A pizza and pasta business that started in lockdown and a vegan kebab restaurant in the Northern Quarter are among those vying for the title of Britain’s Top Takeaway. The new BBC show started this week, and will feature Chorlton’s newly-opened Lucky Mama’s on Monday night’s show (May 16) and What The Pitta on May 18.
The show pits five takeaways from across the UK against each other per episode, all from a particular style of takeaway food, who all cook in a specially created kitchen. Their dishes are then sent to local households to be judged, with a new winner crowned each week.
The show is presented by Sara Cox and comedian Darren Harriott, with the first episode - fish & chips - airing on Monday this week.
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Lucky Mama’s started out as a food truck in Eccles, with founders Mamadou Dhiam and Gaby Santos setting up an airstream trailer to sell pizza and pasta from. After brisk business, they opened their first bricks and mortar site on Barlow Moor Road in Chorlton last month.
What The Pitta, meanwhile, first launched its first vegan kebab spots in London in 2016, before branching out to Croydon and then Brighton. They opened their Manchester branch earlier this year on Back Turner Street, which seats 70 people and also does takeout.
Said the Beeb: “Each takeaway brings a delicious curated menu featuring a classic dish, chef’s special, vegetarian option and sides. Our families and friends choose dishes from the five menus but the takeaways have no idea when or what they'll order. It’s a fast and furious service!
"As soon as the food is ready, it’s raced to the door of the people who ordered it who critique the dishes they've chosen. There's no let up for the takeaway teams as the next order comes in, and at the end of a frenetic night, they finally collapse while they wait for the final scores - to see if their business can triumph as that episode's Top Takeaway.”
Added Bolton-born Cox: "When I first heard about this show they had me at takeaway! Especially in recent times, the takeaway has become something of an event in our house. We look forward to burgers, noodles, curry - all delicious and delivered to our front door.
"I’m thrilled to be celebrating the takeaway and finding the very best in Britain, and if that means eating all the leftover chips and putting on half a stone, so be it."
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