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I was surprised to receive an invite to the ‘reopening’ of The Alchemist in Spinningfields recently. I didn’t even know it had closed, much less that it was to reopen double its size and with a full food menu. Probably because Spinningfields isn’t an area I spend much time. I’d never eaten in The Alchemist before either, though I had been for cocktails …

Despite being a lover of Spanish food it’s not a cuisine I often eat outside of Spain. Mainly because most of our restaurants are usually full of the same old clichéd dishes that are inevitably never as good as the real thing. Also, so much traditional Spanish cooking is fairly simple but relies on the quality of ingredients and I don’t think …

If only there were more days in the week, or at least a few more hours in the day. I’d almost certainly visit The Farmers Arms more often. It’s somewhere I never get bored of going back to but just don’t seem to find the time to go often enough. Although, time does appear to stand still in Darcy Lever where the …

If you asked 100 foodies to guess where MasterChef judge and well known lover of Asian food John Torode ate the ‘best Thai food outside of Thailand’, chances are precisely none of them would’ve said Bolton. “Hand on heart it was the best Thai food I have had outside of Thailand. Maybe it is Bolton’s hidden gem.” – John Torode That’s …

Of the almost 20 supper clubs I attended last year, one of my favourites was ‘Chicken Soup For The Soul‘. An Israeli/Middle Eastern inspired feast cooked up by Sue Waxman at her Prestwich home. When she announced her next event ‘Balabusta Delight’ would feature some of her favourite Jewish dishes I snapped up tickets immediately. With more guests than ever before the table …

Ask anybody who’s into food for dining recommendations in Harrogate and the answer almost always includes Van Zeller. A partnership between David Moore – who has two Michelin stars from London restaurants Pied à Terre and L’Autre Pied – and head chef Tom van Zeller, who’s worked with the likes of Raymond Blanc, Pierre Koffman and Tom Aikens. Not only loved by diners, Van Zeller has …

What you’re about to read may just be the most pointless restaurant ‘review’ ever written. As no more than a week after my visit to Cuckoo in Prestwich it was announced that top chef Mary-Ellen McTague would be taking over the kitchen for a three-month residency. Just as well really as I wasn’t overly impressed with the food at the time. …

When planning a trip to Harrogate last year, my first choice for main evening meal was fine-dining restaurant Van Zeller. However, after stumbling upon Norse, a Nordic inspired restaurant with stunning Noma-esque dishes and a glowing Jay Rayner review, I just had to go. Rearranging Van Zeller for lunch the following day, I booked Norse for the Friday evening. Located within Baltzersen’s, a café …

They say, whoever they are, that you should never go back to somewhere you have fond memories of, in case it’s not as good as you remember. Perhaps I should have listened to them. The highlight of our trip to Portugal’s Algarve coast in 2012 was the tiny seafood restaurant without a menu, A Tasquinha do Rossio. A year later, despite …

I love food and I love beer, but I hate the cold. So I was torn as to whether a freezing railway arch at the end of January was the ideal time and place for a beer festival in Manchester. But I trusted the people involved and rightly so, as what Grub Winter Beer Fest lacked in temperature, it more than made …

There were glimpses of the Drunken Butcher’s fancier, more refined side at his Spanish themed supper club last year. But even that didn’t quite prepare me for the transformation from hearty, comfort food to the fine dining tasting menu at his very special ‘One Night Stand’ event last November. Not only was it Iain’s most ambitious menu to date, it was by …

Despite being one of my favourite places to eat in Manchester and the restaurant I ate at the most in 2014, I haven’t written about Mughli for ages. Not because they weren’t great experiences, far from it, I just didn’t feel there was much more to say that I’d not already said here. However, I couldn’t resist sharing my last two visits, …

After running a successful food and beer pairing event at the newly opened Wigan Central, I brought my ‘Christmas Food, Beer & Festive Cheer’ to one of my favourite places two days later; Great Ale Year Round in Bolton Market’s Lifestyle Hall. Despite tickets being cheaper, the Bolton event proved to be even better than the original in Wigan. Mostly thanks …

‘Twas the (last Friday) night before Christmas and Manchester street food pioneers Guerrilla Eats were throwing a party at their semi-permanent home on Blossom Street. Combining two of the things I love most, street food and craft beer. The beer list was impressive; with twenty lines – of both keg and cask beers – from great local breweries such as Quantum and …

I wasn’t feeling particularly festive when I woke up the morning after the Arepa!Areapa!Arepa! Christmas Supper Club, possibly because I was nursing a slight hangover. But there was no time for pity as I had another party to attend, this time the Drunken Butcher’s Xmas party. It didn’t look much like a party when we arrived to be honest, there was …