Food & Drink
The farm shop near Manchester that’s been named the best in the entire country
A huge achievement for The Lambing Shed!
A family-run farm shop famed for its fresh produce and expansive menu of baked goods has been named the best in the UK.
The Lambing Shed farm shop and cafe in Knutsford was opened six years ago by the Mitchell family, who were on a mission to champion local produce from across Cheshire and Manchester as well as to showcase their farm’s home-reared beef and lamb.
The farm is run by Sue and Michael Mitchell, with son Rob helping on the farming side and daughter Kathryn acting as director of the farm shop and cafe, which was built within an old lambing shed at Moseley Hall Farm, found on the outskirts of Knutsford.
@thelambingshedfarmshop / Instagram
And now, six years on from the launch of their shop and cafe, the family business has been crowned the UK’s Best Farm Cafe/Restaurant at the prestigious Farm Retail Association awards.
The FRA awards are judged by fellow farm retailers, and aims to showcase and celebrate the very best farm shops, cafes, markets and trade suppliers the UK has to offer.
The cafe was praised by the judges for its high quality of food and service, and was hailed as ‘a superb example of a business which understands its customer profile and then delivers a range of food and service to meet their customer’s needs’.
Dishes that stood out to the judges were the cooked full English breakfast – with a farmers breakfast and vegetarian version – the hand-reared beef and lamb burgers, and home made beef shin pie.
@thelambingshedfarmshop / Instagram
It was also noted that the farm shop offers a range of sweet treats such as local jams and chutneys, cakes baked by local farmers, afternoon tea sets, scones and cream, Mobberly ice cream and Cheshire gins.
The shop also boasts produce from over seventy-five local suppliers, as well as the butcher’s counter and deli counter with a range of cheeses.
The FRA said of their winners: “Judges noted the high quality of food and service and hailed the Lambing Shed’s cafe as a superb example of a business which understands its customer profile and then delivers a range of food and service to meet their customer’s needs.”
Kathryn, who now lives in the old farmhouse on the site, said on the win: “It’s incredible really, it was amazing just to be nominated but it’s nice for the cafe to get recognition like this.
@thelambingshedfarmshop / Instagram
“When we first opened the cafe and shop it was tough as a new business, as we’d never done anything like this before, and it’s very different from farming, it was just us.
“But now we have a great team here and the shop complements the farm so well. We get all the beef and lamb from the farm, and everything we feed the animals with we grow ourselves here.
“We are passionate about everything we serve in the cafe and shop as well, I’m a real foodie so we don’t get corners, the ingredients are all local, fresh and really high quality.”
Visit the Lambing Shed’s official website for more information.
Food & Drink
Popular Italian launches new menu with fresh cheesy pesto pasta and king prawns
If you’re in search of an authentic Italian dining experience in Manchester, look no further than Italiana Fifty Five
A popular Italian restaurant in Manchester has launched a new A La Carte menu.
Italiana Fifty Five has added some appetising new dishes to its menu to expand its offering this spring.
Diners can sample the newly added seasonal items and its authentic classic Italian favourites at all three of its Manchester sites – at the Great Northern, Liverpool Road and Didsbury.
The new A La Carte dishes include Gamberoni Grigliata which is tiger prawns cooked in garlic, butter, lemon and fresh chilli and served with toasted altamura bread for £13.95.
Also new to the menu is the Zoupa which is a hearty seafood soup with king scallops, king prawns, and muscles for £13.95.
Brand new appetisers include the Insalata Tricolore with avocado, beef tomato and buffalo mozzarella for £9.50, and the Bruschetta Speciale made with toasted sourdough bread and buffalo mozzarella spread, roasted heritage cherry tomatoes, garlic, onion, fresh basil and pesto for £9.75.
And if that’s not enough to entice you, diners can also tuck in to the new risotto and pasta dishes, including Risotto Zafferano which is a saffron risotto with parsley, garlic, onion and pecorino cheese for £14.95.
And the Trofie ala Pesto made with trofie pasta in homemade pesto sauce, finished with buffalo mozzarella for £14.95.
Complete your visit on a sweet note and indulge in one of Italiana Fifty Five’s best-loved desserts such as the Tiramisu or panna cotta.
To find out more or book a table at Italiana Fifty Five, click HERE.
Food & Drink
Restaurant famed for ‘cheese wheel pasta’ and ‘towering lasagnas’ looking to come to Manchester
A taste of la dolce vita could be coming to Manchester
The ‘OTT’ group famous for its pasta served in a wheel of cheese and 10-level lasagnas is reportedly looking to open a new Italian restaurant in Manchester city centre.
French-based Big Mamma Group, which owns over-the-top Italian restaurants in London – Gloria, Carlotta, Jacuzzi, Ave Mario and Circolo Popolare – will open a new venue in Gary Neville’s under-construction St Michael’s development off Deansgate.
Its restaurants are known for their flamboyant, retro interiors, resembling vintage maximalism Italian eateries, as well as US-style red sauce joints.
The regularly changing menus feature a variety of Italian classics, including fettuccine alfredo al tartufo, spaghetti with meatballs, a famous ’10 level’ lasagne and carbonara served in a huge cheese wheel.
The Manchester restaurant will be the first UK venue to be located outside of London and will – sit alongside the also announced Japanese-Peruvian restaurant Chotto Matte, also to be built at St Michael’s.
The move follows a host of other operators in the capital choosing to open new sites in Manchester.
Soon to arrive in the city will be the likes of Caravan, Flat Iron, Soho House and Blacklock.
Big Mamma – which was founded in 2013 by French entrepreneurs Victor Lugger and Tigrane Seydoux – has more than 20 restaurants across Europe including Paris, Monaco, Milan, Madrid and Berlin.
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Food & Drink
High-end Japanese restaurant MUSU offering 30% off in March
Take advantage of vibrant Japanese dining experience
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.
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.
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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