Mike and John cooked for us in our home to celebrate my husband's 40th birthday. WOW what a night,…read moreI have to say it was the best night we have ever had, Mike and John worked closely with us to create the perfect menu for our guests, he provided all of the cutlery, plates and glasses and even washed up at the end. The evening was extremely good value for money, costing a similar amount to going to a restaurant but, with no babysitters or taxi home required and a much better level of food - simply fantastic and well recommended.

The Drunken Butcher combines the very best quality food with the very best qualities of a…read morenon-commercial enterprise. For sure, he doesn't run a charity, but he's not in this for the money as much as he just seems to love putting on events and watching us all go absolutely gaga for what is served up. The atmosphere is friendly, the prices incredibly reasonable considering, and the portions generous at their smallest size. And before I go any further, a word about the portions. I've only been to The Butcher's Summer Party, but the day before the email instructions included "Bring tupperware" and that was good advice. And to show how serious he was about that, The Butcher had even brought takeaway boxes to give out to people too British to have turned up with their own (I overcame my traditional reserve, thus proving me more greedy than most). I filled two large tupperware with some of the best food I'd eaten in weeks just from the mountain of leftovers when we couldn't eat any more. But The Drunken Butcher isn't really about quantity (although seriously: just huge) as much as jaw-dropping quality. Everything he touches turns to tastebud delighting gold. Particular praise has been heaped before on his pork cheek, and it truly is stand-out even by the high standards of everything else. The lavish attention to detail shines through in the food, such as a 7 day simmered chilli recipe which had the crowds flocking. It says a lot that almost everything I ate all night would have been my best meal all week most weeks, and a number of things my best all month. The quality of the meat is sensational, and The Butcher is like a savant in just understanding how to treat every cut. The only downside to this guy is that his events sell out so quickly I can rarely attend. Don't hesitate, go!

Some friends had already been to a supper club at Dinner at the Manor before and recommended it for…read morethe group of 10 of us to try one Saturday lunchtime. What was novel about this one compared to other supper clubs we'd been to was that the hosts encourage you to choose a particular chef or cookbook(s) that you like or haven't tried before and they will devise a multi-course meal for you. It can be a collaborative process and they are happy to make small amendments to ensure you're happy before the event. Our meal was going to be by Yotam Ottolenghi, a Jerusalem-born, British-based cookery writer and chef - I hadn't heard of him before but my more learned foodie friends had raved about him. Our chefs, friends Susie & Dan, ended up developing a sumptuous four-course Middle-Eastern meal (though the canapé course and starter were each made up of two dishes!). Held at Dan's house in his beautifully decorated dining room, we were warmly welcomed with a glass of fizz (you're free to bring your own alcohol as well) and it wasn't long before the first canapé arrived. We were there for well over three hours in the end; fully satisfied and ready for a nap afterwards. As every meal they do is unique to the set of diners, I'm not going to describe what we had, but needless to say everyone absolutely loved it. You can get in touch with them via their website. Definitely a unique dining experience; and one you can feel part of its development.

CSFTS is a Jewish supper club hosted by Sue and Ian Waxman at their home in Prestwich. This one,…read more'Balabusta Delight', was the third they'd hosted and it'd grown in scale to 18 dinner guests from 10 at their first event. The concept of supper clubs is quite simple: you buy a ticket to dine at someone's house and enjoy your meal with a wide range of people you wouldn't ordinarily get to meet. Sounds odd and slightly daunting I know, but having been to a few of these now, I can assure you they are a great way to discover new 'foodie' goings-on in Manchester; not to mention meeting lots of lovely people in the process. Pretty much all of them are bring your own booze, too. On to the supper club itself. Balabusta is a Yiddish expression to describe a good homemaker, so we were imagining delicious Jewish family dishes served straight from the heart of the home. Having never eaten this type of cuisine before, I really didn't know what to expect. We were all seated at a long table in the Waxmans' large dining room and our names were written on the menus so we knew where to sit. After some quick introductions and hellos to some familiar faces, Sue welcomed us all and this swiftly followed by the starter: a trio of fish. This comprised chopped and fried gefilte fish with chrane (horseradish and beetroot sauce) and crispy smoked salmon kreplach (a dumpling) served with tangy tabbouleh (vegetarian salad). The next course was Matzah ball chicken soup with lokshen (flat egg noodles) served with a chopped liver choux bun and traditional breads. After this came the hearty main course: Moroccan roasted chicken, tzimmes (Jewish sweet stew), potato kugel and green beans in tomato sauce with onions and garlic. We needed a slight rest after this, to enable us to enjoy the dessert of an apple and challah (Jewish braided bread) pudding with a pot of creamy sesame halva. This was the highlight of the night for me. With our souls and stomachs fully content, we left for home. It was a great, fun night and I'll definitely be going to another one. Tip: for details of upcoming events, follow Sue on Twitter (@schmalznpepper).