Two of Manchester’s beloved independent eateries have announced the launch of a takeaway Christmas Day service to make the festive period a little less stressful.
Tucking into a hearty meal is no doubt one of the real highlights of Christmas day, but having to adequately plan and prepare for the whole thing to go off without a hitch, and then ensure everything is cooked to perfection, is really quite the task.
It can stress even the best of us out.
Which is why both Trof and Herd – two popular restaurants in the heart of the Northern Quarter – have today launched a service that lets you place an order for your Christmas dinner to be pre-made and collected to take all that worry away.
How brilliant does this sound?
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With “no pre-dinner stress, no big shop and more importantly, no pots to wash” Trof’s Ultimate Christmas Dinner Kit can simply be collected from the restaurant from Christmas Eve – between 10am – 4pm – and then all you’ll need to do is follow the super-simple reheat instructions for a delicious three course meal.
To start, you can chose from Celeriac & Apple Soup (truffle oil, chives) or VEChicken Liver Pate (winter chutney, sourdough toast), for the main course, it’s a choice of either Roast Cheshire Turkey (roast potatoes, bread sauce, pigs in blankets, gravy), or Mushroom & Cranberry Wellington (roast potatoes, gravy, seasonal vegetables), and then for dessert, it’s either Christmas Pudding (with brandy sauce), or Buche De Noel (chocolate yule log) with dark chocolate sauce.
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The Ultimate Christmas Dinner Kit is priced at £35 per person, and includes a bottle of Prosecco for two people.
Trof NQ
Designed to “take the stress out of Christmas day cooking” with everything prepared as much as possible so you can “enjoy more time out of the kitchen and more time getting merry after this dreadful year”, Herd’s Christmas Trimmings Hampers could be a real lifesaver.
Each hamper comes loaded with everything you need to accompany the perfect Christmas dinner.
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You can take your pick from a hamper for two (£35), four (£55), or six people (£75), and if you feel like pushing the boat out a little further, you can also add on a Herd fillet of beef wellington to you hamper for the ultimate Christmas feast.
The Christmas Trimmings Hampers are available to purchase now for collection from the 22nd – 24th December and will come with full reheating and cooking instructions, plus a little Christmas treat.
Herd NQ
Not only does this concept take huge weight off your shoulders at a busy time, but it’s also a great way to help out local / independent hospitality businesses when they truly need it more than ever and are feeling the lasting effects of lockdown.
This is brilliant and unique way to do your bit for hospitality if you can this year.
You can find out more information about Christmas offerings and place your orders via the Trof NQ website here, and through the Herd NQ website here.
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The Manc Group has partnered with Deliveroo to help local restaurants deliver during lockdown as part of our #StillServingMCR campaign.
Working alongside Deliveroo, The Manc will ensure all restaurants on the service will get the amplification they need across our social platforms. We’ll update our one million-strong audience on your latest updates and deals and we’ll create conversations with the masses about our favourite scran from your menus.
Basically, we will champion you, and we will go above and beyond to do it.
The cosy Peak District pub serving a pick’n’mix sausage and mash menu
Daisy Jackson
There’s a Peak District pub that’s turned one of Britain’s most beloved comfort foods into a full-on pick’n’mix.
Tucked away in the postcard-perfect village of Castleton, Ye Olde Nags Head is serving up a fully customisable menu of sausage and mash dishes.
We’re talking near-endless combinations of proper pub grub.
You start by choosing your sausages from a daily rotating selection (not a sentence you hear every day, but we’re into it).
Expect classics like Cumberland alongside more adventurous options like venison and mustard, or even wild boar and orange, plus a veggie sausage daily.
Then it’s onto the mash – you can go for flavours like cheese and onion, wholegrain mustard, or even black pudding mash.
Classic cumberland, mustard mash, and mushroom sauceVeggie sausage with cheese and onion mash and classic gravyTucking in
To finish? A choice of rich, hearty gravies and sauces to bring it all together, whether that’s a classic onion gravy, a peppercorn sauce, or a creamy wild mushroom sauce.
And if that wasn’t enough, you can even upgrade your bangers and mash pick’n’mix by having it all served inside a giant Yorkshire pudding.
Ye Olde Nags Head is a historic 17th-century pub, with a roaring fire in every room and cosy bedrooms upstairs.
Inside Ye Olde Nags Head pub in the Peak DistrictYe Olde Nags Head pub is near Mam Tor
It’s one of those flagstone-floored, beamed-ceilinged, mismatched-furniture type pubs that welcomes everyone in every state, whether you’re caked in mud from a hike or popping in on a coach tour.
Another of the pub’s specialties is the Derbyshire Breakfast, a hearty plate of sausage, smoked bacon, black pudding, free range egg, grilled tomatoes, field mushrooms, baked beans and fried bread.
The pub also offers takeaway breakfast butties, so you can use it for both a pre-hike stop and a post-hike pint.
Given it’s just minutes from the ever-popular Mam Tor hike, this is one pub you’ll definitely want to add to your next Peak District day out itinerary.
The hillside farm in the Peak District making its own ice cream
Daisy Jackson
Did you know there’s a 300-year-old farm in the Peak District serving up some of the freshest ice cream you’ll ever taste? And yes, you can meet the cows that made it while you’re there.
Welcome to Hope Valley Ice Cream, a family-run gem where things are kept refreshingly simple: happy cows, proper farming, and seriously good ice cream.
Set in the heart of the Peak District countryside, this place is about as wholesome as it gets.
The ice cream is made on-site in the farmhouse, literally just metres from where the dairy herd are out grazing.
You can watch the animals, wander around the farm, and then tuck into a scoop or three perched on a milk pail stool, or a picnic bench (or even a decorative tractor).
Hope Valley Ice Cream has some amazing seasonal ice creams, like lemon curd, elderflower, and blackberry, alongside all the classics and a rather delicious tiramisu.
You can grab a cone, sit down with a coffee (again, made with milk from the nearby cows), or go all in with a freshly-made waffle if you’re feeling fancy.
Takeaway tubs from Hope Valley Ice CreamYou can get a mini pail of ice creamMeet the newborn calves at Hope Valley Ice CreamTuck into your ice cream on a milk pail stoolHope Valley Ice Cream
And if you’re the type who really loves ice cream? You can actually order a full pail of it, with four huge scoops plus whipped cream and sauce.
The farm itself is run by the Marsden family, who’ve been working this land for generations. It shows in everything – they’ve created a place that feels genuinely welcoming, not just another tourist stop.
Beyond the ice cream, you’ve got plenty of reasons to stick around. There are calves (including the newest tiny arrivals), plus donkeys and pigs to say hello to.
Whether you’re heading out on a hike or just fancy a drive into the Peaks, this is one pitstop that’s absolutely worth it – and honestly, it’s worth the trip on its own.
Emily Sergeant -
19th November 2020 
