Cheshire food businesses are weathering the Covid-19 storm with takeaways and community boxes
Les Deux Pizza Bar
This pink-doored-palace in Alderley Edge has proved phenomenally successful since opening last year – a revelatory laidback space squished into the sparkly joints the Edge has become synonymous with. And during lockdown Les Deux continues to hand-stretch its superb pizzas and dish up creamy burrata and tasty starters (courgette tempura, ceviche, charcuterie), divvying them out via Deliveroo every day of the week.
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A trio of Mobberley classics
Live within three miles of Mobberley and you can still chow down on reassuring comfort dishes from the lockdown pop-up Pub Hub Shop, courtesy of The Bulls Head, The Church Inn and The Roebuck. Daily changing menus can be delivered or picked up with reliably tasty items such as beef bourguignon, fish pie and hearty breakfasts; there are local ingredients, from Cheshire Farm ice cream to Sapling Farm eggs and fruit and veg from Wellocks. Oh, and there’s gin from Mobberley-based Big Hill Distillery, plus whole casks with enough ale for 72 pints.
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Where the Light Gets In
Stockport’s game-changing, farm-to-fork restaurant has a temporary incarnation during lockdown: The Pickle Factory. Off the back of his starry appearance on Great British Menu chef-owner Sam Buckley launched his new concept at breakneck speed following the coronavirus outbreak in the UK, and instead of pulling up chairs in his 30-cover space, diners can buy his innovative dishes as takeaway and pick up boxes of fresh ingredients with recipe ideas – some of which have been dug up from his car-park-topped garden.
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Wild & Wild
With a penchant for feel-good food, underpinned by homegrown, bucolic flavours, this boho café in a corner of Congleton now deals in one-off family boxes and plant-based dishes to take away. There’s avocado smash with chilli jam, Thai noodle salads with a zesty peanut sauce, and cauliflower nuggets with a side of sweet chilli – all available via contactless collection or delivery. And it’s got our seal of approval: Wild & Wild won Cheshire Life’s best café in the county last year.
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Great North Pie Co
It’s not just restaurants showing resilience. The crusty, oozy artisan bakes from the Great North Pie Co can usually be found at the stalls of Cheshire’s farmers’ markets. But former policeman and champion pie-maker Neil Broomfield plans to keep feeding his loyal fans via a new home delivery service, whether you want to sink your teeth into a carnivorous beef and ale pie or go meat-free with a classic cheese and onion or a jumble of sweet potato, pearl barley and kale.
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Booths
Sticking to its family roots, Booths is keeping the goods coming through a next-day community delivery service within three miles of all stores (for those in urgent need of key groceries) and a telephone payment option allowing you to send friends, neighbours or relatives in to shop for you. They’re also continuing their fab work with local food banks with the help of new and regular volunteers.
booths.co.uk/coronavirus-covid-19-statement
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Dexter & Jones
The open-arms atmosphere of Knutsford’s craft beer bar may be off the cards (for now), but the team is far from sitting still, having launched free home delivery to the town (£3 for those within eight miles). Beer drinkers, gin suppers, wine aficionados – they’re all taken care of with spirit-lifting bottles from our county and beyond.
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Whitmore & White
We wouldn’t normally advocate drinking alone at home in your pants. But extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures and now is the perfect time to get päntsdrunk – the brilliant Finnish term for doing just that. And although the booze aisles in supermarkets have been left with just a few lacklustre bottles, Whitmore & White wine merchants are stepping up with free deliveries of artisan produce and top-notch wines around their Heswall and Frodsham stores.
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Kampai Hale
For precisely crafted sushi, sticky skewers and smoky grilled plates, Kampai Hale is keeping its charcoals aflame for takeaways to surrounding areas. Kick off with pillowy gyoza, glazed chicken wings or crispy chilli squid, and go for the Kampai special urumaki – a lip-smacking roll of prawn katsu, salmon, avocado and teriyaki sauce.
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Soul Vegan
Usually stocking up health-focused joints such as The Garden in Hale and King Street Kitchen in Knutsford, this vegan bakery is sending its freshly-baked, award-winning cakes and trademark ‘bronuts’ (a hybrid of a brownie and doughnuts made from raw ingredients) via mail order. They may be plant-based and free from soy, gluten and refined sugars, but you’d never know with oozy bakes like toasted marshmallow and raspberry bronuts, and dark chocolate and honeycomb brownies.
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Savages Mussels
Ever since Royal Navy-trained Jamie Savage and his briny dishes landed at Macclesfield’s The Picturedrome, he’s been elevating the humble shellfish to drool-worthy heights. And his loyal followers are still getting their lockdown fix with his weekly sellout menus posted on Instagram: think battered haddock, popcorn mussels, fries and pickled mussels. It’s a first-come-first-served kind of process with diners picking up dishes directly from Jamie’s home in Macc and paying online. Act fast though – his dishes are nabbed super quickly.
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The Bells of Peover
Diners might not be able to hole up at this Peover pub’s sprawling beer garden that goes down as one of the best in the county, but they can still order in from its new take-out menu, with delivery within a two-mile radius that includes bottles from its excellent wine list. Go classic with favourites such as Thai green curry or beef bourguignon pie, though for show-stopping plates, there’s a 16oz chateaubriand with chips, onion rings and peppercorn sauce.
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The Cheese Yard
This renowned cheesemonger in Knutsford isn’t resting on its laurels during lockdown. The place is continuing with its popular home cheese and wine tasting sets, with enough fromage for up to four people. Kits start at £75 and come with red and white wines to pair with six cheeses – some wonderfully whiffy, others creamy and light – plus a jar of chutney and crackers.
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Heddy’s
Remember this wildly popular Middle Eastern place on Wilmslow’s Water Lane? Where the lights were low, and the authentic cooking was light and fresh?
Its permanent kitchen may have shut for good in 2019, but lockdown has brought Heddy’s back to life and the former head honcho is delivering to Wilmslow, Knutsford and Mobberley. What’s on the menu? Tiger prawns in chilli and garlic, Persian lamb casserole, falafel and moutabel, but for the ravenous, you could just order a bit of everything.
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Totally Wild UK
The team behind this foraging start-up has been on a mission to champion the UK’s wild and wonderful ingredients gathered and tugged from our rural corners. In lieu of its foraging workshops and events, Totally Wild has launched its very own veg box scheme, packed with wild produce harvested in Cheshire and delivered to homes across the UK.
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The Forest Distillery
Live in SK9, SK10, SK11 and SK17 and you can have this Macclesfield distillery’s liquor blends sent direct to your door. And it’s not just booze: you can order crusty loaves of sourdough from Flour Water Salt, locally grown veg, fresh eggs, craft beer and wine. There are even toilet rolls to add to the boxes.
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