Quality Street pick and mix has landed in Manchester – we headed out to try it

It’s the quirky confectionery treat that has caught the public’s imagination – and Quality Street pick and mix (known as pic ‘n’ mix in more traditional quarters) has FINALLY arrived in Manchester.

It gives choccy lovers the chance to select their OWN mix of the classic foil-wrapped chocolates in a big Quality Street tin just in time for Christmas – so no more tossing the nasty ones you don’t like to one side.

News that the pick and mix counters would be heading to Manchester caused something of a frenzy when it was revealed last month.

Now the wait is over, as the pick and mix counters are live and ready to use at John Lewis in the intu Trafford Centre and at Cheadle Royal.

We headed over to the Trafford Centre to give it a whirl. Not a chocolate one, of course.

The first thing you need to know is that you WON’T be getting the chance to stick your grubby mits into those huge cylinders of choccies.  Instead there is a dedicated chocolate assistant, wearing gloves, whose job it is to measure out your favourites.

Also, you might want to decide before you arrive which you want in the tin – you have to have a minimum of three flavours (so no hogging all of the green triangles) and you get a card to tick off which sweeties you’d like in your tin.

Just to remind you of your options, there’s the purple one (chocolate caramel and hazelnut), the gold one (toffee finger), the green triangle one (noisette), the red one (strawberry), the yellow one (caramel swirl), the green one (chocolate block), the orange one (orange creme), the one in the orange foil (orange crunch), the pink one (fudge), the blue one (coconut eclair), the brown one (toffee) and the golden brown one (honeycomb crunch).

Your selection is then measured out on a scale to ensure you get your full 1.2kg worth for £12 a tin.

At the intu Trafford Centre pick and mix (sadly not at Cheadle) there’s also the chance to personalise your own tin (for an extra £3) with a name or words of your choice.

I just about managed to squeeze on I Love Mcr for our very own tin – but be aware they can only fit nine letters in total on the lid.

As to the three flavours I chose?  Well it had to be the green triangle, the red strawberry one and the purple one of course.