My most memorable meals of 2023 (part one)

Salted gooseberries, PJ sarnies, pub lunches and more

Never a day goes by when I don’t think about how lucky I am to have “eating nice food” as part of my job description. I have done a lot of hard yakka jobs in my chequered career (soul-destroying call centre, tarot card phone line, kennels assistant aka shit shoveller, pot wash, security…) so I am starkly aware of how different this is from a normal life of eating.

Disclaimer done, 2023 has been a big year for big meals. Looking back through my phone pics from the year, I was surprised at how many there were. There have been difficult times too, but these food memories spark more joy than melancholy. There were so many, in fact, that I have decided to split this round up into two parts so as not to overface you. Look out for part two coming soon.

In 2024, I intend to embrace the humble more when it comes to eating out. I’ll not say no to the posh stuff once in a while, but I want to make choices to explore more down-to-earth food as much as possible. There is so much joy in that category but working in media has meant I didn’t have a lot of space for it. I do now.

Here is part one of my most memorable meals of 2024 (I’d love to hear yours in the comments):

New Year’s Day lunch at The Pack Horse in Hayfield, Derbyshire

I generally prefer New Year’s Day to New Year’s Eve and I like to start the year without a raging hangover so that I can go somewhere rich in nature and breathe in a lungful of fresh air to start the year with. In 2023, I dragged Giz and my friend Rob (who kindly drove us) up to the hills of Derbyshire for a couple of hours of sludgy underfoot walking and stunning views - the reward being lunch at the Pack Horse in Hayfield. Chef Luke told us he was doing his best with what was left after a big NYE dinner event and if this is him at Mother Hubbard level then no wonder this is everyone I know’s favourite gastro pub in the North. A lunch of oysters, scallops, halibut and salted caramel tart was just the way to kick the year off.

Lunar New Year event at Yes Lah

This year, I ate a lot of food from Asian restaurants, trying my best to learn about this continent's diverse cuisines as respectfully as possible. When I saw there was a Lunar New Year event at Malaysian/Filipino restaurant Yes Lah, I thought it would be a good chance to learn about the occasion by immersion. I didn’t realise I would be the only person there not from an Asian background but, arriving alone, I was welcomed in and made a bunch of new friends that night some of whom I am still in touch with. I tried some dishes I had never eaten before including a mushroom and tofu hotpot with whole-boiled eggs - full of New Year symbolism - and ube and padan-flavoured sticky rice cakes for dessert and I loved hearing people’s stories around the table. You can read more about Yes Lah here, the restaurant is going to be entirely Filipino in 2024 and I will be heading back ASAP.

Launch of Higher Ground, Manchester

One of my favourite articles I wrote in 2023 for Manchester’s Finest was about one of my now favourite new openings of the year: Higher Ground. With so many places on my list to try, I don’t make repeat visits to many but Higher Ground has kept on luring me back all year. A fantastic restaurant, thoughtful, sustainable, inventive, and with some of the best service in the whole city. Working in food media, you get weekly invites to launches, new menus, and so on, and lovely as it is, the excitement of invites wears off for the most part once you’ve been doing it a few years. But when the invite to Higher Ground came through, I was buzzing and absolutely couldn’t wait. The most memorable dish for me was golden beetroot with a sort of savoury elderflower pannacotta and salted gooseberries. Read more about Higher Ground here.

Tasting menu at Fold Bistro, Marple

There were a lot of ambitious new restaurant openings in Manchester in 2023, Fold being one of them. Overseen by Exec chef Marple-born Ryan Stafford who has cooked for many American presidents and ridiculously famous celebs and sporting legends, this is not the kind of menu they are used to in Marple. This press-invited menu was full of surprises from the squid bolognese in which every element including the noodles was made from squid, to prawn cocktails on a stick, to chocolate-dipped maji, an edible succulent. My favourite dish was a simple one with burrata, fresh pear, crispy rosemary, hazelnut and miso. One to visit if you’re bored with the same old same old. They also have a great little retail range of wine.

Sampa, Blossom Street Social, Manchester

Caroline Martins burst onto the Manchester food scene in 2021 with stories of quitting her job as a scientist to go on Masterchef Brazil only to spiral out of the competition and defiantly self-fund her own study at Le Cordon Bleu in London. She’s worked in a whole load of Michelin restaurants since and has developed her own unique style of Brazilian tasting menu here in her adopted home of Manchester. Caroline is an absolute one-off and one of the most hard-working chefs I know, running her street food pop-up Rio-Mex at various locations alongside her ambitious fine dining project at Ancoats wine bar Blossom Street Social. We were stuffed with cheese balls, surrealist canapes, TWO beef courses (classic Brazil) and a Banksy-inspired dessert on this invited visit. If you’ve not been to Sampa yet, you must try it at least once.

Five-course gourmet menu at Northcote, Langho, Lancashire

My mum became unwell about halfway through 2023 and is still suffering. She is trying her best to stay upbeat and do as many fun things as she can albeit in a more sedate manner than she’d like. Just before it got bad, I was lucky enough to be invited to stay at Northcote where I jumped at the chance to take her with me. We had the most blissful 48 hours imaginable, wandering around Clitheroe before heading to the hotel for cocktails, Louis Roederer champagne and a five-course gourmet menu - all made dairy-free for my mum because she can’t tolerate dairy these days. I was there to interview star chef Lisa Goodwin Allen who told me that dietary requirements have a personal significance to her as she lives with her own unfortunate restrictions. It was incredible what they did for Mum, she felt completely looked after and her meal shone as brightly as mine. We tucked into caviar crumpets, crispy veal sweetbreads, wild turbot, and Herdwick mutton and not a nasturtium leaf was out of place. Northcote also has an unbelievable wine cellar. I always have matched wines (especially on press visits!) and wine flights can be a bit hit-and-miss. I’ve had some dreadful matches even in Michelin gaffs but Northcote’s was absolutely perfect. If that wasn’t enough, Northcote also has a cheeseboard of dreams.

Sunday lunch at Hawksmoor, Manchester

Manchester has a great Sunday roast game but this visit to Hawksmoor was next level. Disclaimer: This was a visit to cover the Sunday lunch on Finest’s social channels and so we were lavished beyond imagination with every dish on the menu, wine, cocktails, you name it. Media types, especially those with a huge reach like Finest, get an unrealistic amount of food to film and photograph, you and I would never order this much if you were on your own dolla. This was memorable because it was a great time with good people (Abby, Elliott and Sian <3) and an opportunity to dine like Henry VIII. Nevertheless, I have eaten Hawksmoor’s Sunday lunch on many ‘normal’ occasions and can absolutely vouch for it. Honorable Sunday lunch mentions BTW to Elnecot and 10 Tib Lane. Where’s your fave? Let me know in the comments.

Afternoon tea on a private jet / vegan dinner at O Gambuzino, Lisbon

Yeah, so one thing I never thought I would do is fly on a private jet, let alone eat vegan afternoon tea-style sarnies and sip Ruinart champers while doing so. But that’s what I ended up doing in spring 2023. I have to say that neither I nor the person who invited me on the jet were happy about the environmental implications of flying that way - the reason I found myself there was partly to take a seat on a flight that was being made whether we approved or not. I politely refused the invite at first - partly because I don’t like flying and have a fear of small planes - before realising that I would probably regret not taking this opportunity. It’s a long story and not one for public consumption but it was a breathtaking experience. We were headed to Lisbon to celebrate a friend’s birthday and as the birthday girl is vegan, we had a vegan dinner on the night we arrived. It was the best vegan food I have ever eaten outside of an Indian restaurant: creative, nutritious and yes, absolutely delicious. If you’re heading to Lisbon anytime soon, vegan or not, check out O Gambuzino.

The Three Fishes, Mitton, Lancashire

I was honoured to be part of a small group of food journalists to be invited to lunch at The Three Fishes at Mitton. It was here that I met the lovely Felicity Spector whose Substack Flour Power about Ukrainian food (especially baking) is a must-read. But I digress, I was excited to eat at The Three Fishes as it had been on my list for ages but my lack of wheels made it a bit trickier to get to. Meeting the wonderful Nigel Haworth who presided over Michelin star Northcote for many years was an honour. He’s a typical, down-to-earth Lancashire lad though, and his passion for local produce shines in both the impeccable menu and the pub’s life-affirming allotment gardens. From the opening note of cheesy rolls to the aria of a perfectly wobbly lemon souffle, I’ll not forget this meal in a long time. I’ll be back as soon as I can convince someone to drive out with me.

Deep-fried red snapper at Cafe San Juan, Stockport

As much as I like a fancy pants meal with matched wine and all that jazz, I equally love great, simple, homecooked food. One of my all-time favourite places in Manchester for Saturday lunch is Cafe San Juan on Petersgate in Stockport. The interior is all Colombian flags and mismatched tables and chairs. If you didn’t know, you’d be forgiven for passing it by or at least dismissing it as a place for a decent Latin American-style brekkie and that’s that. But it’s the weekend lunches you want to visit for. It’s one dish only and it changes regularly, could be lechona (whole suckling pig) or rib-sticking Colombian tamales but I love this deep-fried red snapper. I wrote all about it here so I won’t repeat myself but if you’ve not been for Saturday lunch yet, get it on your 2024 eating list. It was a huge highlight of the year for me.

I wasn’t expecting this list to be so long, so I have split it into two halves and will publish part two next weekend. I’ve already got a shortlist of places to try or revisit this year but am always happy to hear your recommendations, especially those outside the city centre so please leave a comment if there’s anywhere you’d urge me to try.

Thank you SO much for reading I Want To Eat That in 2023, you gave me purpose when I wasn’t sure what it was. I’m still exploring my own writing but I hope you will stick with me into 2024. Who knows what’s in store?

All images by me Kelly Bishop aka Kel Is Eating - please credit me if you use them.