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Food & Drink

Chef calls out ‘opportunists looking for a free meal’ who refused to pay bill after eating ‘70%’ of their food

‘Everyone’s after something for free at the moment, which perhaps comes from their lack of respect for the industry’

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The Pack Horse Hayfield / Facebook

A chef and restaurant owner has opened up about an incident in which a couple refused to pay for their bill, despite having eaten the majority of the food served to them.

Luke Payne has owned and run The Pack Horse in Hayfield with his partner Emma for the last five years, and prides himself on serving ‘up market’ contemporary food not found in your typical pub.

According to Luke, 99% of The Pack Horse’s customers are ‘lovely’ and ‘have an amazing time’, but, on Saturday night, one couple refused point blank to pay up for their bill despite having eaten the majority of their meals.

Luke has since spoken out about the incident, saying the couple were simply ‘opportunists’ on the look-out for a free meal, clearly oblivious to the crippling impacts the Covid-19 pandemic has had upon the business and the rest of the hospitality industry.

Speaking to Proper Manchester, Luke detailed how, despite the couple being checked on by his waiting team several times throughout their meal, they never once complained about their food until they’d eaten ‘around 70% of it’.

The Pack Horse Hayfield / Facebook

He explained: “Despite having being checked back by our waiting team to see if everything was okay, the woman brought her pork chop up to the bar and compared it to ‘fatty bacon’, saying ‘this isn’t what I expected, I don’t really like it, I’d like another meal to replace it for free.’

“She had the opportunity to say if something was wrong or not to her liking, and in that scenario, we would have absolutely done everything we could to have made their evening better. She wanted a replacement for free, but she’d already eaten her meal essentially. So I said no, and informed her that if she wanted anything else she’d have to pay for it.”

At this, the woman’s husband allegedly became aggressive and claimed to be ‘in the right as the customer’. The couple then refused point blank to pay any of their bill, which amounted to £106, before leaving the premises. 

Luke said: “Obviously we don’t live or die by £100, but it’s still a lot of money. That’s a young waitress’ wage for the day.”

Luke ended up charging the couple using the card details they had submitted when securing their reservation online – however, they threatened to get their card insurers involved so whether or not the money will actually come through will only be determined in the next couple of days.

The incident has understandably left Luke and his team disheartened and frustrated, with him noting: “When it’s your business and your livelihood and your passion, you want to make sure that everyone leaves having had a great time. So these kind of things do stick, and it is really frustrating.

“I take stuff like this really personally, because this is all we know, it’s all we do and we do it for love. The backbone of what we do is making people happy, so this kind of stuff brings out a certain level of upset.”

And sadly, this isn’t Luke’s first experience with customers attempting to get their meals for free; he told us that since restaurants have reopened after the lockdowns, he’s noticed a rise in diners complaining about food to avoid paying their bill.

“The customer always thinks they’re right, even when they’re not. We’re professionals at the end of the day, if something is wrong with the food and drink and the service that we’re providing, we’ll know about it. So people should be a little more respectful of what we do.

“Everyone’s after something for free at the moment, which perhaps comes from their lack of respect for the industry and the hard work and the graft and the love that goes into it… People only see the end product, they don’t understand why things cost as much as they do and why they take as long to prepare as they do.”

Since sharing his experience on Twitter, Luke and the Pack Horse team have been flooded with messages of support from adoring customers. One person wrote: “Corr, I wish I was having that pork chop for lunch. I love The Packhorse. These miserly chancers do not deserve your incredible food.”

Another noted: “We came in last week and 2 of our party had the Pork and absolutely loved it. Urrrgghh chancers trying to pull a fast one on a local business – hate it!”

You can stay up to date with The Pack Horse on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram

Food & Drink

High-end Japanese restaurant MUSU offering 30% off in March

Take advantage of vibrant Japanese dining experience

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MUSU

High-end Japanese restaurant MUSU is offering 30% off in March for customers who sign up to its new free rewards programme.

The contemporary Japanese eatery, nestled in the heart of the city centre on Bridge Street, is launching its own membership rewards programme.

The scheme is free to join and will give members 30% off their food bill throughout March upon signing up.

MUSU

Rewards customers can enjoy discounted prices on menus including the Omakase – the theatrical, educational sushi experience which is served individually to diners at the restaurant’s six–seat omakase counter. 

This also includes the full Land of the Rising Sun tasting menus, which take in a range of cooking styles from all over Japan, devised by chef-patron Mike Shaw.

Then from April, members of the programme will be able to take advantage of a series of other rewards, including 30% off any food bill when dining at lunch time, 10% off when dining at dinner on any menu, and a 10% discount on private hire and private dining.

MUSU

The restaurant has a closed-off area for its private dining experience for guests to enjoy, which is regularly used by celebrities and food critics alike.

On top of this, members celebrating their birthdays at MUSU will receive a complimentary drink, and every reward programme member will be entered into a monthly prize draw to win a 12-course Land of the Rising Sun experience, complete with wine pairings.

You can get early access to the restaurant’s special events, like its live tuna cutting experience, where a whole bluefin tuna is carved in front of diners, while its expert sushi chefs talk you through the provenance of the fish and the skills displayed in this ancient craft.

You can sign up to MUSU’s free rewards scheme, HERE.

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Food & Drink

A Manchester Tiki bar is giving away free cocktails for life

Free Zombies for life!!!

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Gerald England / Geograph & @hulatikimcr / Instagram

One lucky winner can win free cocktails for life at a Manchester Tiki bar to celebrate 15 years of being open.

This April will mark 15 years of Hula – the Northern Quarter’s basement 1950s-style beach bar lounge – and to celebrate, the venue wants to offer one lucky winner a life-long prize to say ‘thank you’ for supporting them over the years.

Many Mancunians will have memories of being in this vibrant late night party hideout at some point, even if they are a little sketchy through a cloudy cocktail ridden haze.

Gerald England / Geograph

April 12th and 13th will be the bar’s official birthday weekend and they have some exciting plans for their guests.

As a special treat, Hulu is running a competition online where one lucky winner will be treated to free zombies for life.

All you have to do is visit @hulatikimcr on Instagram, like the post, follow the page and share to your stories for an extra entry.

In a post on Instagram, Hula wrote: “So… April will mark 15 years of Hula. I know crazy! Every one of us has memories of being in Hula at some point (some we’d probably like to forget)

“It may have gone through some changes throughout the years but Hula remains standing.

“April 12th & 13th will be our official birthday weekend and we have some exciting plans in place… more on that later. So as a special treat to celebrate, we thought why not give back to those who have kept us here all these years.

“We are giving one lucky winner free zombies for LIFE! Like FOREVER!”

Stay tuned for further details of Hula’s 15th birthday celebrations across April 12th and 13th. You can find Hula hidden below Quarter House and The Fitzgerald at 11 Stevenson Square in the Northern Quarter.

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Food & Drink

Manchester restaurant serving ‘world’s hottest curry’ to anyone brave enough

It has been described as ‘like eating molten lava!’

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Zouk

A Manchester eatery is daring customers to try its extremely hot curry for National Chilli Day.

This February 22nd, Zouk is creating the World’s Hottest Curry as part of the restaurant’s celebration of National Chilli Day – where courageous participants will have to eat a whole portion of it within the allocated time frame to win a prize.

The dish will feature the World’s Hottest Chilli (according to the Guinness Book of Records), the star of the show, The Carolina Reaper.

The Carolina Reaper Karahi curry – available in chicken (£15.95) and vegetable (£14.95) options – will be available Monday, February 19th to Friday 23rd as a special.

Zouk

Zouk has also created the world’s hottest kebab, the Reaper Seekh Kebab (£7.95), also made with Carolina Reaper Chillies, mixed lamb and chicken keema. 

The restaurant is offering prizes for those bold enough to take these fiery dishes on.

On National Chilli Day (February 22nd), Zouk is challenging the most daredevil customers to take on the Reaper Curry or Reaper Seekh Kebab, where if they manage to complete the task they can win prizes to be enjoyed at the restaurant at a later date.

As a menu special, there is also a devilishly good Chilli Margarita drink for guests to enjoy – although this is made with milder fresh chillies.

Zouk

The prizes for those customers with a ‘strong stomach and mind’ are:

  • Finish the full Carolina Reaper Seekh Kebab in one sitting (maximum eating time is 30 minutes and no help from companions) and you will get your kebab on Zouk, plus a £10 gift card to enjoy at the restaurant to redeem against food or drinks at a later date. 
  • Finish the full Carolina Reaper Curry (either chicken or vegetable) in one sitting (maximum eating time is 30 minutes and no help from companions) then you will not only get your Reaper Curry on Zouk, but you will also win a Brunch for two at the restaurant at a later date. 
  • Finish both the full Carolina Reaper Seekh Kebab and the Carolina Reaper Curry in one sitting (maximum eating time is one hour and no help from companions) and you will get your kebab and curry on the restaurant, as well as winning a Zouk Sunday Roast Meal for two.
Zouk

Knowing the Reaper is officially the world’s hottest chilli, it may not surprise you to learn from the chefs that even cooking this curry is a bit of a challenge. 

Owner Tayub Amjad commented: “The chillies are so hot that the chefs must be careful when handling them. You can feel them on your hands and stinging your eyes. The heat really is intense. 

“We’ve also made a vegetable karahi suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Last year we made a kebab but this year we’ve upped the stakes and made a seekh kebab reaper dish, we believe it is the world’s hottest kebab. 

“Last year only about 15 people completed the challenge and beat the reaper so I can’t wait to see who takes on this trio of Reaper dishes in 2024.”

Zouk

Anybody who finishes one of these challenges will also get a Zouk Ice Cream Sundae to help cool off those scorched taste buds! 

Zouk believes this to be the World’s Hottest Curry, so if you fancy putting it and yourself to the test, make a booking now and embrace National Chilli Day’s Biggest Challenge. 

To find out more about the challenge and prizes or book a place at Zouk, click HERE.

Zouk’s World’s Hottest Curry Challenge takes place at Zouk Tea Bar & Grill, The Quadrangle, Chester Street, Manchester on Thursday February 22nd.

*Diners will be required to sign a disclaimer before trying.

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