News

The UK’s hottest wing challenge is returning at Wing Fest Manchester

It's the hottest wing challenge in the UK for a reason and only two or three people manage to complete it every year.

Sam Ridgway Sam Ridgway - 19th February 2020

Last week we announced that Wing Fest was returning to Manchester this summer after its massive debut up North last year.

The largest and most popular chicken wing festival is lathering up for 2020 and have now announced the return of its hugely popular hot wings challenge.

The two day festival, which takes place over Saturday 14th August and Sunday 15th August on First Street South in Manchester city centre, will be home to street food traders, bbq teams and pop-ups who will all be competing for the title of ‘UK’s best chicken wings’.

And for those who like their wings with a bit of extra spice, the festival’s famous hot wing challenge is guaranteed to melt your mouth.

Dr Sweetsmoke’s Lava Wing Challenge is pretty straightforward, simply eat six Lava Wings as fast as you can. You then have to last a further three minutes without drinking anything or wiping your face.

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Sound easy? Well, think again – it’s the hottest wing challenge in the UK for a reason and only two or three people manage to complete it every year.

So just how hot are these wings? Well, the last time Wing Fest tried to test what Scoville Heat Unit the sauce was, the kit they had couldn’t go high enough to measure it. Brilliant.

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They even had to tone it down a bit for legal reasons in 2016 after discovering the challenge was a little bit more dangerous than they originally imagined. However, don’t worry, you’re in safe hands in 2020.

Dr Sweetsmoke brews and strengthens his infamous Lava Sauce over a 12-month period and heat aside, they taste incredible. As do any wings you will consume at Wing Fest.

To get involved, you’ll have to purchase a festival ticket when they go live on Friday 28th February. You can then enter the challenge on site at the festival.

Make sure you RSVP to the Facebook event here, and in the mean time, get yourself signed up to the Wing Fest mailing list here (scroll to the bottom of the page) to make sure you are first to know when they are live.

News

Huge bakery chain Gail’s confirms move to Prestwich – but spells village’s name wrong in signs

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson Huge bakery chain Gail's confirms move to Prestwich - but spells village's name wrong in signage

After months of swirling rumours, bakery group Gail’s has finally confirmed it’s moving to Prestwich – but locals have spotted a glaring error at the first hurdle.

The popular artisan bakery will be moving onto Bury New Road, right in the heart of the suburb and directly opposite the new Rudy’s pizzeria.

Prestwich locals have been hearing whispers of a Gail’s arriving for a few months, and finally the London-founded cafe has stuck up signs to confirm it’s on the way.

But the sign contains one crucial mistake – it’s spelled Prestwich wrong.

The red window displays now read ‘Hello Preswich. We’ll be baking here soon’.

One local messaged Gail’s to point out the error and to say it’s ‘not a great first impression for the locals…’.

Gail’s has since confirmed it’s in the process of fixing the signs.

The arrival of both Gail’s and Rudy’s has already caused a stir in Prestwich, which has always been fiercely independent and has only a handful of chains within it (Greggs and Costa are perched by the tram stop).

In fact, one local business-owner shared a moving statement about his concerns for the future of local businesses just a few weeks ago.

Gail's has confirmed it's opening a bakery in Prestwich
Gail's has confirmed it's opening a bakery in Prestwich
Gail’s has confirmed it’s opening a bakery in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc Group

First formed in the early 1990s as a wholesale-only operation, Gail’s opened its first cafe on Hampstead High Street in 2005.

Today the brand has more than 100 sites spread across London, Oxford, Brighton and further afield, and is known more as a customer-facing cafe and bakery.

It’s famed for its freshly-baked loaves, cinnamon buns, ham and cheese croissants and coffees, and is likely to go down a storm in Prestwich.

But the signs have been causing a bit of a stir in the wrong way this weekend – in a local Facebook group, one person commented: “Not locals who own it then.”

Another described it as an ‘epic fail’.

And one person said: “Oh the DRAMA of it all.”

Someone else joked: “I cannot wait for Gais to come to Preswich.”

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Featured image: The Manc Group

News

Met Office issues snow warnings for large parts of northern England from this evening

Emily Sergeant Emily Sergeant

Greater Manchester could be waking up to a winter wonderland as weather warnings for snow and ice have been issued across northern England.

Expected to arrive anywhere from 6pm this evening (18 November) and last until around 10am tomorrow morning (19 November), the Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for snow and ice for large parts of northern England – indicating that “snow may bring disruption to a central swathe of the UK during Monday night and Tuesday morning”.

Weather forecasters say that although most snow is likely to accumulate on higher ground, with five-10 cm on ground over 200 metres, and possibly 15-20 cm over 300 metres, there is a chance that snow may settle at lower levels “within the warning area”.

The Met Office also said that this possible five-10 cm at lower levels is likely to be “more disruptive”, particularly if travelling and if the snow coincides with rush hour, but the likelihood for that is still “uncertain” at this stage.

Greater Manchester could see snow from this evening as the Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning / Credit: Geograph | Pexels

As the rain, sleet, and snow begin to clear on tomorrow morning, ice may form on surfaces that are untreated.

“We have issued yellow warnings for snow and ice as cold weather moves in from the north,” explained Andy Page, who is a Chief Meteorologist at the Met Office.

“This brings snow showers and some ice to parts of Scotland on Sunday night, and then the potential for a spell of snow to lead to disruption to some transport routes across a central swathe of the UK on Tuesday morning.”

He further added that “gusty winds” in the east also remain a “potential hazard”.

“Updates to the warnings for wintry hazards are likely, so it is important to stay up to date with the latest forecast,” he concluded.

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In addition to the severe weather warnings, a Cold Health Alert has also been issued by the UKHSA, and it covers the north of England and the Midlands right through until Thursday.

Featured Image – Benjamin Elliott (via Unsplash)

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