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
Salford industrial estate bakery with incredible cinnamon rolls to open new site
Daisy Jackson
Mayya Bakery, a local ‘hidden gem’ with incredible cinnamon rolls, is set to open a brand-new bakery that will make it significantly less hidden.
Until now, Mayya has been quietly trading from an industrial estate in Salford, where it’s built a great reputation for its bakes despite an off-the-beaten-track-location and relatively little social media fanfare.
It opened its doors in 2024, operated by former primary school teacher Meli and her husband, dentist Oguz.
This is an artisan bakery with a real Turkish flare, with plenty of comfort food like freshly made gözleme (or gozzies for short) and bigger dishes if you fancy sitting in.
Their counters are stuffed with sweet bakes, like their perfect cinnamon rolls, plus loaves, babka, cookies, and homemade cheesecake.
For bigger dishes, you’ll find breakfast dishes like Turkish eggs, Simit (a traditional sesame bagel) breakfasts, and menemen.
The counters at Mayya Bakery’s current locationIncredible cheesecake at Mayya BakerySigns on Chapel Street Salford for the new Mayya Bakery
And now Mayya Bakery has revealed plans to open a new location in a much more prominent spot in town, with signs appearing in the windows of a unit on Chapel Street.
The sign reads: “Everything is homemade – including this picture.”
It also quips: “They called us hidden gem… not hidden anymore.”
Mayya will open on Chapel Street soon – keep an eye on our food and drink Instagram page The Manc Eats for the latest.
Sacha Lord set to back local hospitality again with money behind the bar of one Greater Manchester pub
Danny Jones
Local figure Sacha Lord is once again looking to help support Greater Manchester’s food and drink scene once again this spring by putting a total of £2.5k behind the bar of one lucky pub.
Well, let’s be honest, we’re about to be the real lucky ones.
It’s far from the first time that the Night Time Economy Advisor has done this, having previously put sizeable sums towards shared tabs on a few ocassions over the last few years.
Lining up his next handout for this coming early May bank holiday (perfect timing), it’s going to be a super and potentially very sloppy Sunday…
Tell me your favourite pub in Greater Manchester.
Bank Holiday Sunday 3rd May, I’ll be turning up and putting £2500 behind the bar.
Sharing the video above online earlier this week, the 54-year-old simply wrote, “Tell me your favourite pub in Greater Manchester. Bank Holiday Sunday, 3rd May, I’ll be turning up and putting £2500 behind the bar.”
The message is as straightforward as ever: “Support your local pub.”
Now obviously, the fact that people can reply with their go-to boozers and help influence the decision is one thing – something that has certainly always created an attraction each time he’s done this – but it’s also just a good way of marketing these watering holes to begin with.
Whether or not someone’s favourite public house tucked away in one of the 10 boroughs, or their bar of choice here in Manchester city centre, ends up being selected or not, it’s obviously great publicity having their names plastered on a notable social media account.
This is especially so when you see how much the post itself ends up being reshared and the overall exposure Lord ultimately lends them via creating such a big crowd discussion.
Here’s hoping we get proper beer garden weather over that long weekend.
It’s also worth noting that the further support stunts like this have helped garner support for other regional businesses – in particular, indies that are battling the cost of living crisis and so many other challenges within the sector – has proved crucial for some places to stay open to begin with.
A good example is the Thirsty Korean, who teamed up with the Altrincham-born entrepreneur to cover hundreds of bills back in 2023, and has now been able to expand into a larger venue down the road from their original Chorlton location.
The obstacles facing the hospitality industry remain varied and numerous, but gestures like this can go a long way to helping prop up those who need it.
Georgina Pellant -
30th July 2021 
