Kitchen Rat: Slugs and spies; Battle of the (meat)balls

Slugs and spies

Spy agency GCHQ has announced that it is opening a new office in Manchester (pictured). In an uncommon display of openness the codebreakers and intelligence experts revealed the location of the new, northern HQ in Albert Square – above a Slug & Lettuce. While it is possible that after a day of cipher-cracking mathematicians are particularly partial to a two-for-one cocktail, I suspect that the location has been chosen to send a warning. A warning that they will hunt down the slug in the lettuce, the fox in the chicken coup… the rat in the kitchen?!

Battle of the (meat)balls

In a bid to prove its meatballs are the best on the high street, Frankie & Benny’s has squared up against those famous masters of the artform… Ikea. Rather than going head-to-head in a taste-off, the casual dining chain attempted to make a dent in the two million balls sold by Ikea every day by offering free meals of meatballs al forno or vegan plantballs Italiano to anyone with an Ikea receipt. One of several cheesy catchlines for the marketing campaign included ‘forget Swedish meatballs because ours are FREE’. The meatballs might be great, but this rat is unsure the economics add up.

Living the dream?

Inception Group has given a 21-year-old student the chance to experience what it’s like to run a bar, making her the honorary owner of its new 1940s station-themed venue, the Ticket Hall and Control Room, within Soho’s Cahoots. Winner Hattie Bee will be involved in cocktail development and food tastings as well as hosting a party for 50 friends at the venue. Presumably the following morning the experience will continue as she struggles to find staff to cover the Sunday shift, while fretting over profit/loss accounts and taking calls about business rate increases from the local authority.