Restaurants

For the twentieth consecutive year, the Michelin Guide has awarded a much coveted star to the fine dining restaurant at The Chester Grosvenor and Spa. The respected guide has also awarded the Simon Radley ‘rising two star’ status.

Executive Chef Simon Radley said ‘For the restaurant to be tipped as a ‘rising two star’ is obviously a large boost to the whole team. We have been quietly plugging away, doing our thing and I think it gives us added direction.’

Simon Radley at The Chester Grosvenor is now one of only four restaurants in the UK to have been awarded one or more Michelin stars for the past twenty years and the only restaurant to have been awarded ‘rising two stars’ status in 2010.

Simon Radley at The Chester Grosvenor Named after its highly respected Executive Chef, this gourmet restaurant serves French cuisine with a contemporary flavour. The menu is complemented by one of the most extensive wine cellars in England boasting over 1000 bins. It is open for dinner from Tuesday to Saturday and the adjoining Arkle Bar and Lounge is ideal for pre-dinner drinks, morning coffee, light lunches and afternoon tea or an after work cocktail.

Simon Radley (Executive Chef and Director of Catering) joined The Chester Grosvenor and Spa in 1986 and went on to become Head Chef within seven years. The restaurant was refurbished and renamed in honour of his culinary expertise during the summer 2008 and has since attained 4 AA rosettes whilst the hard working team have won two prestigious Hotel Catey awards.

For reservations at the restaurant, call: 01244 324024 or email restaurants@chestergrosvenor.com.

City Inn Manchester has Christmas all wrapped up with a range of festive menus available at its critically-acclaimed City Café restaurant, available from the 29th November.

The ‘Spirit of Christmas’ menu includes a delicious two-course Christmas lunch for just £9.95, with a three course lunch and dinner option for £14.95. Featuring cream of Leek and Potato soup and main of roast turkey stuffed with apricot and sage, fondant potato, roasted carrots, brussel sprouts with pancetta and chestnuts – it’s ideal for anyone wanting to celebrate on a budget without compromising on quality.

For those looking to indulge themselves, City Café offers a full three course dinner, each with four sumptuous choices, finishing with filter coffee or tea and a miniature mince pie, all for £19.95. For example, go for a starter of pressed ham hock terrine, pineapple chutney and toasted brioche, followed by slow-cooked feather blade of beef and finished off with a bitter chocolate tart.

At Christmas, attention to detail is everything. City Inn is obsessive about the detail to ensure that a Christmas stay or Christmas Day is utterly relaxed like only the best-laid plans can be. To wind up the festive period, enjoy a hassle-free Christmas Day with friends and family at City Café and treat yourself to a three course Christmas dinner for £52.50 per person. Kids under five eat free and under eight half-price – and can also enjoy a visit from Santa.

Celebrity chef Marco Pierre White will launch three restaurants in North West England early next year.

In January, the Hell’s Kitchen star will open restaurants at the Swan Inn and West Tower Hotel, both in Aughton, West Lancashire. Another, The Marco Pierre White Steakhouse, will be situated at the Doubletree by Hilton Chester.

At 33, the Leeds-born chef, became the youngest ever chef to hold three Michelin stars. Previous employees have included Heston Blumenthal and Gordon Ramsay.

The North West’s top tourism businesses and professionals were honoured in Blackpool last night.

The 2009 Northwest Tourism Awards ceremony was held at Blackpool Tower and organised by the Northwest Regional Development Agency.

18 winners received awards fro BBC presenter Ranvir Singh:

• Bed and Breakfast of the Year – The Ashton, Lancaster
• Large Hotel of the Year – The Lowry Hotel, Manchester
• Small Hotel of the Year – Gilpin Lodge Country House Hotel, Windermere
• Self Catering Holiday of the Year – Hall Hills, Dalston, near Carlisle
• Holiday Park of the Year – Castlerigg Hall Caravan and Camping Park, Keswick, Cumbria
• Large Visitor Attraction of the Year – Imperial War Museum North, Manchester
• Small Visitor Attraction of the Year – Arley Hall & Gardens, Northwich, Cheshire
• Taste of England’s Northwest – Low Sizergh Barn Farm Shop, Kendal, Cumbria
• Tourism Experience of the Year – Farmaggedon, near Ormskirk, Lancashire
• Tourism for All – Kerridge End Holiday Cottages, Macclesfield, Cheshire
• Tourism Event of the Year – Blackpool Illuminations
• Public Space Award – Pier Head Public Realm and Canal Link, Liverpool
• Tourist Information Centre of the Year – Wigan TIC
• Travel Journalist of the Year – Stephen McClarence, The Observer
• Outstanding Contribution to Tourism Award – Nigel Haworth, Northcote, near Blackburn
• Excellence in Business Tourism – Arena and Convention Centre, Liverpool
• Excellence in Customer Service – Christina Dixon, Jurys Inn, Liverpool
• Sustainable Tourism Award – Arena and Convention Centre, Liverpool

Each will represent the North West in next year’s national tourism awards.

Strada, the authentic Italian restaurant, will be holding a Risotto Festival in its Manchester restaurant throughout September to celebrate the classic Italian dish.

Four new risotto dishes will be available on the menu, inspired by the Northern Italian regions of Piedmont, Milan, Lombardy and Venice where risotto has its roots.

Rice arrived in Italy sometime in the 10th century. The north of the country took to rice farming four to five hundred years later making risotto the region’s signature dish. Risotto is still more widely eaten that pasta in the area.

The guest dishes are available throughout September, priced from £9.75.

Choose from Risotto All’aragosta e Gamberoni – sautéed tiger prawns and lobster – a fresh and simple seafood dish, or the autumnal flavours of Risotto Funghi e Castagne – porcini and mushrooms with roasted chestnuts. There is also Risotto Zafferano e Asparagi, a saffron infused risotto with asparagus spears and Grana cheese and Risotto Norcina – Italian sausage and chestnut mushrooms.

The guest dishes feature alongside Strada’s risotto specialities, including the Risotto Cappesante – pan fried scallops with white wine, lemon zest, chilli and basil – and the Risotto alla Zucca – pumpkin and butternut squash risotto with sautéed pancetta, wilted spinach and toasted pine nuts.

Maurice Maffeo, Strada’s development chef, says, ‘Risotto is one of Italy’s oldest dishes but also one of the most versatile. You can use just about any ingredient, which is why cooking a risotto can be almost as satisfying as eating it. The Risotto Festival will offer even more choice to our guests and celebrate all that is so wonderful about this eclectic dish.’

Strada offers diners a contemporary and stylish setting in which to enjoy great-tasting, authentic Italian food. As well as risotto, the menu includes handmade pizzas and fresh pastas as well as fish and meat dishes using only the finest fresh ingredients.

Strada also serves purely regional Italian wines, as well as beers and spirits, which have all been carefully chosen to complement the menu. In addition, each table receives complimentary bottled purified water.

Strada’s restaurant in Manchester is situated at 4A Leftbank, Irwell Square, Spinningfields. For further details call 0161 819 5691 or visit strada.co.uk.

Risotto Cappesante

Risotto Alla Zucca

Mouthwatering events are on the menu for Bolton’s fourth Food and Drink Festival.

The biggest celebration of food and drink ever to take place within the town is taking place from Friday August 28 to Sunday August 30 and a range of events to suit all palates have been organised.

Celebrity chefs the Hairy Bikers and James Martin are the stars of this year’s three day spectacular. Both will be cooking up dishes in the Rangemaster cookery theatre in Victoria Square throughout the festival.

Victoria Square is at the heart of this year’s activity but there are additional events taking place in and around Bolton town centre.

On Tuesday August 25 join Joan Farnworth from NHS Bolton’s Community Nutrition Team in Bolton Market, on Ashburner Street as she cooks up healthy dishes using fresh produce from traders.

The council’s Love Food Hate Waste team will also be in the market on Thursday, August 27. They will show visitors how to rustle up a tasty treat from the odds and ends that get leftover from meals, forgotten in the fruit bowl or at the back of the fridge.

School meals chef Phil Ogden will cook up a feast on a budget on Saturday, August 29.

Demonstrations will take place from 11am to 2pm, in the kitchen situated in the fish market in Bolton Market. Free samples are available.

Dave Myers, from the Hairy Bikers, encouraged people to visit their local market. He said: ‘I’ve heard about Bolton Market and would urge people to get down there. Markets are cheap, sell fresh produce, and the face behind the counter wants you to come back.’

Other fun food events taking place over the next month include an evening for coffee lovers at Rhode Island Coffee, on Knowsley Street, which will be raising money for Bolton Hospice on Thursday 27 August from 6pm. Learn all about how coffee’s grown, roasted and delivered to your cup. There will also be latte art demonstrations and a chance to try out the espresso machine.

Get the weekend off to a great start with a tapas and wine tasting session with Bolton chef Mike Harrison, owner of Zest Deli and Stuart Rothwell from The Vineyard on Friday 28 August at 4pm and 5pm. Tickets cost £2.

The Sokrates Greek Taverna, on Winter Hey Lane, in Horwich is laying on a special Greek music and meze night on Friday August 28. More than 20 Meze dishes and traditional Greek music are on the bill from 7.30pm, with the dancing starting at 9.30pm. Tickets cost £15.

Experience a 7-course Thai menu specially created for the Festival on Saturday August 29 at Zest Noodle Bar and Thai Restaurant on Bradshawgate.

Sample a wide selection of beers, real ales and continental lagers at the Holiday Inn on Higher Bridge Street on Saturday 29 and Sunday August 30, from noon to 11pm.

Learn how to make your favourite cocktail and sample cocktails from around the globe, from 3pm to 6pm, on Sunday August 30 at Red Bar and Restaurant on Market Street, Westhoughton.

The Vedas restaurant on Marsden Road is encouraging Indian food lovers to experience the setting of an authentic Indian kitchen and have a go at cooking their dish on Sunday August 30. Tickets must be purchased in advanced.

Other highlights include Warburton’s Bakery Tours on Tuesday September 1 and Thursday September 3, and a Chinese Buffet Extravaganza on Friday 28 and Saturday 29 August at The Chinese Buffet, on Bridge Street.

Councillor John Byrne, Bolton Council’s Executive Member for Development, said: ‘Tickets for the Hairy Bikers and James Martin cookery demos are now sold out but there’s still a whole host of gastronomic treats for everyone to get involved in. Local restaurants and pubs are also putting on some great special events and offers, most of which have been extended throughout September.’

The event is sponsored by Warburton’s, Bolton’s family baker. Stallholders will be selling food and drink throughout the festival. For more information on events and offers, call 01204 334321.

The Nantwich Food and Drink Festival will be held this year from Friday September 25 to Sunday September 27 2009.

The festival will showcase the best in food and drink from Cheshire and North West England.

Highlights include a gourmet food market featuring over 90 to the country’s top specialist food producers, hourly cookery demonstrations by local and celebrity chefs, adult cocktail and cookery workshops, wild food workshops and foraging walks led by Cheshire Countryside Rangers, and the CAMRA Nantwich Beer Festival.

The main festival site is Mill Island, just outside Nantwich town centre.

For a full programme and ticket details visit the official website.

Things are hotting up at Bella Italia, with a range of new summer dishes that celebrate Italy’s finest flavours.

Bella’s menu makeover means that it now offers more choice than ever, so with the summer holidays in full swing, it’s the perfect place to treat the family.

As well as exciting new pizza, pasta and grill options, you can now enjoy an updated selection of salads, risottos and al forno dishes. And the desserts have received a summer shake-up too.

Pasta lovers will revel in the new Fusilli Pollo Spinaci – succulent shredded chicken breast, mushrooms and spinach, sautéed in a creamy gorgonzola sauce. And for the first time, diners can swap any pasta on the menu for a wholegrain fusilli.

Bella’s Mediterranean-inspired salads and paninis are the perfect lighter choice. A must-try is the Panino Pesto Rossa – a medley of sweet roasted vegetables and juicy buffalo mozzarella with red pesto on ciabatta bread, served with a side helping of fries.

Classic Italian risottos are a summer speciality at Bella Italia. Choose between the Zucca – a delicious combo of roasted peppers and butternut squash, and the Asparagi e Pancetta – a mix of crispy pancetta and asparagus. Made with authentic Arborio rice, topped with shaved parmesan and cooked slightly al dente, you won’t be disappointed.

Enjoy a slice of Italy with two new thin-crust pizzas, cooked to perfection. Try the Pesto Rosso Legumi – a feast of leeks, roasted peppers, olives, cherry tomatoes and mushrooms, topped with mascarpone cheese on a red pesto base – bellissimo!

Families with a sweet tooth won’t be able to resist the selection of indulgent summer desserts, such as Bella’s very own light and fruity Berry Tiramisu with red berries and mascarpone cream. Or dip into the zesty and refreshing Torta Limone with a generous helping of cream.

Most importantly, to keep little ones happy this summer (and mums and dads in pocket), a special ‘Bambini Menu’ offers a main course, dessert, drink and an activity book for just £4.95.

Meanwhile, Bella Italia’s wine list offers a great selection of wines from across the Italian regions.

Bella Italia have numerous restaurants across the North West including Blackpool (Church Street and Victoria Street), Ellesmere Port (Cheshire Oaks), Chester (Eastgate), Lancaster (Church Street), Liverpool (Ranelagh Street), Manchester (Arndale, Deansgate, Piccadilly), Salford Quays (Lowry Outlet Mall), and Southport (Ocean Plaza).

An upmarket bar and restaurant in Alderley Edge will reopen later this year, 13 months after being destroyed in a fire.

Panacea on Wilmslow Road burned to the ground in September 2008, just days after opening.

Rebuilding work is due for completion by the end of September and opening scheduled for mid-October. Panacea is currently recruiting reception, kitchen, restaurant, and bar staff.

Filini Restaurant at Radisson Blu Hotel Liverpool is currently offering great value deals:

“TASTE OF FILINI”
2 for 1 on all meals from ala carte menu, Monday to Friday from 6pm to 9pm, excludes beverages and set menus. Must be booked in advance by quoting ‘Taste of Filini’ at 0151 966 1500.

”WEEKEND 2 FOR 1 OFFER”
2 for 1 on all pizzas and pastas, plus a complimentary drink on arrival. Available on Saturday from 6pm to 9pm. Must be booked in advance by quoting ”Weekend 2 for 1 Offer” at 0151 966 1500.

“WEEKLY SPECIALS MENU” — ”Weekly Specials Menu” 2 course for £14.95, 3 course £18.95 from weekly specials menu. All day from Monday to Saturday. Please notes no further discounts applicable.

*Valid until end of 2009, please contact 0151 965 1500 for details or enquiries.