This Manchester woman is hosting a free Christmas dinner for people in need
"This Christmas I desperately want to reach from the streets into people's homes, where individuals may be alone or struggling to bring us all together this Christmas time."
A woman from Manchester is hosting a free Christmas dinner this December to help people who are struggling to eat and heat their homes.
She’ll be paying for all the food herself, and says that anyone is welcome – be they struggling to feed their kids, heat their houses, dealing with insobriety, loneliness, or homelessness.
Typically she spends Christmas Day out on the streets handing out food to people sleeping rough but said this year she wanted to do something even bigger to make the most impact for those who need help most.
Antonia Gough quit her job three years ago to help Manchester’s homeless, founding Homeless House after receiving financial support from Boohoo.com and I SAW IT FIRST co-founder Jalal Kamani.
Since then, she’s worked tirelessly to better the lives of those less fortunate – and says that she fears this year people will be in more need than ever due to the rising cost of living.
Every day she’s out on the streets handing out breakfast to Manchester’s homeless, including on Christmas Day.
But last year, out of a desire to help even more people, she also organised for a Christmas dinner to be cooked and served to the some of the city’s most marginalised and vulnerable at The Arc, a charitable organisation based in Manchester on Robert Street on the same road as her offices.
This Christmas she is gearing up to do it again, buying all the food herself so that people who can’t afford a meal this year for their kids “because times are so tough”, or those that are sat at home on their own, can come and enjoy a hot meal and some festive cheer.
There will be carol singing, hot breakfast and dinner, free haircuts, and even an appearance from Santa.
Antonia says that Sainsbury’s has been in touch to offer donations of table dressings and more to make the space feel really festive, and she’s also had further support from The Arc, Delphi Medical, Acorn, CGL & Emerging Futures. .
She told The Manc: “I’m not going to have a booking system, it’s just a case of if you’re struggling to heat or eat please turn up.
“The street people will be there and those who are in rehab, those who might be going through insobriety, that are sat at home on their own on Christmas Day, anybody is welcome.”
“We’re going to do breakfast in the morning at eleven and those who want to stay for dinner, we’ve got some singers.
Explaining how she has been taken aback by the kind offers of help she’s received so far, she continued: “Manchester Theatre contacted me this week and said they’ll send, they’ve heard sorry by Business Growth in Manchester that’s what we’re doing and they want to send down the kids to sing some carols.
“Sainsbury’s has been in touch and the staff want to donate anything we might need, table cloths, that sort of thing, yeah so it’s coming together to think that happened over the space of three days this week.”
However, whilst she’s doing everything she can to pull the dinner together there are a few things that she needs help with – and is hoping that someone in the local community will come forward to lend a hand to help bring this year’s Christmas dinner to life.
As she only has one tiny domestic oven and is planning to cook dinner for at least 70 people, she tells us that she’s looking for someone to provide a kitchen, some staff to help cook the meals, and someone to assist her with the delivery of meals to The Arc.
She added: “The support over the last two years from the community and our local businesses has been nothing short of incredible, which has allowed us to help thousands of people.
“This Christmas I desperately want to reach from the streets into people’s homes, where individuals may be alone or struggling to bring us all together this Christmas time.”
If you would like to get involved and offer some help this Christmas, email [email protected] or send a direct message via social media on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Feature image – Supplied
Food & Drink
Bar Shrimp announces opening date as Higher Ground team gear up for new project
Daisy Jackson
Bar Shrimp, a new seafood and cocktail bar in Manchester from the team behind Higher Ground, has officially got itself an opening date.
The hotly-anticipated newcomer will be serving cocktails, beers, and British seafood and snacks from its spot on New York Street.
As well as confirming an October launch date, the team have also shared a glimpse of the menu Mancs can expect from next month.
Bar Shrimp will be offering an Oyster Happy Hour every weekday, as well as caviar with house-cut crisps, devilled eggs, and Sussex smokie fritters.
Expect shellfish over ice, Cornish crab cocktail, bar snack classics and even beef burgers.
It comes from the same team behind Higher Ground and Flawd, headed up again by hospitality dream team Joseph Otway, Daniel Craig Martin and Richard Cossins.
And they’ve partnered with Stockport-based MasterSounds, to install a state-of-the-art custom-designed sound system with music director Lukas Stankunas curating the music programming on a weekly basis.
They say the venue will be a ‘dynamic space where the music and energy evolves throughout the evening’.
The team behind award-winning Higher Ground are opening a new seafood bar, Bar Shrimp, in Manchester
Inside, it’ll be decorated with plush-red banquettes, floor-to-ceiling drapes, and table service throughout.
Matt Pazos, Bruntwood SciTech Retail Commercial Manager, said of the announcement: “Bar Shrimp promises to be another big success for the team and we can’t wait to welcome them to Faulkner House.
“This exciting new concept, bringing together the team’s exceptional knowledge and experience of food and hospitality combined with their passion for music, will further complement the thriving community in this part of Manchester city centre.”
Walk-ins will be welcomed for drinks but reservations are encouraged for dining.
Reservations for Bar Shrimp have gone live today ahead of its official launch on Wednesday 22 October – sign up HERE.
A long-standing Italian restaurant in Trafford has sadly announced its imminent closure
Danny Jones
Another day, another bit of unfortunate hospitality news, as long-standing Greater Manchester restaurant, Little Italy in Timperley, has announced it is closing permanently very soon.
The Trafford favourite, which has been serving locals for nearly 20 years, has informed regular diners that it will sadly be closing its doors for good, with Little Italy’s final service set for later this month.
Having earned plenty of praise in its time, including being one of the few spots in and around the Altrincham area to have won a TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence in 2015, before the borough saw its foodie boom begin.
But fast forward a decade, and the Timperley institution is yet another culinary casualty to be confirmed of late, with Little Italy sharing a tear-jerking statement online.
Sharing the tragic news on social media this Friday (5 Sep), the restaurant wrote: “To all our lovely customers, it is with a heavy heart that we share some news with you all. After over 18 years of serving you all in Timperley, we will be closing our doors later this month.
“This has not been an easy decision. Unfortunately, rising costs and a significant increase in rental [costs] have made it impossible to continue in a sustainable way. As much as we love what we do, the reality is that it has become too difficult to maintain under these circumstances.
“Over the coming weeks, we will continue to cook with love and serve with the same passion as always. We would love to see you all and share one more meal, and raise a glass together.”
Safe to say that the post has been met with an outpouring of condolences and support from natives nearby and those who have travelled to enjoy their food.
Little Italy went on to add that they will detail more about their final week of business as soon as possible.
They can’t be accused of not keeping up with times and not trying to promote via social media either, as they small family-run team – headed up by Sam Cauchi, who bought the site back in 2008 – have always given things a go besides the day-to-day operation of the restaurant.
Being one of many saddened customers to respond underneath the announcement, we couldn’t possibly sum up things better than local Vanessa Nice, who said: “Look at all these amazing comments – you certainly made your mark as a home from home for the residents of Timperley.
“The end of an era will always be sad, but sometimes life and families have to move on.”
As for Cauchi and co., they signed off by simply adding: “From the bottom of our hearts, thank you for your support, kindness and friendship over the years. Timperley has been our home, and you have all been our family.
“Love from all the team at Little Italy.”
It goes without saying that we’re gutted for the gang and our thoughts are with everyone involved at this difficult time. For now, we can only say thank you to the countless Greater Manchester locations that continue to fall foul in the face of the rising pressures industry-wide. Case and point…
Georgina Pellant -
4th November 2022 
