A restaurant in Manchester has said it feels ‘truly honoured’ after winning a prestigious award crowning it as one of the best for veggies and vegans in the North.
The Allotment Vegan Eatery in Manchester City Centre has taken home the gong for Best Vegetarian Restaurant North at the Food Awards England 2022.
Known for creating inventive plant-based takes on popular large plates like ‘fish and chips’ and Tom Yum soup, it has taken home the award for the second year in a row.
The famous ‘fish and chips’ at Allotment features battered banana blossom served with chunky chips, peas and homade tartare. / Image: Allotment Vegan Eatery
First opened in 2016, Allotment is owned by Anthony Sheridan and initially began life in Stockport before moving into a new home on Deansgate in the heart of Manchester.
During that time, it has shifted from offering 7 and 10-course tasting menus to a mixture of large and small plates created using locally sourced produce.
ADVERTISEMENT
It has since moved again and can now be found at Cathedral Gardens, where it overlooks Manchester’s magnificent Cathedral.
Speaking of their delight at scooping up the award for the second year running, The Allotment team shared its news on social media on Wednesday.
The team said: “We are truly honoured and humbled to have won the prestigious Food Awards England award for Best Vegetarian Restaurant North for the second consecutive year
The Sunday Roast at The Allotment. / Image: The Allotment Vegan Eatery
“The whole team at The Allotment Vegan Eatery work tirelessly behind the scenes to bring you the fresh, seasonal, flavoursome menus you know and love combined with an unrivalled setting and the relaxed friendly service we pride ourselves on.
ADVERTISEMENT
“A huge heart felt thank you to all our incredible customers who made this possible, your continued support, kind words and loyalty really do make it all worth while.
“Here’s to another incredible year in our new location at Cathedral Gardens bringing you everything you love and more.
The Food Awards England 2022 recognises the success of local professionals and establishments that continue delivering great flavours and experiences to their customers.
ADVERTISEMENT
The winners are a true reflection of high standard and customer service and are chosen by members of the general public.
Several of the awards are split into local regions to ensure that local establishments are recognised for their exceptional performance.
A Spokesperson for The Food Awards England, said: “These awards aim to thank those that work hard within the city’s food industry and contribute to making England a great gastronomic place to visit.
Image: The Allotment Vegan Eatery
“It is true that England combines tastes and flavours from all over the world and the visitors can find different restaurants, gastro pubs and bistros to meet their needs.
“These people enhance the country’s reputation nationally and internationally, and we would like to make sure that the hard work of England’s food professionals doesn’t go unnoticed.
“It was lovely to be part of this celebration and we would like to congratulate all finalists and winners for their achievements!”
Further winners in the Manchester area include:
Cookery School of the Year: Food Sorcery Cookery & Barista School (Manchester)
Best Vegetarian Establishment North: The Allotment Vegan Eatery (Manchester)
ADVERTISEMENT
Takeaway of the Year North: Zafrani Indian Takeaway (Manchester)
Caterer of the Year North: Herb & Spice (Manchester)
Café/Bistro of the Year North West: The Ginger Bistro (Preston)
Café/Bistro of the Year Overall Winner: The Ginger Bistro (Preston)
Restaurant of the Year North West: Encore (Chorley)
Feature image – The Allotment Vegan Eatery
News
Tributes paid to loyal Curzon Ashton FC fan and beloved volunteer Barry Thickett
Danny Jones
Tributes are being paid to a much-loved local football fan and loyal volunteer at Curzon Ashton Football Club, Barry Thickett, who sadly died last week at the age of 82.
Known to the majority around the Tameside Stadium and more throughout Greater Manchester’s non-league pyramid, Thickett was a long-serving supporter and assisted the club for many years.
Unfortunately, following a short period of illness which remains undisclosed, the die-hard fan passed away while most were wrapped up in the action from the FA Cup third-round ties this weekend.
Confirming the heartbreaking news with their fan base on Monday, 13 January, Curzon Ashton shared a single black-and-white image of Barry, which was met with an outpouring of heartfelt condolences.
As you can see, countless followers of ‘The Nash’ hopped on social media to pay their respects to a fan favourite figure who has been remembered, above all else, “a wonderful man” – overwhelmingly so.
Fellow fan Dr Andy Hershon commented, “I knew him via the Friday walking football. He always came to watch. Lovely bloke who loved to chat about the game. Will be sadly missed. RIP Barry”.
Multiple fans mentioned loving their “chats” with the local legend, who used to work as an area manager at the old Wilson’s Brewery in Newton Heath.
Perhaps most notably, Barry’s loved ones expressed their thanks to the club and all those posting touching tributes; his daughter Sara replied, “Thank you for such a lovely tribute. Dad would have been touched”, and son Gaz added: “Thank you for the lovely message, means a lot to the family.”
Player-manager Craig Mahon went on to write “Barry was a true gentleman and respected by all the team. Always there with his words of wisdom at half-time and full-time.
He will be sorely missed by everyone at Curzon Ashton FC. RIP Baz thanks for all you [have] done.”
Curzon Ashton are yet to announce any official plans for a Barry Thickett memorial service via the club, but he will no doubt receive an emotional observance when the National League North outfit travels to nearby Stalybridge on Tuesday, 14 Jan.
Their next home game takes place this weekend (Saturday) and we’re sure he’ll be given a proper send-off by all those who knew and loved him up on the terraces. Our thoughts go out to Barry’s family, friends and everyone at the club. Rest in peace.
Tyson Fury has announced his ‘retirement’ from boxing (again) along with a cryptic message
Danny Jones
Manchester boxer Tyson Fury has seemingly confirmed he is retiring from boxing once again for the third time?… We’re not even sure at this point.
The Wythenshawe-born juggernaut of the heavyweight division lost consecutive fights for the first time in his career following the defeat in a rematch against Oleksandr Usyk back in December 2024 and, for all intents and purposes, it looks like they may have been his final professional fight.
Having first argued that the judges favoured Usyk in the first fight due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine; Fury once again believed the decision was unfair in the second bout but, either way, he claims that the Riyadh Season showdown was his last appearance in the ring.
Taking to social media on Monday, 13 January, the 36-year-old said he wanted to keep the announcement “short and sweet”, proceeding to announce his retirement from boxing to nearly seven million followers on Instagram along with a somewhat cryptic message for them to take away with them.
If all is to be believed at this point, he seemed pretty positive and nonchalant about the whole thing. He proceeded to state that he’s “loved every single minute” of his career, adding “God bless, everybody and I’ll see you on the other side.”
There wasn’t too much to read into with his caption either, which simply read: “Thanks, it’s been a blast. Thanks to everyone who helped out along the way! Happy New Year. Jesus is king now and forever”.
However, it was the penultimate line with which he signed off that has raised an eyebrow among a lot of those reacting to the news online, as he referenced infamous highwayman and thief, Dick Turpin, who famously wore a mask to conceal his crimes during the 18th century. Interesting indeed.
People online have been speculating plenty around exactly what he might have meant with this mysterious remark but many that it could just be another nod towards the belief that he was ‘robbed’ of a victory in Fury vs Usyk 2, having claimed the latter was given an “early Christmas gift.”
Regardless, plenty are expecting it won’t be long before Fury comes back out of retirement to lace his gloves back the very second the right offer comes in for him to finally fight Anthony Joshua, even if both of them aren’t quite the dominant name they once were when the face-off was first floated.
Most crucially, the general consensus is that Tyson Fury isn’t really retiring because this, of course, isn’t the first time he’s claimed he was calling it a day.
‘The Gypsy King’ famously ‘retired’ for the first first time over a decade ago after the plans for his fight against David Haye fell apart for the second time back in 2013, making the announcement with nothing more than a few dismissive words on the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Then, in 2017, we did the dance all over again after a string of teases and ‘pranks’ towards the end of 2016 which culminated in him writing in a since-deleted post: “Been very blessed in my life & career achieve the utmost in boxing, was a epic journey along the way.
“Thanks to all the fans that supported & believed in me along the way. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did. THE END.” But it obviously wasn’t the end…
He was back in the ring by 2018 and Fury went on to declare that his 2022 win over Dillian Whyte was his farewell fight before going on to fight Derek Chisora just six months later.
You can see how people have trouble believing that it’s for real, right?
Whether or not he is being serious this time, only time will tell but one thing is for sure is that fans would still love to see him and AJ come up against each other if a fight contract were to materialise after all this time – especially as they both have a point to prove given their recent respective records.
As for Fury, one clip that came back to haunt him in the wake of the rematch against Usyk will remain a lasting memory for many of those who have followed his career from the start to now:
Georgina Pellant -
9th June 2022 
