Deansgate Square
Fresh baguettes stuffed with rotisserie chicken straight out of the oven. Credit: The Manc GroupInside Medlock Canteen. Credit: The Manc Group
Bottomless coffee, rotisserie chicken, epic sandwiches, schnitzels, and big brekkies, all served in a delightfully mid-century modern interior – we were excited for Medlock Canteen before the doors even opened.
Moving into the skyscraper neighbourhood of Deansgate Square, this place comes from the same team behind Madre (the Mexican restaurant at Kampus) and Belzan (one of Liverpool’s top restaurants).
It’s had a few rave national reviews and pulls in a steady crowd, thanks in part to its proximity to Club de Padel. Going straight from court to cocktails is a pretty dreamy Manchester evening.
They’ll even let you order a portion of whatever the staff dinner is that night for a tenner.
Companio, Northern Quarter
Companio Bakery in the Northern QuarterMaritozzi from Companio BakeryCredit: The Manc Group
It’s always been one of Manchester’s best bakeries, but its original location on the very edges of Ancoats sort of kept it a bit too out of the way.
So when Companio announced a new spot in the heart of the Northern Quarter, bringing its loaves and pastries that little bit closer, the city centre rejoiced.
On the menu you’ll find sandwiches in freshly-baked bread, maritozzi bursting at the seams with cream, delicious coffee, seasonal bakes and loads more, in a gorgeous new cafe on an NQ back street.
You can even pull up a seat right next to the bakery so you can sit and watch loaves being lovingly shaped and baked right in front of you – now that’s my kind of show.
Hive Stores, Altrincham
Hive Stores in Altrincham, Greater Manchester
It’s not every day that Greater Manchester gets a new business quite as beautiful as the bar at Hive Stores, which is filled with gorgeous antique furniture, a general store, and a cafe.
The business had previously operated as an antiques store from a ramshackle building out the back – but when this roadside space came up next door, they snapped it up and transformed it into a timeless, character-packed community cafe and bar.
You can pick up some eggs and have an espresso martini at the same time, tuck into a cheese board and a few glasses of wine, grab a Half Dozen Other pastry, or sit on the pavement with a spritz and people-watch.
It’s operated by Steven Sherratt and Gareth Wilkins and you’re guaranteed a warm welcome every time. A must-visit.
Dishes at Stow are seasonal and cooked over open fire. Credit: The Manc GroupStow in Manchester
This is the newest spot on the list, and if you’ve not already jumped on the bandwagon it’s one to add to your list for 2025.
What sets Stow apart from the rest is its innovative cooking style – no ovens, no conventional appliances, just fire and grill. Everything on the menu – even their bread and cake – is cooked over open fire.
They’ve totally transformed the space on Bridge Street too, which has at various points over the last few years been a futuristic coffee shop, a Thai BBQ restaurant, and a wine bar.
Stow is owned and operated by Matt Nellany and Jamie Pickles from Trof, who want to celebrate the ‘simplicity of great ingredients cooked over open fire with very little faff’.
Cheese and kimchi on toast at Caravan in Manchester
It would be quicker to list what Caravan doesn’t serve than what it does, but every single thing on their all-day menu is executed to the highest degree.
From brunches to sourdough pizzas, coffee to cocktails, grain bowls to brioche puddings, the menu harks from sunny New Zealand (as do its three co-founders).
Caravan is a wildly popular name down in London and finally landed here in Manchester in the summer, with a massive new 170-capacity restaurant and a full working roastery.
Menu highlights include jalapeño cornbread with chilli butter, Korean-style buttermilk fried chicken with kimchi pancakes, and, of course, fry-ups.
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RamenShop, Northern Quarter
Ramenshop in the Northern Quarter. Credit: The Manc Group
Alright this one technically isn’t a new opening, rather a rebrand – but something about that shiny new sign above the door made us fall back in love with RamenShop (formerly Tokyo Ramen) all over again.
The team who run the show here – Janven, Marc and Mark – have actually been given partial ownership of the restaurant, which is a lovely bit of positive hospitality news for a change, isn’t it?
Their concise menu sees 12-hour chicken broth bases piled high with perfect noodles, proteins and jammy eggs, including their best-selling ‘fire’ ramen, topped with crunchy koji-fried chicken, and the classic shoyu that’s topped with torched pork belly.
Georgina Pellant -
30th July 2021 
