New Guest Blog Post, in which Matt celebrates 20 years of Chorlton's Lead Station

I’ve lived in Manchester on and off for about 12 years and my first flat happened to be in Chorlton. During our initial trip down Beech Road, we first remarked that it was very different to anywhere else in Chorlton, and I piped up with ‘Looks like this is the Chelsea of the North’ (I’ll let you make your own minds up on this one). I’m a little bit addicted to eggs and, needing some kind of breakfast, on our meandering we came across the Lead Station. There was a whole leafy street to explore but we thought if we were going to spend a lot of time eating around Chorlton we might as well start here, particularly since its former-police-station location is so unusual and so inviting. Now it was 12 years ago but from what I remember the food was good and when I was asked to go back there for the launch of their 20 year cookbook, I first thought, ‘Blimey where has the time gone’ and my second thought was ‘Why the hell haven’t I been back here for 12 years?’ (Now after writing this I remember my City-loving friend and I stopped off for lunch last summer, but still, the point remains.)

Anyway, enough of this nostalgia. I arrived for the 20 year celebration dinner and cookbook launch and was greeted with a really tasty mini fish and chips in a small cone. I love canapes and this really hit the spot - to be honest I could have eaten at least 8 of them. We all sat down in the back room and were greeted by Nick, the Lead Station’s owner. The menu looked appetizing and we got to choose from a selection of starters, mains and puds - for my first course I went for Grilled Goats Cheese with Sesame Seed & Balsamic Beetroot. Beetroot and Goats Cheese is a magical combination (which I probably eat 3-4 times a week) and it was nice to see it was on a measured piece of toasted bread - this is a classic way to serve it in France and I was glad to see it here as I don’t find it in many places. The sesame added a nice balance to the rich, earthy beetroot. I did manage to pilfer a little morsel of the Crab & Prawn Spring Rolls which were plump and meaty, and the Vietnamese Dipping Sauce was really moreish.

Any dish that has peas, pea puree, or any pea combination I will always order, so I couldn’t resist the Seabass & Scallops with Pea & Mint Puree with Pea Shoots. I’m not sure about you but I like the roe from the scallops being included in the dish, as they give a slight saltiness to the plump, sweet pan-fried scallops. The sea bass was perfectly cooked and the very generous portion of scallops was a lovely match paired with the creamy, rich pea puree. A big dish in every respect so I think it could have done with a little jug/helping of citrus buerre blanc to really marry the rich flavours. But all in all I’d order that dish again (and cook it as it’s in the new cookbook).

I love sharing food, maybe because I don’t ever want to miss out, so had a little taste of the Posh Shepherd’s Pie with Seasoned Greens (again from the cookbook). I’d have liked the potato a little crispier on the top but the flavours were rich and complementary, and I think that’s where the cookbook really stands out, it actually replicates the recipes from the Lead Station. A lot of places make a homage to their restaurant dishes but when you have a really good plate of food you want to create it to the exact recipe and this is where the cookbook really works.

Having a mild allergy to milk and cream (I’m ok with cheese and butter as the lactose is very much lower than pure milk and cream) I couldn’t really manage the puddings but was presented with a lovely board of classic cheeses instead - very thoughtful. The two pots of chutney were delicious and complemented the cheese very well. A delightful evening with fantastic food and good company, what more could you want on a crisp winter’s evening? The next day I delved into the cookbook.

What first struck me was the beautiful photography (I very rarely buy a cookbook that has sub-standard pics). The dishes looked inviting and immediately made me hungry - below you see a few of the dishes that really stood out for me. I’m not one for cooking massive breakfasts at home so would probably visit the Lead Station and take the breakfast firmly in hand, as well as this dish, and as a previously stated lover of beetroot, I think the beetroot risotto will become a staple dish in my household (apart from when I get in a cab and hot foot it down to the Lead Station, which will be happening on many more occasions than twice in 12 years). It's a really well-produced, useful book that will get regular use in my kitchen from now on.

- Many thanks to the Lead Station for the dinner and the book, both of which were provided free of charge for review purposes. For copies of The Cookbook please email info@theleadstation.co.uk. Nick de Sousa has owned and operated The Lead Station at 99 Beech Rd, Manchester M21 9EQ since 2007, and it is the sister restaurant to its ‘young upstart’ little brother Tariff & Dale, located in Manchester’s Northern Quarter.

The Manchester Cook Book: A Celebration of Mancunian Food and Drink

I have a bit of a problem with cook books. I own - probably - in the region of 100, and, even worse, I'm also one of those slightly spinsterish ladies who clip recipes from food magazines and keep them in a folder (OK, OK, multiple folders). I very rarely cook from them though, reading them for pleasure instead and then falling back on cooking the same old things every dinnertime, things that I can make up from whatever happens to be lying round the fridge. This is all well and good, but means that I don't ever bother making anything new - and thus, the arrival of a review copy of The Manchester Cook Book was a very fine thing indeed, forcing me to stop being so lazy and cook something different for once.

The Manchester Cook Book, written by Kate Eddison and in support of Hospitality Action, is the latest in a series celebrating regional food and drink - Sheffield, Nottingham, Derbyshire, Suffolk, Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire are already available, although the Manchester one is, of course, the most important. It offers us a foreword by Aiden Byrne, over 55 recipes from some of Manchester's best-known pubs, restaurants, delis and food producers, and some truly stunning photography of our fair city and its cuisine. The book offers a pleasing range of difficulty and poshness levels, including tricky-looking recipes from 63 Degrees and a beauty from Manchester House that seems to require handfuls of straw; I must confess though that I tried out a couple of the easier recipes - both of which were very quickly knocked up after work and were easily adapted to what I happened to have in the fridge (which, as you will see, largely consisted of chicken and rocket).

First up, I made the Hot Coronation Chicken, from a recipe provided by Palate in Chorlton. I blame my age for the fact that Coronation Chicken remains one of my very favourite things (preferably as part of a buffet spread that also involves vol-au-vents), and this hot version is quite ludicrously easy (particularly as I ignored its breezy instruction to "make a timbale with the rice" and instead opted to "make a pile"). I added some mushrooms, and found that my tastes required a little more lime than the recipe suggested; I also substituted the mange tout for some of The Great Manchester Rocket Surplus. Otherwise, I promise I cooked from the book, and the result will definitely become part of my repertoire.

The other recipe I tried was almost as easy, although did require a little planning ahead. I loved the Mojito Chicken when I had it at the launch of Mish Mash in Chorlton (yes, there are quite a few Chorlton establishments in the book) and was keen to recreate this at home - a keenness that was slightly frustrated by the fact that the chicken needs to marinate in its sexy bath of rum, sugar, lime juice and fresh mint for 12-36 hours. In the end I left mine for about 30 hours and it was totally worth it - all it required then was a quick flambé and it was good to go. I made the jalapeno salsa (verdict: new addition) but changed the other accompaniments slightly as I had no wild rice but did have a lot of tortilla wraps, avocado and (yep) rocket. I took the leftovers to work the next day and had them cold rolled up in another wrap; if anything, the flavours were even better than the day before.

This is a lovely book, and it's hard to imagine anyone in Manchester with an interest in food not enjoying it. It's published by Meze and costs £14.95 from the featured establishments, Waterstones and Amazon. Before you know it, I'll be Aiden Byrne*

*I'll be cooking Hot Coronation and Mojito Chicken dishes until the end of days.