Covid chefs: the Manchester food deliveries you won’t find on Deliveroo

After several months of home-cooked meals during lockdown, we can all confess to craving a tasty scran that’s been cooked by someone, anyone else. No matter how good a cook you are, 2020 has definitely been the year of the takeaway.

A great trend emerged during the strictest part of quarantine as local restaurants rushed to convert into takeaways: offering dishes from their menus to go, sharing recipes and sending out kits for customers to recreate at home as panic buying left supermarket shelves empty.

Delivery apps like Deliveroo and Uber Eats had a resurgence as restaurants rushed to join up, but with both platforms charging operators a 30% commission on orders some local chefs have been getting creative and setting up their own delivery services instead.

As well as making it more profitable for the chefs, it also means they can deliver further across Greater Manchester so if you don’t live within the 2-3 mile delivery area you’re not missing out.

Keep reading to discover some of Manchester’s best underground takeaways.

Mama Z x Woks Cluckin

 

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A post shared by MAMA Z (@cookingwithmamaz) on Aug 3, 2020 at 11:59pm PDT

Local street food star Mama Z has been bringing a taste of Manila to Manchester throughout lockdown, running her own home delivery service every Saturday.*

This weekend coming (15th) she’s teamed up with fellow chef Woks Cluckin on a fusion menu featuring Pan Asian specials like vegan salt and pepper chicken, chicken inasal skewers, teriyaki stir fries and Pandan ice cream.

This Saturday’s delivery will be the last for a while, so get your orders in pronto by texting 07456935248. Banana ketchup BBQ situations are a-calling.

*All food is delivered cold with easy to follow instructions to reheat and assemble dishes.

Buttery Business

 

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A post shared by Buttery Business (@butterybusinesssandwichshop) on Jun 15, 2020 at 1:17am PDT

This Manchester-based, small-batch sandwich delivery shop comes from one half of Holy Crab. Delivering every Wednesday and Saturday lunch, think big fat butties on thick slices of white bread stuffed with the likes of cider baked ham and crunchy cheddar or roasted bhaji slaw and lime pickled hummus.

The webshop opens at 12pm every Monday and Thursday for pre-orders.

Lupo Caffe Italiano

 

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A post shared by Lupo (@lupo_caffeitaliano) on Jul 15, 2020 at 1:52am PDT

Delivering vegetables, provisions, Italian lunches and dinners across Manchester and Salford, Lupo’s seasonal takeaway menu changes every month.

Savoury treats for August include fried quinoa balls (£5) and stuffed peppers filled with organic white beef ragu or fried veg with scamorza / crostini (£7), whilst on the sweet side there are cronuts (£3.50+), pistachio cream or tiramisu-filled doughnuts £3) and custard cannolos (£2.50).

To get the full menu, Whatsapp 07847 028 685.

Abeja Tapas Bar

 

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A post shared by Abeja Tapas Bar (@abejatapasbar) on Jun 12, 2020 at 10:42am PDT

This board in a box comes from Manchester’s tiniest tapas bar, Abeja, and can be posted anywhere in the UK. Starting from £20, these lockdown survival kits come filled with artisan cheeses, meats, and wines sourced directly from the finest Granada farmers.

Order yours by filling out their online form.

Gooey Co

 

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A post shared by Gooey (@gooeyco) on Jul 12, 2020 at 5:35am PDT

Cookie and donut sensations Gooey Co have absolutely thrived during the lockdown, with their weekly cookie and donut box deliveries selling out online in a matter of hours. Their latest special, inspired by Reese’s peanut butter cups and a love of white chocolate, is a must.

Delivering Thursday to Sunday across Manchester and Salford, pre-orders slots currently run fortnightly.

Pollen Bakery

 

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A post shared by Pollen Bakery (@pollenbakery) on Jul 21, 2020 at 2:51am PDT

The beloved Ancoats bakery is now back open five days a week but they’ve kept their Covid webshop open for collection and delivery pre-orders of bread, pastries and store cupboard essentials.

Delivering on Fridays and Saturdays, they’re also selling at-home cooking kits to replicate some popular brunch dishes like the tiramisu french toast and eggs shakshuka.

Skran delivery

 

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A post shared by SKran (@skrandelivery) on May 24, 2020 at 8:14am PDT

For old school tuck shop style sweets and fizzy pop delivered direct to your door, Skran delivery is the one. They boast every flavour of Fanta under the sun, their own pick n mix and a host of American sweeties like Oreo brownies, Moon Pie and Twinkies.

Delivering to all Stockport and Manchester postcodes, call 074408690645 or Snapchat skrandelivery to place an order.

Yaoyao Noodles

 

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A post shared by Yaoyao Noodles (@yaoyao_noodles) on May 22, 2020 at 7:18am PDT

This top Manchester-based ramen delivery service comes from the team previously behind legendary sushi restaurant Umezushi.

Working out of The Sparrows new kitchen, which is also operating as an order collection point, these DIY ramen kits provide everything ready-made so all you need to do is reheat, assemble and garnish.

Choices include pork tonkotsu with shiro miso, shoyu tori paitan with sichuanese chili oil, or shitake and kombu broth with aka miso (all £18).