The innovation that the hospitality industry in Manchester has adopted during the last 9 months is something I will never forget. From coffee shops adapting to takeout afternoon teas, to restaurants providing ‘at home’ kits, the industry is getting creative in order to make lockdown and tier 3 as manageable and normal as possible.
You may remember me heading to The Hive in Stretford just before our last lockdown and I was really impressed that such a new business had managed to thrive in such circumstances. Obviously, they have had to shut due to the second lockdown and tier 3 restrictions, but that hasn’t stopped them and they are offering their Christmas menu to be delivered.
The Christmas menu includes vegetarian and vegan options, but they kindly arranged for me to try a selection of their dishes including starters, mains and desserts.
With a frozen cocktail in hand, I plated up the starters. As a warning, I am not a neat plater. My repertoire when it comes to food is fairly minimal and hearty, certainly not fine dining. So I tried my best, but granted you could do a lot better.
The Country Farmhouse Terrine is wrapped in smoked streaky bacon and served with a spiced cider chutney and pickles. The terrine of chopped meats and pate is rich and flavourful, with the chutney and pickles adding a tang to balance out the dish.
My favourite of the two starters is the Smoked Salmon and Crayfish Mousse. Generously creamy filling with coarsely chopped crayfish, encased in smoked salmon and served with a parsnip remoulade for a touch of sweetness and some watercress. It is the luxurious start that you would expect from a festive meal, and such a lovely thing to be able to do in your own home.
Onto the mains and I tried three of the dishes. The Moroccan Lamp Rump gives a different spin on a Christmas meal with sweet cured lamb bacon, baba ghanoush and chermoula. The lamb is served pink and beautifully soft throughout. The beauty of eating this at home is, if that is not your preferred style, you can always pop it in the oven for a little while. The baba ghanoush is light and the chermoula adds a herby fragrant element to the dish. It doesn’t scream ‘Christmas’ to me but boy, I would order it again and again.
The Herb and Hazelnut Crusted Cod Loin is a generous sized portion of cod with potato fondant, winter cabbage and a champagne reduction. The flavours are a lot more simple but that champagne reduction adds a flair of elegance that is definitely called for at Christmas time.
I also really enjoyed the vegetarian dish I had, which is Roasted Hispi Cabbage. The addition of hazelnut stuffing and onion textures add a lovely crunch that can be missing from vegetarian options, whilst also amplifying the earthy notes in the dish. It was really tasty.
Finally there was dessert and the Chocolate Orange Mousse. The mousse is rich and aerated, topped with a tangy orange gel and generously crunchy pieces of praline. For its richness, being a mousse it is fairly light so you can either continue with a cheese board or leave things here without feeling too overstuffed.
I thoroughly enjoyed being able to enjoy a three course meal at home with as little fuss as possible. I would rather be dining out with friends, but this truly is the next best thing and I would heartily recommend you give the experience a go.
You can view the menus and book on The Hive’s site.
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