A huge food and drink festival is returning to Escape to Freight Island next month, as the massive food hall brings back its Katina celebrations for 2022.
Bringing together esteemed guest chefs from across the country, special supper clubs, and an exclusive Soho House cocktail bar, Katina will give foodies from Manchester a chance to immerse themselves in the country’s wider scene.
Taking place across the second weekend in June, Kantina will bring guest chefs, restaurants, and bars together from London, Sheffield, Manchester, and Birmingham to pair up with Escape to Freight Island’s existing traders for a host of special collaborations.
Image: Escape to Freight Island
Luke French, head chef and owner at the acclaimed 3 AA Rosettes and Michelin Guide 2021 recommended JÖRO in Sheffield, will host a very special and limited supper club over the weekend – combining local produce with Asian influences and pushing culinary boundaries.
Representing Manchester, Pippa Middlehurst (aka Pippy Eats of South East Asian noodle and dumpling fame) will return for a second collaboration with family-run Vietnamese restaurant Mi & Pho, whilst Mary-Ellen McTague (Eatwell MCR, The Creameries in Chorlton) teams up with Sheffield’s Bench founders, Ronnie Aronica and Jack Wakelin.
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Over at Birmingham chef Brad Carter’s One Star Döner Bar, the Michelin-starred chef will partner with the equally talented Cornerstone founder Tom Brown and renowned indie food consultant, Lap-fai Lee.
Image: Escape to Freight Island
Budgie Montoya of Sarap in London will bring his Filipino flair as he partners up with Lucky Foot, ETFI’s brand-new deep-fried and charcoal-grilled chicken trader, whilst elsewhere an event called ‘Sous Do Ray’s’ will see sous chefs from some of the most celebrated restaurants in the country deliver their own take on Voodoo Ray’s pizzas.
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Madre’s upscaled tacos will partner with AngloThai’s co founder and head chef John Chantarasak, whilst Carnival, the new grill concept to overtake Baratxuri, will be headed up by award-winning chef, butcher, restauranteur and food critic Richard Turner (ex-Hawksmoor).
And for sweet tooths, a selection from Happy Endings, famous for their ice cream sandwiches, will be available alongside offerings from Gooey and Batard.
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Elsewhere, there’ll be free-flowing beer from the Pomona Island taproom and fermented delights from a special natural wine bar hosted by Bench director Jack Wakelin.
In true Escape to Freight Island style, the venue will also host a vibrant roster of accompanying entertainment, from live performances to DJs and more throughout the weekend.
Taking place from 10 to 12 June, Kantina 2022 is free entry.
For one weekend only, guests at Escape to Freight Island will get to have one-off and unique dishes from these amazing chefs’ collaborations. www.kantinaweekender.com.
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Kantina will be hosted at Escape to Freight Island on Friday 10 June (from 4pm until 1am), Saturday 11 June (from 12pm until 1am) and Sunday 12 June (from 12pm until 9pm).
Free table reservation and more information is available on the Katina website here:
Feature image – Escape To Freight Island
News
Hundreds of staff at four Greater Manchester hospitals to strike AGAIN next week
Emily Sergeant
Another round of strikes has been called at a handful of major Greater Manchester hospitals.
Amid ongoing disputes following the first set of strikes at the end of last month, it has now been announced that more than 350 Northern Care Alliance Foundation Trust (NCA) employees – including nurses, clinical support workers and housekeepers – who are members of the union UNISON will once again walk out for three days next week.
According to the union, the dispute centres on the NCA’s use of an outside agency called NHS Professionals (NHSP) to manage overtime.
When covering staff shortages, workers are entitled to time-and-a-half pay – however in some cases, staff earn less than they would on a normal shift, and some have even been missing out on more than £80 per shift, the union added.
Operating theatre staff were previously on picket lines in June, and although an option to resolve the row was initially tabled by NCA bosses, this has now fallen through.
Hundreds of staff at four of Greater Manchester’s hospitals are set to strike next week / Credit: Stephen Andrews (via Unsplash)
This means that staff at Salford Royal Hospital, Royal Oldham Hospital, Rochdale Infirmary, and Fairfield Hospital in Bury are walking out next week on Monday 14, Tuesday 15, and Thursday 17 September.
The union’s North West regional organiser, Kevin Dolan, said the trust had given ‘no indication’ that it’s willing to re-enter negotiations, adding that operating theatre services were ‘chronically under-staffed’ and staff were choosing to work extra shifts to cover shortages.
Ahead of the August strikes, the trust declared a critical incident to help it secure extra support and keep urgent surgery running, while also announcing that some procedures would have to be postponed.
Understandably, some disruption is expected at each of the hospitals on strike days.
But Gertie Nic Philib, who is the chief people and strategy officer at the Northern Care Alliance, said that the trust will do ‘everything we can to minimise the impact on patients’ and ‘maintain high standards of care and quality at all times.’
“We also have contingency plans in place for emergency situations,” they concluded.
Featured Image – Pxhere
News
Stockport man jailed for life after kidnapping and sexually assaulting teenage girl
Emily Sergeant
A Stockport man has been sentenced to life in prison after kidnapping and sexually assaulting a teenage girl on her way home from the library.
Paul Sharpe has been sentenced to life imprisonment with an eight-year minimum term in prison after being convicted of a number of offences when subjected a teenage girl to what police called a ‘terrifying ordeal’ that lasted several hours back in May 2026.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed that the victim had been studying at Sale Library before beginning her journey home with friends at around 5:50pm and contacting her parents at 6:10pm to let them know she was on her way.
Twenty minutes later, she spoke to her boyfriend on the phone and said she was approximately five minutes away from home, but that her phone battery was about to die.
This was the last contact received from the victim that evening.
While walking along Bradgate Road in Altrincham, the victim noticed a grey Ford parked nearby and a man wearing a high-visibility jacket pressing doorbells in the area.
As she walked past, Sharpe approached her from behind, placed her in a headlock and threatened to stab her if she did not get into his vehicle.
Concerned that their daughter had not returned home, the victim’s family contacted police at 9:22pm to report her missing, and officers immediately launched an investigation to locate her.
Over the next several hours, the victim was subjected to and placed in a number of terrifying situations.
Sharpe drove the victim to several locations across Greater Manchester and Cheshire, before police located and arrested him at around 3:40am on 19 May 2026.
Following his arrested, 56-year-old Sharpe was convicted of kidnap, committing an offence with intent to commit a sexual offence, sexual assault, engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child, threats with a bladed article, and administering a noxious substance with intent to injure, annoy or aggrieve.
“This was a terrifying ordeal for a young girl who was simply making her way home,” explained Detective Inspector Karl Perry, from GMP’s Criminal Investigation Department.
“Sharpe targeted a vulnerable victim, subjected her to hours of fear and intimidation, and went on to sexually assault her.
“The victim has shown immense courage throughout the investigation and court proceedings. Through her bravery and actions, she no doubt made it harder for Sharpe to carry out whatever acts he had planned.”
Georgina Pellant -
5th May 2022 
