It’s official. According to a recent poll, grilled cheese is the nation’s favourite snack.
It’s not exactly gourmet food but it’s probably the ultimate comfort food. And let’s face it, it’s something anyone can make at home. All you need is some cheese, some bread and a grill and Bob’s your uncle.
But the grilled cheese most people make at home is most probably not going to be a patch on the special blend they serve up at Northern Soul.
The UK’s first grilled cheese restaurant is one of the Northern Quarter’s most popular places to eat. And chances are, if you’re one of their fans – and let’s face it who isn’t? – you’re missing their grub.
The good news is that on Thursday, Northern Soul are launching a DIY kit so you can have a go at recreating those ‘killer eats’ in the comfort of your home. They call it GIY – grill-it-yourself. It’s just like DIY but more enjoyable. And there’s a tasty dish for you to eat when you’ve finished.
The kit comes with everything you need to replicate the original taste of Northern Soul at home:
- 2 x grilled cheese sandwiches
- 2 x classic macaroni cheese
- 1 x FREE grilled cheese voucher in every box (for when the sites re-open)
- Locally sourced ingredients to create their shop classics.
And best of all, there’s the GIY Challenge – a chance to win a year’s supply of grilled cheese. Northern Soul want their customers to delve into their own store cupboards and come up with totally unique flavours then post them on Northern Soul’s social media (@northernsoulmcr).
The best creation will make it onto Northern Soul’s shop menu (when they’re officially back), be named after them – and they win a year’s supply of FREE Northern Soul food.
“Our social media is full of people missing the shops and trying to recreate Northern Soul at home, some very good ones but equally there are some very sad looking efforts,” said owner Dan Place.
“So we have answered the call with these new packs. They include all the same ingredients and flavours we would use in the shop and should give people a bit of entertainment for an hour or so while playing chef in their own homes.”
And what about the future for Northern Soul?
“It will be a hard road back but we have worked too bloody hard for this to beat us,” says Dan. “We will have to make a lot of changes and we’re going to be working on the back foot for the next six months, but I firmly believe that small businesses that keep working through it at the moment will come back strong.
“Obviously the measures and staff safety are paramount but coming back responsibly is now very much a requirement and we will be staging our return to the high street. This starts with these home kits.
The delivered kit costs £20 and is available through the Northern Soul website. They will deliver anywhere inside the M60, on a first come first served basis.
So sod the DIY. Try a bit of GIY for a change.
Just don’t make it too late at night. We don’t want you having lockdown nightmares.