My favourite place to eat out in Manchester is… I wish I had a special place, but too many restaurants open and close. Sugo has opened in Ancoats, their second Southern Italian pasta kitchen. Their Strozzapreti is one of the best dishes I've ever eaten - with cavallo nero, anchovy, chicken stock and pangrattato and chilli it's perfect balance of softness, crunchiness, salt, sweetness, sour and heat. It's one of those dishes you just forget who you're with, your just want to just shut up and eat. It's a buzzy restaurant, and I'm excited to see that area of town grow with independent food businesses.
The best dish I’ve eaten in Manchester recently… At Oystercatcher in Chorlton. I don't order desserts, as I tend to be disappointed with them, but their creme brûlée is awesome. Perfect sugar crust and generous with the vanilla in soft wobbly custard.
My favourite dining room in Manchester is… The vegan cafe at TM3 theatre, ground floor of Afflecks is great. Its so cosy with it's birdsong, the cute doggy and the weird lizard creature in the tank, and the food is like your nan's cooking. It's not trendy vegan, it's old fashioned fry-ups, curry and rice, spaghetti bolognese. No expensive faddy ingredients here... maize rather than seitan. If I'm going posh though, Hawksmoor is really grand, I feel grand being there. And they make you feel really comfortable.
My favourite lunch spot in Manchester is… The Arndale Food Court. There so much choice now. You can go foodie with the Fusion Lab or Viet Shack – I love their big, fresh king prawn summer rolls, and Tofu Enter The Dragon bowls. Or, you can go more stodge and get a huge tub of aubergine curry from Bollywood Dhaba. It's somewhere I go on my own a lot.
If I had to eat only one thing for the rest of my days it would be… That Strozzapreti pasta dish from Sugo.
Claire Kelsey’s ‘ice cream for adults’ is the cornerstone of her ‘Ginger’s Comfort Emporium’. First purveyed through her vintage van at pop-ups across the North, it’s now widely available via a variety of stockists. Best of all, check out her permanent shop/parlour on the first floor of Affleck’s on Oldham Street in the Northern Quarter. Open 10.30am-6pm Mon-Sat and 11am-5pm Sun. Expect scoops, affogato, shakes and toasted ice cream sandwiches. Claire is doing 2-4-1 on all ice cream scoops throughout October at Affleck's. @Afflecksfox