Interview: Aga Cabbage Hall
Cabbage Hall manager Aga
Cabbage Hall manager Aga takes time out from managing the newest Pesto Italian Restaurant to tell us why she loves being a manager and what she hopes the future holds for Pesto at the Cabbage Hall.
How long have you been part of the Pesto team?
I have been part of the Pesto Cabbage Hall team for three months now.
What is the best thing about working for Pesto at the Cabbage Hall?
I love dealing with our Pesto customers. Here at Cabbage Hall people are very friendly and even though we are here for just over two months we have already regular customers and many of them are friends already
What is your favourite Pesto Cabbage Hall dish and drink?
I love many of our dishes, however if I would have to choose one of them I think it would be the bruschetta pomodoro. My favourite drink is for sure the soda water – we run here so much water is always welcome!
What’s the funniest thing to have happened to you at Cabbage Hall?
It was when the fire alarm went on in a very busy night. It took me some minutes to disarm it and when I finish I had all this faces looking at me. It was so funny, I just went around saying to everyone that it was fine, no fire at all.
Which three celebrities would you invite to dinner at Pesto Cabbage Hall?
It would be Hugh Grant, Demi Moore and George Clooney.
What inspired you to become a manager?
Necessity and loving been bossy! Just kidding! I love managing people, making sure that things are done properly, in a way that the customers would always feel like coming back.
After a meal at Pesto Cabbage Hall, what’s the best thing to do in Tarporley?
Go to sleep!
What was the last show you went to and how was it?
Yesterday, I went with friends to a pub in London. It had live music and we had the best time.
What does the next year at Pesto at the Cabbage Hall hold for you?
I hope a lot of fun, many more customers and hopefully getting a very good reputation for good service and food in the Tarporley region.
Pesto’s Picks February 2012
With the Celtic Connections festival in full swing and the Glasgow Film Festival 2012 gearing up for kick-off on the 16th February, Scotland’s biggest city is certainly living up to its reputation as a hub of creative activity.
Pesto Italian Restaurants Glasgow is located right at the centre of the city on vibrant St Vincent Street, just a stone’s throw from Central Station and countless music venues, cinemas, nightclubs and theatres – the ideal place to fill up before throwing yourself into the action!
For all the mums and dads out there, this years Glasgow Film Festival has put together a special parent and baby screening; in short it’s highlights from the eight international competition programmes condensed into an hour-and-a-half long ‘film’. The selection of clips is set to remain a secret right up until the curtains open, but the folks at Glasgow Film Festival promise and “entertaining and thought-provoking drama, documentary and animation from around the world” with “no extreme content or sudden loud noises” with the lights remaining on low to allow easy movement during the screening. Tickets are a very reasonable £4 and all babies go free, but must be accompanied by an adult, obviously.
http://www.glasgowfilm.org/festival/whats_on/3624_short_stuff_parent_baby_screening
Now, this year at the Glasgow Film Festival there’s said to be festivals within festivals, which all sounds a bit Inception to us, but apparently it’s just “mini festivals within the Festival that both complement and diversify the programme as a whole”. The mini festivals are the Short Film Festival, Youth Film Festival, the Music and Film Festival and Frightfest – ooh er!
The Frightfest is brought to Glasgow Film Festival by Film4 and will premiere a massive eleven movies this year, including Crawl, War of the Dead and The Raid. The two-day-movie-marathon starts at 13:30 on Friday 24th February and ends Saturday 25th February at 23:15. All screenings are rated 18+ and are likely to put you off your tea, so if you are heading out to Frightfest be sure to stop by Pesto Italian Restaurants Glasgow for a spot of lunch first.
Heading down to the North West for February, highlights for the month include Irish superstars Snow Patrol at the Manchester Evening News Arena and the X Factor Live Tour 2012 also at the MEN.
Snow Patrol’s sixth album Fallen Empires was released on November 11th 2011 and was the band’s highest debut on the Billboard chart. Almost nine years after their commercial breakthrough album Final Straw, the band are have just started their fifth major tour with
dates scheduled across Europe, the US and Canada. The Irish lovelies will take to the MEN stage on Friday 3rd February with support from Manchester lads Everything Everything.
- Not part of Fright Fest
Last years X Factor competition was easily one of the most explosive yet, with fiery exits, band break-ups, bitchy judges, Kitty Brucknell and more Adele renditions than your average karaoke bar on a Saturday night. And all without Simon Cowell.
We reckon the X Factor Tour 2012 is not to be missed, and there are still (just a few) tickets left for their two
-day-stint at the MEN Arena on Saturday the 25th and Sunday 26th of February. If you want to treat your other half to a flamboyant Valentine’s gift tickets are £38 (inc booking fee) available from Ticketmaster.
Hi
ghlights in Liverpool this month include a show at the Liverpool Philharmonic from Mike and the Mechanics legend Paul Carrack and a special Valentine’s screening of the Audrey Hepburn classic Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Former Mike and the Mechanics frontman (you’d think he’d be called Mike…), Squeeze keyboardist and the voice behind Ace’s How Long and Squeeze’s Tempted and The Living Years has a reputation as a brilliant live performer. His velvety voice oozes soul and his talent as a multi-instrumentalists makes him one of the last century’s most underrated artists.
Friday 17th February from 7:30pm, tickets are available from Ticketmaster.
Truman Capote’s charming fairytale is once again brought to life this Valentines Day at the Liverpool Philharmonic. For those of you who don’t know the story, or haven’t got round to seeing it yet (really, what’s your excuse?!), young New York writer Paul Varjak (George Peppard) moves into a flat and meets the eccentric Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn) who has a penchant for the dramatic and leads highly glamorous social and emotional life. Holly is a party girl whose extraordinarily stylish facade masks bleak inner anguish and a hidden past. Henry Mancini’s Oscar-winning ballad ‘Moon River‘ underscores a beautifully romantic end to the 1961 classic.
http://www.glasgowfilm.org/festival
http://www.glasgowfilm.org/festival/information/festivals_within_the_festivals/gmff
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snow_Patrol
http://www.everything-everything.co.uk/
https://twitter.com/#!/kittybrucknell
http://www.ticketmaster.co.uk/X-Factor-Live-tickets/artist/27410
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squeeze_(band)
www.mike-and-the-mechanics.co.uk
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Carrack
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Truman_Capote
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breakfast_at_Tiffany’s_(film)
Mario Balotelli pops into Pesto!
Extrovert Man City star Mario Balotelli popped into Pesto Italian Restaurants Trafford Centre yesterday for a pre-match meal with a friend.
The controversial star, who scored Man City’s winning goal against Tottenham Hotspur this afternoon at Etihad Stadium (3-2), visited Pesto Trafford Centre last night for a tasty meal before heading off on a shopping spree.
The goal marked Mario Balotelli’s 22nd goal for the team and his 50th career goal to date.
21-year-old Mario Balotelli started his career at Italian football team A.C Lumezzane at the age of just 15. In 2006 Balotelli was signed by F.C Internazionale Milano where he scored a whopping 28 goals until his 2010 transfer to Manchester City.
The promising young striker is a set-piece (deadball) specialist and is often referred to as ‘Super Mario’.
For all you budding footballers out there wondering what champions eat before crushing the competition – Balotelli enjoyed our delicious Calamari, pepperoni pizza and Pesto favourite Arancini with a (rather healthy) fresh pineapple juice – definitely a winning combination!
Needless to say, Balotelli didn’t need £5,000 in his pocket to cover his afternoon treat at Pesto, nor (thank goodness) did he at any point require a bib.
Balotelli recently made headlines after setting fire to his own kitchen in a misguided attempt at creating a fireworks display, but has since become the face of a local campaign endorsing the responsible use of fireworks.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mario_Balotelli
http://ibnlive.in.com/news/after-house-fire-balotelli-backs-firework-safety/196377-5-21.html
http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/opinion/columnists/the-mole/The-Mole-column-Revealed-why-Manchester-City-signing-Mario-Balotelli-had-5-000-in-his-back-pocket-when-he-crashed-his-car-article571765.html
http://www.metro.co.uk/sport/oddballs/858477-mario-balotelli-versus-the-training-bib-a-battle-to-dress-or-be-dressed
Celtic Connections 2012
With Burns night just a few days away and the Celtic Connections festival well under way, we thought it was about time we highlighted the best of what’s on up north in Scotland’s biggest city.
This years Celtic Connections festival features some of Scotland and Irelands biggest names in the folk community as well as acts from across the globe whose music has been influenced by Celtic music. Below are the Pesto Italian Restaurants Glasgow top acts not to be missed at this year’s Celtic Connections.
Thursday 2nd February sees Belfast native Andy White take to the stage at Glasgow Art Club on Bath Street, just a few minutes walk from Pesto Italian Restaurants Glasgow. Andy garnered a worldwide following for combining folk and pop stylings with a poet’s sensibility. Working with the heavyweights of Irish music including Van Morrison and Sinead O’Connor in addition to writing with Peter Gabriel and Neil and Tim Finn, Andy has scooped Ireland’s top songwriting awards and completed several world tours.
Thursday 2nd February 8pm, The Glasgow Art Club
http://www.celticconnections.com/whatson/event/119679-Andy-White
After a lengthy break from performing, Isle-of-Skye born Anne Martin will be bringing her brand of traditional Gaelic song to Glasgow University, where Glasgow-based band Askolenn will collaborate with students and staff at the Gaelic and Celtic departments of the University.
Thursday 26th January 8pm, Glasgow University
http://www.celticconnections.com/whatson/event/119691-Ce%C3%B2l%27s-Craic-Anne-Martin-&-Friends-and-Askolenn-&-Glasgow-University
Born of a 2010 Dublin Fringe Fest commission, This Is How We Fly consists of Caoimhín Ó Raghallaigh (fiddle/hardanger fiddle), Seán Mac Erlaine (bass clarinet/saxophones/electronics), Nic Gareiss (percussive dance), and Petter Berndalen (drums/percussion). Their sound melds Irish and Swedish traditional sounds with American freestyle footwork, live electronica and the occasional jazz improv. A truly unique quartet with a stage show not to be missed.
Also performing are Italian outfit Liguriani who blend fiddles with flute, bagpipes, guitars and accordions.
Saturday 21st January 7:30pm, St Andrews in the Square
http://www.celticconnections.com/whatson/event/118714-This-is-How-we-Fly-and-Liguriani
And for those of you who don’t want the party to end why not stop by Pesto Italian Restaurants Glasgow for some last minute food to refuel before a night at the Celtic Connections after show club night. The after-show nights are hosted at Apollo 23, just a five minute walk from Pesto Italian Restaurants Sin Vincent Street. The late night club ensures that there is even more music to enjoy after all the gigs are over, with line-ups never divulged before the night – the Festival Club is said to be the late-night jam session to end all jam sessions!
10pm till late, Friday 20th Jan – Sunday 5th Feb
http://www.apollo23.com/
Castles and the Cabbage Hall
Pesto at the Cabbage Hall, aside from having two roaring fireplaces and a fine selection of traditional beers, boasts something the other Pesto sites do not – complete rural tranquility.
Stunning scenery, ideal for epic walking expeditions, surround Pesto at the Cabbage Hall making it the perfect location for a relaxing meal by the fire after a day out in Tarporley. But what exactly is there to do in Tarporley?
First off there’s Cholmondeley Castle Gardens, located just a few miles from Pesto at the Cabbage Hall in neighbouring Malpas. A product of the early 19th Century, Chlomondeley Castle stands above a lake and is surrounded by a variety of trees including oak, chestnut and lebannon. The gardens are of rare aesthetic beauty, offering a stunning blend of colour and height bordering romantic walks around the lake. The castle also has a children’s play area and farm animals including African pygmy goats and aviary with countless varieties of birds. Get your Attenborough on!
The castle is the perfect day out for anyone wishing to grab a slice of history, scenery and farmlife all in one day. http://www.cholmondeleycastle.com/Index.asp
Next up we have another historic castle in Tarporley; known as the the formidable ‘Castle of the Rock’, Beeston Castle is an impressive crag boasting stunning views over eight counties, from the Pennines to the Welsh mountains from its lookout point.
Perfect for inquisitive children, the castle is surrounded by beautiful woodlands with wildlife trails and even the chance to find the long-lost treasure of Richard II.
- Where’s me treasure?!
Beeston Castle is just a few miles from Pesto at the Cabbage Hall where children are more than welcome. http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/beeston-castle-and-woodland-park/
Now, if castles aren’t floating your moat perhaps a safari adventure will! Reaseheath Zoo is based just a few short miles from Pesto at the Cabbage Hall and is home to an exquisite range of wildlife, from meerkats to bat-eared foxes.
If you’re planning a day out why not book your table for Pesto at the Cabbage Hall online? You can also ask us anything about our food, see pictures of the restaurant and tell us about your visit to Pesto at the Cabbage Hall on our Facebook page http://facebook.com/pestorestaurants
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_II_of_England
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/beeston-castle-and-woodland-park/
http://www.cholmondeleycastle.com/Index.asp
http://www.visitchester.com/things-to-do/reaseheath-zoo-p115841
Cocktail Masterclass – No. 1
Well 2012 is well and truly here, festive celebrations are over and it’s back to work, but the end of the festive season doesn’t have to be all doom and gloom! Why not spice up your evening by popping into Pesto Italian Restaurants for a cheeky cocktail – or if you don’t have time, take our cocktail masterclass and teach yourself how to recreate Pesto’s best recipes?
The first Pesto Italian Restaurants masterclass, as effortlessly demonstrated by our very own Deansgate cocktail king Marcus, will take you through how to create the Maple Leaf.
The Maple Leaf is the creation of Marcus and Christian of Pesto Italian Restaurants Deansgate. The special recipe was laboriously tested by Marcus, Christian and the video team – we are pleased to confirm this delicious treat is easy to make and suitably potent for any New Year’s celebrations!
So, without further ado, we introduce Pesto Italian Restaurants the Maple Leaf.
Ingredients
Maple Syrup
Monin Syrup (liquid sugar)
Mount Gay Rum
Basil
Lots of ice!
Equipment
Cocktail shaker
Cocktail glasses
Straws (optional)
Strainer
Method
Chill your cocktail glass with ice and soda
Add a shot of maple syrup
Add a generous shot of Mount Gay rum
Monin syrup
A smack of basil
Shake it all up with the ice
Strain and pour
Enjoy!
Pesto’s Picks January 2012
The New Year is almost upon us, and with 2011 having been the second warmest year on UK records hopefully our New Year celebrations won’t be blighted by freezing temperatures and relentless rain. Or perhaps that’s just wishful thinking…
With many of us about to embark upon the mission of sticking it to a long-standing vice, enter into battle with excess Christmas weight or seek out a new career as part of our New Year’s resolutions, what better time to take your mind off all that stress-inducing good behaviour and enjoy watching someone else sweat it out for a few hours, bringing us to the first pick of the year; TNA Maximum Impact Wrestling IV at the Manchester Evening News Arena. (Friday 27th January)
According to the MEN “Wrestling legends Sting and Kurt Angle head up the roster of stars from TNA’s flagship television programme Impact Wrestling.
“TNA World Heavyweight Champion Sting will be making his first wrestling appearance in the UK for almost a decade alongside Olympic Gold Medallist Kurt Angle.
“Also starring at the Manchester event will be Gail Kim, Rob Van Dam, Beer Money, Crimson, Mickie James, Gunner, “The Phenomenal” AJ Styles, “Samoan Submission Machine” Samoa Joe, TNA Knockout Velvet Sky, Mr. Anderson, Matt Morgan, Bully Ray, Mexican American and many more.
“Speaking ahead of his Manchester visit, Sting says: “It has been too long since I’ve been back to the UK. I promise you there will be Maximum Impact in January 2012. It’s going to be Showtime!
“Fans will see lots of bodies flying through the air, broken tables, chairs everywhere. We call it professional wrestling. We call it IMPACT WRESTLING”.
Ooh er.
- Stern
Next up from the North West we have something altogether more relaxing and a little more high-brow from the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, Beethoven’s Pastoral (Wednesday 11th January).
Conducted by Vasily Petrenko with Nikolai Lugansky performing Beethoven’s Overture, Prometheus, Piano Concerto No. 4 and Symphony No. 6 ‘Pastoral’ the evening is set to by truly magical, ideal for anyone wishing to wind down following the excesses of the festive season.
“One great composer: three incredible worlds. From blazing joy to blinding rage, no composer captured human emotion with more passion – or poetry – than Ludwig van Beethoven.”
Tickets range from £13 to £36, but there aren’t too many left!
Back from the 90's
Yooooooou’re gooooooorgeous! Probably words you’ve heard exchanged many times over the Christmas period if you’ve visited at least one bar with at least one over-zelous festive reveller. Well, if you’re in Glasgow this January 31st and would like to hear the song as it should be sung, britpop one-hit-wonder Babybird, or Stephen Jones as he’s less-commonly known will be performing at Glasgow’s legendary King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut.
Jones’s brand of off-beat pop will be sure to brighten up your post-christmas midweek blues, and at only £12.50 a ticket it won’t break the bank either. Support comes from the Sneaky Russians, who appear not to be Russian, but must have sneaky tendencies to have wormed their way onto the bill with their dire brand of long-deceased garage band indie-pop.
Well that’s it folks, our picks of the month for January. Next month, what with it being February and all, we’ll be doing a Valentine’s special – watch this space!
www.men-arena.com/?page_id=1867
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2080355/Feeling-hot-2011-second-warmest-year-record-hottest-spring.html
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurt_Angle
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasily_Petrenko
lugansky.homestead.com/
www.babybirdmusic.me
Pesto’s Perfect Trees!
Carrie and Big. Bert and Ernie. Cookies and milk. Some things just work better together, and without a tree Christmas just doesn’t work. The festive aroma, the decorating ritual and above all, presents underneath are part of what make Christmas, er, Christmassy!
Now, with there only being one days left till the big day itself, we’d hedge our bets that some of you are still scrambling to find the time to even choose a tree, never mind get it dressed up in time for Christmas morning. This is where we’re on hand to help! Here are Pesto’s top five tips for choosing the perfect tree!
1. Size does matter. If, like most of us, every inch of living space matters the last thing you want is a monster Redwood Christmas tree eating up your lounge. If you’re struggling to squeeze in a Tesco pot-plant, steer clear of lavish big trees, however tempting! Pick the perfect space for your tree and measure it before going shopping to save yourself a world of hassle later in the day.
2. Age also matters. A recent Facebook post from a most unlucky festive relative served as an excellent reminder that choosing where you buy your tree is every bit, if not more important than the tree. The relative in question splashed out a rather decadent £75 at her local farm shop only for the tree to wilt and die within ten days. Finding out whether your local tree stockist buys in their stock weekly or if it’s one big delivery will allow you to gauge how ago the tree was cut and judge whether it’s likely to be a duffer by Christmas morning.
3. Hate hoovering? The Norway Spruce might not be the tree for you…Some trees emit that gorgeous festive aroma, others retain their needles long after they’ve adopted that delightful shade of brown. For best needle retention the Noble Fir might be best for your household, while the Norway Fir really captures that festive scent.
4. Shape matters. As most Christmas trees in commercial shops have already been stuffed into nets, it makes it nigh on impossible to guess whether the tree in question has a classic Christmas tree shape, or is in fact a Side-Show Bob bonsai nightmare. Short of ripping the net off in-store (and possibly being removed from said shop) all you can do is try to find a small platform from which to gaze down the top of the tree to assess how even the branches are. Or you could try grabbing a tree from a local seller, who tend not to net their stock.
5. Fake it. If all of the above just seems too strenuous for arguably the most time-consuming month of the year, pop into John Lewis and buy a fake. Buying a fake does have its upsides; no messy pine needles, no faffing with nets, no watering around hundreds of potential fire hazards and best of all you can shove it in the attic and drag it out next year saving you time and money in the long run. All that aside, fake trees are rather naff, and it might just take you all year to find one that looks anywhere near as pretty as a genuine festive fir.
Struggling for a last minute stocking filler? Pop into Pesto today and pick up a gift voucher!
Keep up with us on Facebook and Twitter for more frequent updates.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carrie_Bradshaw
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norway_Spruce
Cinepanettone & Cocktails
Think Christmas movies, think It’s a Wonderful Life, Scrooged, Nightmare Before Christmas, the Snowman and countless other festive feelgood classics. On the other hand, think Italian Christmas movies, and imagine Carry on Camping with a festive bent.
Cine-panettone are Italian comedy movies released over the Christmas period often based in, or featuring characters from the salubrious city of Milan. They also happen to feature quite a lot of nudity and some exceptionally bad acting.
Despite poor artistic merit, garbled plot-lines, gratuitous nudity and lowest-common-denominator, fore-head walloping humour, the cine-panettone offerings continue to drive festive film lovers to the big-screen in their droves.
While seasonal blockbusters Hugo, Arthur Christmas and Puss in Boots dominate the box office in the UK and America, Vacanze di Natale a Cortina is set to take the Italian box office by storm following the official theatre release today. You can check out the clip below, but it probably won’t make too much sense unless you speak Italian.
Now, Italian festive cinema aside, the team at Pesto Deansgate have a Christmas cocktail treat in store for all the party-lovers out there! This week we’ve been filming the making of some of the brand new cocktails as concocted by our very own Bartenders Extraordinaire Marcus and Christian! The guys talked us through how to make a couple of their own creations as well as their twists on cocktail classics. We’ll be sharing our secrets on YouTube in the coming days, so watch this space!
What are you up to over the festive season? Have you got a cocktail recipe you’d like to suggest? Let us know on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pestorestaurants) or Tweet us @pestorestaurant
Cabbage Hall Open Now!
Since opening in 2006 the Pesto family has been steadily growing, with four restaurants situated in Manchester, Liverpool and Glasgow. Today we are proud to announce the addition of Pesto at the Cabbage Hall to the family!
Located in stunning rural Cheshire, Pesto at the Cabbage Hall will offer Pesto’s delicious Italian piattini menu, alongside real ales in a cosy pub environment.
Pesto at the Cabbage Hall can be easily located from the main scenic routes through Cheshire, namely the A49 and A54 . Tarpoley is a hub of activity in otherwise sleepy Cheshire, with frequent dressage and cycling events taking place in and around the Cabbage Hall. Nearby attractions include historic Beeston Castle and Cheshire Pony Centre.
With its traditional pub atmosphere, Pesto at the Cabbage Hall is the ideal location for a family Christmas meal, why not check out our Christmas menu and reserve a table today? To make a bespoke reservation please call us on 01829 760292 where one of the Pesto team will be happy to discuss your requirements.
If you would like to make a Christmas booking for any of our other restaurants please call us on the numbers provided on the contact page, and for non-Christmas bookings you can use our simple reservations form here.
Have you got photos from your latest Pesto outing you’d like to share? Why not post them to Facebook or Tweet us?
http://www.facebook.com/pestorestaurants
http://www.twitter.com/pestorestaurant
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