Marks and Spencer is already getting in the Christmas spirit as it has just revealed its seasonal food range with shoppers saying they’re ‘so excited’ to see it.

The M&S Christmas 2023 collection includes festive versions of cult favourites including Colin the Caterpillar and Percy Pig, as well as a huge return of its light-up, musical biscuit tins and chocolate boxes.

For the big day itself, M&S will launch the everything-in-the-box £45 Christmas turkey dinner that takes around 60 minutes to cook, making the special feast much easier to make but keeping it tasty.

There’s also a range of party foods and picky bits to nibble on including vegan snowman-faced bao buns, perfect for those who’ll skip the meat on their dinner this year.

Air fryer cooking instructions will be added to the packaging of party foods for the first time this year, as more and more households opt to cook this way during the cost-of-living crisis, as well as remaining on a four-for-three offer to offer value for shoppers.

M&S Cafes will launch their festive menus from November 1st, and the menu will include tasty Welsh Rarebit cheesy crumpets for £4.50.

The turkey toastie will also be back with the added option of adding a pot of gravy on the side to dip them into. Turkey gravy can be purchased for an additional £1.

And what would a dinner be without a delicious dessert to finish it off with? M&S have that covered too with a delicious variety to satisfy your sweet tooth, including a new take on the festive mince pie.

Desserts include new takes on the traditional yule log, as well as chocolate and hazelnut mince pies at £4 for a four-pack. The Christmas Colin the Caterpillar sees him dressed in a cosy icing Christmas jumper as well as a chocolate Santa hat priced £12, and will be available in stores from December 7th.

There will also be a bigger range of hampers than ever before with around 80 to choose from. Hampers will range from letter box ones for £20 all the way up to huge £1,000 ones, containing exclusive M&S goodies.

Shoppers can also get excited for the return of the light-up gin and fizz bottles, as singles or part of gift pack options – available online now.

Party food includes the return of M&S’s ‘best ever’ prawn toast, pulled beef and rosti towers and the viral sensation snowmen steamed bao buns, all priced at £7.50 per pack.

The Christmas food range will officially launch on November 1st though shoppers will be able to access the food items site online at M&S from September 26th.  Food orders can be collected in-store from December 21st to 24th. To see the full M&S Christmas food range, click HERE.

Bargain pub chain Wetherspoons has said it will slash the price of its food and drink items for one day only next week.

The one-day promotional offer will be held on Thursday September 14th, which is National Tax Equality Day, and is part of a campaign to highlight the burden of tax on the hospitality industry. 

Chairman of Wetherspoons Tim Martin said they want to expose the ‘vast disparity’ in how pubs and restaurants are taxed, compared with supermarkets.

He also hopes to highlight how a permanent VAT reduction would help benefit pubs and restaurants in seeing more customers come through their doors.

Those heading to their local Spoons boozer can enjoy around 7.5% off their order.

The drop in price means, for example, a customer spending £10 on a food and drink order could get it for £9.25 instead.

Wetherspoons has also added a VAT calculator to its website to show how much customers could save at their local Spoons boozer.

Mr Martin said: “The biggest threat to the hospitality industry is the vast disparity in tax treatment among pubs, restaurants and supermarkets.

“Supermarkets pay zero VAT in respect of food sales, whereas pubs and restaurants pay 20%. This tax benefit allows supermarkets to subsidise the selling price of beer.

“Pubs have been under fantastic pressure for decades because of the tax disadvantages which they have with supermarkets.”

He argued that the hospitality industry is ‘subsidising supermarkets’ due to these tax rules, adding: “We urge the Chancellor to tax equality between pubs and supermarkets.”

It’s not the first time Mr Martin has been vocal about the issue and has even accused some senior politicians of a ‘lack of understanding’.

Wetherspoons has already closed 29 of its sites this year with several more up for sale.

It now runs over 800 pubs across the UK and Ireland. The chain is set to report record total sales across its pubs for the latest financial year after having bumper Easter and May Bank Holiday trading weekends.

A new Greek-mediterranean restaurant opening in Manchester is offering people the chance to be one of the first through its doors, with a competition to its 50% off soft launch.

Fenix, Manchester’s highly anticipated modern Greek-Mediterranean restaurant, will be making its grand opening this November at St John’s by Spinningfields.

From the creators behind renowned dining destination Tattu – Permanently Unique – this exciting and glossy edition will be bringing a taste of Mykonos, along with its vibrant culture, to the city’s culinary scene. 

To celebrate its upcoming opening, Fenix is offering people the chance to attend its exclusive half price soft launch with an interactive competition.

Hopeful entrants could be in with a chance to step foot in its beautifully designed building before anyone else, and taste the wonderful cuisine.

Passers-by are invited to participate in a thrilling challenge: to identify three hidden words cleverly concealed among the Greek letters on a large stone located in Spinningfields (pictured above).

The competition goes as follows:

1. Spot the three secret words cleverly hidden among Greek letters at the designated activation area. 
2. Use your smartphone to scan the QR code provided – which will lead you to the competition entry page.
3. Enter the three words you’ve discovered and your email address.
4. Be amongst the first to experience FENIX!

FENIX promises an unparalleled dining experience, marrying contemporary culinary techniques with traditional Greek ingredients and flavours. 

Spearheaded by two esteemed chefs hailing from Greece, Executive Head Chef Ippokratis Anagnostelis and Head Chef Zisis Giannouras, the restaurant’s sharing-concept menu is designed to take diners on a captivating journey of Greek – Mediterranean gastronomy.

If you’d like to enter the competition but cant get to the stone, you can also enter from the link in Fenix’s Instagram bio by clicking HERE.