Manchester Evening News

FESTIVE FEASTS DELIVERED

A HOST OF MANCHESTER RESTAURANT­S ARE OFFERING TO DELIVER A FESTIVE FEAST TO YOUR DOOR...

- By DAISY JACKSON

CHRISTMAS dinner can seem like a daunting task - especially for a first-timer. Cooking the turkey so that it doesn’t have the texture of a basketball, getting the roast potatoes crispy, masking brussels sprouts with enough bacon and chestnuts to trick the kids.

And all that while juggling carrots, parsnips, bread sauce, stuffing, gravy, pigs in blankets, and Yorkshire puddings.

It’s a game of skill and timing, and many of us will be tackling it on our own for the first time this year with large family gatherings on hold.

But what if you really don’t want to? You can always leave it in the hands of an expert.

Some of Manchester’s best restaurant­s have put together Christmas editions of their DIY meal kit boxes, delivering all the ingredient­s and instructio­ns you need to create a festive feast at home.

It’s a seasonal twist on all the kits that came flying out during the first lockdown.

Some also come with a flavour of the restaurant behind them, whether it’s a helping of Indian spices or a lot of cheese, making them ideal for a seasonal dinner around the big day itself.

Here are some of the best.

Trof

This Northern Quarter cafe and bar has long been a faithful hangover-slayer - though it has also been the creator of a few too.

Trof also knocks out an excellent Sunday roast that doesn’t scrimp on portions.

They’re putting all of it together into the Christmas Dinner Kit this year, the ‘ultimate can’t-be-a***dsolution’.

For just £35 per head, you’ll get three courses and a bottle of prosecco, with no big shop and no pot-washing required.

There’s celeriac and apple soup or chicken liver pate for starters, roast Cheshire turkey or a mushroom and cranberry Wellington for mains, and either a Christmas pudding or a chocolate yule log for puddings.

Find @trofnq on Instagram and follow the link in profile to order.

Elite Bistros

With six restaurant­s now under the Elite Bistros umbrella, and all showered in critical acclaim, it’s one of the north west’s finest creations.

Gary Usher’s restaurant group started to make Elite at Home boxes during the first lockdown and their popularity hasn’t wavered.

For their Christmas Day Boxed Off offering, it’s a choice of turkey, beef or butternut squash with all the trimmings.

There are three courses in every box, plus an extra helping of homemade fudge to squeeze in if you still have pudding space after the Christmas pudding soaked in whiskey and brandy.

The festive edition, which for two people is priced between £55 and £136 depending on your meat choice, sold out relatively quickly, but extras have appeared in recent weeks and been announced on Twitter.

Zouk

For a break from the traditiona­l - and let’s be honest, the turkey

fatigue can set in pretty quickly - a Christmas dinner with a twist like this is a failsafe.

Zouk’s Christmas boxes have enough food to serve six people, with two meat choices to choose from.

There’s the option of a specially marinated turkey or a leg of lamb, served with masses of trimmings given an Indian twist.

You could be tucking in to potatoes with coriander and chilli butter, sprouts in a chilli-infused oil, and carrots in a honey cumin and chilli glaze.

The kits are £100, and need to be ordered by December 14 ready for delivery on December 23.

You can place your order at zoukteabar.co.uk/shop.

The Otto-Men

Christmas dinner and street food might not seem like likely bedfellows, but Manchester’s street food operators are in a league of their own.

One of the region’s best - the Mediterran­ean-inspired Otto-Men - have built up an extensive product range of vegan and vegetarian food on their website.

It now stretches to festive feasts and treats, whether you want to order one of their ‘sexy pies’, a spiced nut roast, or the full whack three-course feast.

For £44.50 per person, the festive feast includes a crackersha­ped filo pie, a nut roast, za’atar roast potatoes, celeriac and potato puree, sprouts, caraway and cinnamon-roasted carrots, demerara and black pepper parsnips, sticky red cabbage, cauliflowe­r cheese croquettes, figs in blankets, vegan Yorkshire puddings and spiced gravy - basically, a LOT of food.

Then there’s a vegan bouche de Noel for afters. Phew.

You can see the full range of festive offerings at theottomen. com/menu/festive-feasts-andtreats.

Northcote

You want a Michelin star-worthy Christmas dinner? It’s got to be Northcote’s recipe box.

Created by renowned chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen, it will be a festive twist on the Lancashire restaurant’s popular gourmet boxes that have been shipping out since lockdown.

The exact details of Northcote’s Christmas boxes are still pending, but if you want a taste of things to come you need only look to the winter box on sale at the minute.

With multiple courses sent to your door, the winter boxes include dishes like a sweet white onion soup with Lancashire bomb cheese raviolis and chestnut crumble, and a Waterford farm salt-aged beef with marrowbone crust, smoked pancetta, mushroom bourguigno­n and beef fat ‘chip’.

This is another one that sells out fast, so make sure you’re poised to pounce when they go on sale at 12 noon every Tuesday at northcote. com.

Northern Soul

Okay, so sitting down to a filthy grilled cheese sandwich might not be totally convention­al - but then what is convention­al after such a weird year?

Usually a staple of the Manchester Christmas Markets, local street food giants Northern Soul have put together a meal kit version of their much-loved Christmas sandwich.

The Chrimbo Dinner Grill It Yourself kit - announced with a promotiona­l video with none other than Craig Parkinson (Dot from Line of Duty) - is stuffed full of filthy festive cheer.

Priced at £30 for two people, you get turkey crown, cranberry sauce, pink lady stuffing, loads of cheese, and gravy, all topped off with homemade pig in blanket lollipops, and served with a side of macaroni cheese.

There’s a veggie alternativ­e too, made with thyme-infused goat’s cheese and red onion chutney.

You can place your order at northernso­ulmcr.com/order-now/

Hawksmoor

Hawksmoor’s ‘at home’ offering was always one of the country’s best, and most indulgent, and they’re stepping things up for Christmas.

In the comfort of your own home (which means pyjamas all day if you like) you’ll go from pre-dinner cocktails to smoked salmon and champagne, to fillet steaks with sides and a lovely bottle of wine.

Then there’s a sticky toffee pudding to share for afters. Each box comes with easy-to-follow instructio­ns and access to tutorial videos from executive group chef Matt Brown.

Feeding two very hungry people, the box is £165 with drinks, or £105 without, and is available with nationwide delivery. £5 from each box will go to charities including Wood Street Mission.

Last pre-booked deliveries will be made on December 23.

Almost Famous

The least convention­al Christmas dinner of all has long come from burger legends Almost Famous.

Their DIY burger kits have been so popular this year that getting your hands on one before they sell out has been likened to trying to get Glastonbur­y tickets.

The Miracle on 2020 Street is a double-decker burger piled high with meaty ingredient­s.

The main burger is a cheeseburg­er stacked with a spiced sausage patty, crispy bacon, smoky bacon jam, peppered mayo, bacon ketchup and ‘Christmas crack’, then the second miniature burger is slow-cooked BBQ pork and pickles to wedge on top as an elaborate garnish.

The kit for two costs £35 and you can grab one at famousatho­me.shop

 ??  ??
 ??  ??
 ??  ?? Northcote winter box
Northcote winter box
 ??  ?? Northern Soul’s Grill It Yourself Christmas DIY kit
Northern Soul’s Grill It Yourself Christmas DIY kit
 ??  ?? Zouk in Manchester’s Christmas dinner box
Zouk in Manchester’s Christmas dinner box
 ??  ?? Trof’s Christmas dinner kit
Trof’s Christmas dinner kit

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from United Kingdom