Tickets have been selling fast for our charity dinner. I'm proud to be involved in such an event and very happy to be supporting such amazing charities (read more about them below). We have also had much generous support from local businesses supplying us with produce so we can create a fabulous dinner for people to enjoy. We owe huge thanks to The Beagle for hosting the event for us, and Elliotts Veg, Frosts the Butchers, Evans of Didsbury and The Barker Baker, Fran, who is making us some delicious bespoke naans for the banquet. Tickets are available here.

The evening involves a delightful and quirky three course dinner with sponsored beers from Black Jack & Alphabet breweries:

Cauliflower cheeky chai cup

Chai spiced cup with cauliflower ceviche & herb reduction served with pouring bottle of cauliflower soup

'Banana leaf' thali banquet

Nam jim 'Frosty free range' chicken*, butter paneer, makhani dal, Karnatakan vegetables, spiced crispy fishcake* and pakora roulette. Served with steamed basmati rice, garlic & ginger tempered naan (handmade by The Barker Baker), cachumba salad, hot mixed pickle, aubergine & tamarind chutney and mint raita

Ginger's Comfort 'Eccles to India' inspired dessert 

A quirky take on an ice-cream sandwich. Gingers Comfort 'Eccles cake' ice-cream served between two buttery ginger sable biscuits, topped with spiced poached pear & sweet port reduction

(*Vegetarian, vegan & gluten free options available - please email dietary requests to hello@thehungrygecko.com)

All profits from the event are being donated to the following charities.

Bombay Teen Challenge are a charity rescuing children and women from a life of enslavement and forced prostitution in Mumbai brothels. They provide shelter and homes for rescued women and children, feeding programs, medical care, HIV/AIDs clinics and rescue for drug addicted 'street boys'. The UK based Jubilee Campaign has helped construct four homes near Mumbai in India, to house young women in an effort to rescue them from forced prostitution as well as continuing to finance Jubilee Home IV, a home for boys and girls affected by HIV and AIDS. Money raised from this event will go directly to supporting the financing of these homes and the work undertaken by Bombay Teen Challenge in rescuing children and young people from a life of slavery. For more information about their work, please visit their websites www.bombayteenchallenge.org & www.jubileecampaign.co.uk

RECLAIM is a Manchester-based charity, enabling young people from the region's most disadvantaged communities to engage directly with the decision makers influencing their lives. Promoting leadership and facilitating dialogue with the police, council, politicians and media; RECLAIM helps those who are often marginalised to realise their voice. Directed by the agenda of it's young members, RECLAIM enables young people to maximise their capabilities by pushing the boundaries of effective youth engagement. Money raised from this event will help empower young people across the North West to make positive changes in their communities and to find inner strength and self-belief. To find out more about this charity, visit their website www.reclaimproject.org.uk