News

Rules explained as Greater Manchester added to Tier 2 in new COVID alert system

In the new tier system outlined by the Prime Minister yesterday, which separates areas by their risk level ('medium', 'high', and 'very high'), Greater Manchester and its 10 boroughs were placed into the second category, or Tier 2.

The Manc The Manc - 13th October 2020
Number 10 – Boris Johnson announced the new tier system this week

So, now we know.

After days and weeks of speculation, rumour and hearsay surrounding the prospect of a second lockdown, the people of Greater Manchester have finally been given an official answer as to whether they can continue living their lives and running their businesses.

It’s a ‘yes’… but with a warning.

In the new tier system outlined by the Prime Minister yesterday – which separates England regions by their risk level (‘medium’, ‘high’, and ‘very high’) – Greater Manchester and its 10 boroughs were placed into the second category, or Tier 2.

The headline, of course, is that we avoided the harshest measures.

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Cities and towns within Tier 2 do not have to close hospitality or non-essential stores – which means that pubs and restaurants will continue to trade as normal, despite initial fears they’d be shut down.

The government has now published the guidance for each tier online, as well as a full list of the regions that fall within each category.

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Number 10 – Speculation has been rife as to which category Greater Manchester would find itself a part of

Tier 1 – ‘Medium’ risk

Most places in England have been categorised in Tier 1 – areas where the risk of COVID transmission is considered ‘medium’.

Regions placed in Tier 1 must continue to follow national rules, which include:

  • The Rule of Six: People must not meet in groups larger than six, indoors or outdoors
  • A 10pm curfew for hospitality
  • Businesses and venues selling food for consumption off the premises can continue to do so after 10pm as long as this is through delivery service, click-and-collect or drive-thru.

Many businesses and education facilities in this tier are permitted to remain open (except for the likes of nightclubs), with funerals and weddings permitted to go ahead with restrictions on attendee numbers.

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Any location in England not listed below (in Tier 2 or Tier 3) is under Tier 1.

Number 10 – Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty isn’t convinced the current measures go far enough, and believes more restrictions may be necessary later down the line

Tier 2 – ‘High’ risk

Greater Manchester has been placed in Tier 2.

This is for areas with a higher level of infections. Anyone within these regions must adhere to the rules of Tier 1 (Rule of Six, 10pm curfew etc) but also consider the following guidance:

  • People must not meet with anybody outside their household or support bubble in any indoor setting, whether at home or in a public place
  • People can meet in groups of up to 6 outside – including gardens
  • People should aim to reduce the number of journeys they make where possible and avoid peak times and public transport.

Businesses, pubs and bars remain open.

Currently, the places in England listed in Tier 2 include:

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Cheshire

  • Cheshire West and Chester; Cheshire East

Greater Manchester

  • Manchester; Bolton; Bury; Stockport; Tameside; Trafford; Wigan; Salford; Rochdale; Oldham

Warrington

  • Warrington

Derbyshire

High Peak – the wards of:

  • Tintwistle; Padfield; Dinting; St John’s; Old Glossop; Whitfield; Simmondley; Gamesley; Howard Town; Hadfield South; Hadfield North

Lancashire

  • Blackpool; Blackburn with Darwen; Burnley; Chorley; Fylde; Hyndburn; Lancaster; Pendle; Preston; Ribble Valley; Rossendale; South Ribble; West Lancashire; Wyre

West Yorkshire

  • Leeds; Bradford; Kirklees; Calderdale; Wakefield

South Yorkshire

  • Barnsley; Rotherham; Doncaster; Sheffield

North East

  • Newcastle; South Tyneside; North Tyneside; Gateshead; Sunderland; Durham; Northumberland

Tees Valley

  • Middlesbrough; Redcar and Cleveland; Stockton-on-Tees; Darlington; Hartlepool

West Midlands

  • Birmingham; Sandwell; Solihull; Wolverhampton; Walsall

Leicester

  • Leicester; Oadby and Wigston

Nottingham

  • Nottinghamshire; Nottingham City

Tier 3 – ‘Very high’ risk

Tier 3, the ‘very high’ alert level, has seen the reintroduction of restrictions for areas where the virus is spreading quickly.

Locations in this category must:

  • Close pubs and bars; although restaurants may remain open
  • Ban wedding receptions
  • Avoid mixing with anybody outside a household or support bubble in any indoor or outdoor setting
  • Avoid travelling outside the area except for work, education and youth services

Overnight stays in this area are also banned. Residents of Tier 3 locations should also avoid staying overnight in other parts of the UK.

According to the government, “consultation with local authorities will determine additional measures,” which means local leaders will need to decide if further restrictions will be necessary in the event that “baseline” measures prove ineffective.

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According to Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, tougher rules may soon be required.

Currently, the only region included in Tier 3 is Liverpool City:

Liverpool City Region

  • Liverpool; Knowsley; Wirral; St Helens; Sefton; Halton

These measures will be kept under constant review, including a four-week “sunset clause” for interventions in Tier 3 areas.

Read the guidance in full on the government website.

News

This Manchester restaurant serves an all-vegan roast with ‘meat’ and all the trimmings

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

A Manchester vegan restaurant is serving an all-vegan roast with mock ‘meat’ and all the trimmings, putting an ethical twist on the British Sunday classic. Keen to see if it’s worth the hype, I took a trip down to try it out for myself – and left feeling pretty impressed.

Not being a vegan personally, I enlisted the help of two friends of the plant-powered persuasion to accompany me to get a real feel for every option.

Suffice it to say, it was a success and, whilst I won’t be converting to veganism any time soon, it’s nice to know that there are options out there for when I feel like being ‘good’.

With three different roast choices on offer, Wholesome Junkies is the first restaurant in the city centre to venture past the usual vegan choices of mushroom Wellington and roasted squash and go all-out with a variety of mock meat options.

Meats have been created in partnership with Liverpool vegan brand CB Sushi, using their mock beef and turkey joints to give vegans the feeling of a ‘proper’ roast.

Glazed ‘turkey’ roast at Wholesome Junkies with Mabel’s vegan Yorkshire puddings and all the trimmings. / Image: The Manc Eats
‘Beef’ roast at Wholesome Junkies with onion gravy, Mabel’s vegan Yorkshire puddings and all the good bits. / Image: The Manc Eats

Think glazed ‘turkey’ filled with stuffing, medallions of ‘beef’ and crispy deep-fried oyster mushrooms, all served with lashings of onion gravy, ‘buttered’ seasonal greens, glazed carrots and parsnips, deep-fried stuffing balls, crispy roasties and fluffy Yorkshire puddings created by Mabel’s.

Having tried all three, I have to say that my favourite was the turkey. It’s actually my least favourite meat to eat, so it was something of a surprise to find I enjoyed the vegan version much more than the real thing.

The texture was spot on, and there was none of the dryness you typically associate with the bird. Washed down with a pint of locally-brewed Cloudwater Fuzzy Hazy Pale Ale, it absolutely hit the spot.

The deep-fried oyster mushroom roast at Wholesome Junkies. / Image: The Manc Eats
Cloudwater’s Fuzzy Hazy Pale Ale. / Image: The Manc Eats

Coming in a close second was the deep-fried oyster mushroom roast, which was so packed with flavour that it almost felt like I was eating fried chicken with my Sunday dinner.

As for the beef, it didn’t really do it for me – tasting more of herbs than red meat, but then, I don’t suppose there are many vegans queueing up the block for a bloody meat substitute.

Wholesome Junkies has long been a favourite with Manchester vegans. First shooting to fame in 2018 with an appearance on BBC2’s Million Pound Menu, owner Chelsea appeared on the show to ask for 95,000 to open her own vegan junk food restaurant.

Prior to that, she’d been running her Wholesome Junkies concept as a street food pop-up at sites like Grub and Ancoats General Store.

Whilst her bid to impress the BBC judges was not successful at the time, the TV appearance put her on the map and within a year she had her own Arndale market stall.

Read more: This hidden Manchester pasta and dumplings restaurant has just made the Michelin Guide

Fast forward a few more, and in 2022 she opened her first bricks and mortar restaurant – taking over the former Umezushi site at 4 Mirabel Street.

Since moving in, she’s completely transformed it: decking it out in bright colours and filling every corner with quirky little ornaments and decorations.

Strings of fairy lights, hanging mushrooms and frames filled with pictures from local artists all make the small space feel incredibly warm and welcoming – and our visit the restaurant was absolutely packed.

Read more: Tim Martin is blaming ‘people drinking at home’ for UK Wetherspoons closures

At a time when so many vegan restaurants seem to be closing, it was an absolute joy to see so many bums on seats during our visit.

Veganuary might almost be over, but if you’re a vegan – or simply just trying to cut down on your meat consumption – it’s definitely worth giving this one a go.

Feature image – The Manc Eats

News

Meet the couple who quit their jobs to sell sandwiches from their Northern Quarter flat

Georgina Pellant Georgina Pellant

If you’re a fan of things in bread (and honestly, who isn’t) then there’s a new Italian sandwich dealer in town that you absolutely need to get down your neck.

Serving up some of the best butties we’ve had in a long time, it’s called Ad Maiora and is being run by a couple who are making absolutely everything out of a kitchen in their little Manchester flat.

Collected from a nondescript door on a Norther Quarter back street, we’re talking giant focaccia-style loaves generously stuffed with premium ingredients like ‘nduja, spicy Tuscan sausage, smoked scamorza, mortadella, burrata and red pesto.

The brainchild of Sardinian couple Daniela Steri and Enrico Pinna, all of their sandwiches are made using only top quality Italian ingredients with a total of nine different options to choose from.

From the vegan-friendly La Nonna (Italian hummus, roasted aubergine, olives, sundried tomatoes and rocket) to a huge array of different cheesy and meaty delights, fillings include parma ham, gorgonzola DOP, truffled brie, Milano salami and crumbled pistachios.

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

Their bread is baked freshly by hand each morning using a tiny domestic oven, and they’re already baking up to 60 loaves of schiacciata (a traditional Tuscan flatbread) a day to keep up with the demand – putting just four in the oven at a time, over and over again.

Read more: This Manchester pub is hosting an all-you-can-eat Valentine’s cheese night

On our visit, the pair tell us that they moved over from Sardinia to the UK six years ago and first tried living in London for a year (they say they hated it) before making the move up to Manchester.

In that time, they say they’ve fallen in love with the city of Manchester and with the Northern Quarter in particular.

Inspired by the brilliant food scene in their area, two months ago they both decided to pack in their jobs and pursue their own business instead – and haven’t looked back since.

Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats

Previously, Daniela tells us she’d worked at hotel Dakota in housekeeping for three years whilst her partner, Enrico, had been employed at Ezra and Gil. Despite their hospitality experience, though, neither of them had made bread before.

That doesn’t seem to be holding them back, though, and demand for their sandwiches is rocketing as word spreads about the new homemade Italian butties for sale on a Manchester backstreet.

Read more: Northern Belle in Manchester – one of the world’s most luxurious trains with £440 tickets and seven-course dinners on board

Available to order via Deliveroo for collection or delivery, use the code ADMAIORA5 to get a cheeky five pounds off your order courtesy of The Manc.

Feature image – The Manc Eats

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