On Monday, MUNCHIES and Old Blue Last Beer hosted a supper club in Manchester with The Ottö-Men, a catering duo who specialise in contemporary Ottoman and Mediterranean cuisine.James Lavin and Nick Torkington (or “Broadbean” and “Chickpea” as they like to call each other) came together as The Ottö-Men after working on independently on Middle Eastern-inspired food stalls.“Three years ago, we were working at Leverhulme Market, with Nick selling falafel, while I specialised in blackened Lebanese lamb,” says Lavin. “We soon realised that between us, we had a fantastic and different style of mezze in the making and formed The Ottö-Men.”
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Held at TROVE, a bright cafe in the city's Ancoats area, the MUNCHIES Manchester supper club began with a selection of canapés, including fresh Armenian pastry filled with roasted vegetables and moussaka with smoked confit aubergine and a mountain of herb dressing—the kind of luscious green that makes you immediately think of summer, which is exactly what we needed on this cold January night.Guests were seated at a long shared table for the starters, a mezze of battered tenderstem broccoli and cauliflower with white bean crush, baba ganoush, and hummus. After that was the main event: a centrepiece of squash, roasted “in the shell” with burned onion and sun-dried peppers. On the side was Iranian lentil dhal and colourful baked Persian rice. To finish was a trio of sweets: warm baklava with mango and rose nectar, topped with an oat and pistachio cream and pomegranates.Here are some photos from the night.