A Mancunian Foodie Foray

Last week I had the pleasure of arranging another fabulous supper club… this time, destination Manchester! I have always had a soft spot for Manchester – it was the first place I lived when I reached UK shores 10 years ago, and whilst a gap year living on the curry mile resulted in a rotund little Miss_McIntosh trundling off to university, I love the place – it’s creative, friendly and wonderfully Northern.

I was delighted with the response I got from a selection of enthusiastic Mancunian foodies and was sure that this would be a great supper club! And by george, Manchester did not let me down.

With wine extraordinaire Joe Wadsack in toe, I arrived in Manchester to be greeted by a great sense of familiarity and Michael Caines as it turned out (his Abode Hotel was our Mancunian base and he just happened to be there as we checked in – lovely chap!). We hotfooted it across town to our supper club venue, the North Star Deli in Chorlton, where our fabulous chefs for the evening Deanna Thomas and Chef Ben were ensconced in putting the final touches on the South American inspired canapés of rabbit empanadas – crispy parcels of savoury, rabbity deliciousness matched with the Casillero del Diablo sparkling brut chardonnay.

Joe matched Casillero del Diablo wines to each course and invited guests ton select their favourite for each… In this case the Sauvignon Blanc and then the Carmenere were the clear winners! Interestingly my preferences were for the Chardonnay and Shiraz with their respective dishes – yet another reason why I love the wonderful world of wine, it is so personal and there is no wrong answer (within reason!)

Entrée

Seared scallops with puy lentils and a Chardonnay sauce

Casillero del Diablo Reserva Privada Sauvignon Blanc

Casillero del Diablo Casablanca Chardonnay

Main Course

Venison in a red wine sauce, sautéed Savoy cabbage, crispy Paysanne potatoes and a Hunter’s pie

Casillero del Diablo Shiraz

Casillero del Diablo Carmenere

Dessert

Blood orange tart

Casillero del Diablo Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc

The pièce de résistance of the evening was our first taste of the new Casillero del Diablo Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc. This is a great dessert wine and I am so excited that it is now available in the UK! The feedback from guests on this was very pleasing indeed!

Thanks to The North Star Deli, Adam, Jenny, Deanna, Ben, Joe and Manchester for a delightful evening!

Take a look at some of the blogs from our fab foodie guests:

North South Food

North Star Deli

Things to do in Manchester