Things to do in Manchester

Now that Halloween is safely out the way, our thoughts start to turn towards the looming celebrations and the festive foods that we may stuff into our faces with impunity for the next couple of months. Christmas menus have been a big thing in the last...

Today's weekly(ish) phone call to my mum soon turned, as usual, to the subject of food. She'd been reading a James Martin magazine column about Bolton Food and Drink Festival, in which he sang the praises of a foodie extravaganza that is increasingly...

Ah, Christmas, the most emotive of all the C-words. Whilst I'm not keen on shops full of Christmas tat and festive music before the start of Autumn, I'm very happy to eat Christmas food at pretty much any time of year; I'm a big fan of wintery food in...

If you cook quite a lot, it's easy to get stuck in a bit of a rut, and to think that you know more than you do. For example, until last weekend, I was confident in the knowledge of at least two things: that I could make a really, really good Thai curry...