Food: #YourNewMcDonalds #AD

Food: #YourNewMcDonalds #AD

Wednesday, 24 May 2017

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Ever since I was a little girl, McDonald’s has always been a place filled with excitement and good feelings. Whether it be a treat after a good school report, a place to hang out with friends on the Maltese waterfront after-school, or else just somewhere to go now, as a teacher, when a quick snack is needed after a long day of teaching and marking books, I know that I can always rely on McDonald’s to give me that little bit of comfort. I’ve eaten McDonald’s all over the world, in France, Spain and Germany alike, and the convenience of going into a restaurant and ordering a meal, knowing full well that it’ll be exactly as you want it, appeals to me on so many levels.

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be invited witness the entire magic of McDonalds behind the scenes, in their Huyton Page Moss restaurant. Huyton’s a little bit out of the way for me, but the promise of an amazing experience spurred me on and I made my way (bags of school books in hand) to see what REALLY happens in the McDonald’s kitchen. I was advised that we (a few other bloggers and I) would get to meet a few of the people behind the Page Moss restaurant and learn all about how the company has transitioned into a multi-functional, technologically advanced comapny, as well as have the opportunity to make my very own burger. That’s right: with my own, bare hands. What a blinking fabulous opportunity!

I happened to go to the restaurant with 2 of my blogger friends, and after a quick detour via a different restaurant in Huyton, we arrived at Page Moss just in time for the shenanigans. We were greeted by Diane, the restaurant manager, and one of the men who had franchised into the McDonald’s brand, Mark Blundell. Mark has worked within the McDonald’s brand for 30 years and currently owns 5 restaurants across Liverpool. He is set to open a sixth restaurant, in Great Homer Street which will inevitably introduce jobs to the area. It’s also the first restaurant to be built within restaurant for 16 years, so definitely something to look forward to!

We sat down and Mark provided little drinks for us to sip at whilst he explained the enormous amount of changes that the restaurant, and the brand as a whole, had undergone over the last few years. He explained that whilst in the past food may have been sitting around for a short period of time (as in, twenty seconds maximum), ALL food at McDonald’s is now made fresh to order so there are no concerns about whether or not the food is fresh, hot and properly cooked. It also leads to improved customer convenience; you can order your burger exactly as you want it, with or without different ingredients, with no worry that you’ll be standing around waiting for an insufferable amount of time for your lunch. Making a quarter pounder without onions, for example, would take exactly the same amount of time to make as a normal, unaltered quarter pounder because of their fresh to order policy – an average time of between 120 and 180 seconds, Mark claims. The group split into two at this point, and myself, Sam and Katy went deep into the staff area and were kitted out with our very own, personalised McDonald’s uniform. To be honest with you, I don’t think I’ve ever been more chuffed to receive an apron and a hat as a gift and I was quick to get stuck in and put it on!

I’m not a big fan of the classic Big Mac burger so I opted to make my own Quarter Pounder with Cheese (sans mustard and onions). I’m going to be honest here, the whole experience was quite a stressful one and my respect for McDonald’s staff has risen exponentially as a result. The pace in the kitchen is incredibly fast and turnaround is equally so. I felt completely in the way and found myself apologising at every opportunity! After a very thorough hand-wash, I was able to get stuck in and make my burger. I started off by putting the patties on the grill and pressing them down with a very scary looking piece of equipment. After what felt like the blink of an eye, the burgers were cooked and I transferred them over to a tray for transport to the next ‘station.’ I learnt that in the McDonald’s kitchen, everyone has a different job to do – this definitely speeds up production and makes it possible to give the customer their food in their target time. I chose my toppings (a dollop of the red stuff) and toasted my buns, evenly on both sides, in the biggest toaster I’ve ever seen. Next, I was directed over to the fries station where, salted carefully, I directed my fries into the holder with expert (HA!) precision. I finished off by making myself a Mango and Pineapple smoothie, before settling down back in the restaurant to enjoy my creation. Did it taste good? It did. Could I master that and do it on a daily basis? Probably not. Hats (and hair-nets!) off to the amazing staff who do that day-in, day-out. I salute you.

One of the main improvements that the restaurant has undergone in the last few months is one that you’ve probably, as McDonald’s customers, already familiarised yourself with: those fancy-dancy kiosks. The kiosks allow for an entirely improved customer experience: not only can you customise your order to ensure you get your meal exactly as you want it, but you can also easily access all of the nutritional information about every dish that they have available for you to purchase. I’ve also found, personally, that I’ve chosen things that I wouldn’t normally have ordered- there’s always that feeling of panic when you go to the counter to order food- you forget everything you were going to say and just order your usual, if you’re anything like me! McDonald’s have also introduced a table service option when using the kiosks- select a ‘zone’ and have your food delivered to you in pretty much the time it takes for you to sit down! They’ve also added child-friendly tablets to the tables, making McDonald’s into a place where adults and children alike can pass time and be productive. There are games available for the little ones to occupy themselves with whilst you have a coffee, as well as all the usual apps available for adults to use whilst they’re devouring their meal.

I think it’s safe to say that my experience at McDonald’s was an absolutely fantastic one and I am over the moon to have been invited to be part of such an opportunity! Thanks to McDonalds, to Diane and to Mark for the invitation. I look forward to all of the other amazing, innovative and exciting things that McDonald's will introduce in the future! 

V-Day: How To Have the Perfect (Date) Night All Under One Roof*

V-Day: How To Have the Perfect (Date) Night All Under One Roof*

Sunday, 12 February 2017

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It’s that time of year again: that one that begins with the dreaded “V.” If you’re single, like me, the whole palaver can be quite over the top and frustrating. I’m not really a celebrator of Valentines, single or not, but last Thursday evening I was lucky enough to be invited to a little pre-Valentines shindig of eating good food and watching a fab movie, at the Printworks in Manchester. I invited one of my friends to come along with me and join in the fun and boy oh boy, a lot of fun was had. 

I’m at an age (the young age of 23, if you’re wondering) where heading to the Printworks is actually a regular occurrence: it’s definitely got that reputation for being a student-y venue, and whilst I’m not quite one of those any more (the teacher’s bags under my eyes are glaringly obvious), I still find that it’s a really good place to grab a bite to eat and a drink with friends. My usual go-to when I’m in Manchester is Chiquitos (I just can’t say no to their pulled pork quesadillas) but in an effort to be a little bit more original (and try something outside of my comfort zone!), I opted to visit Wagamamas and spice up my life with some good old-fashioned Japanese food.

One of the good things about Printworks is the fact that all of the restaurants, bars and venues are under one roof, meaning that access was ridiculously easy and our journey from Wagamama to ODEON took mere seconds (which was fantastic, considering the fact we were 10 minutes late in setting off to see our film AND the fact that Manchester is eternally arctic and venturing outside of the building would have been horrendous.) There really is something for absolutely everyone: Liam, who I took along with me, for example, is a vegetarian and still managed to find something amazing and delicious to eat on the menu.

Wagamama was particularly easy to find and the staff were ridiculously accommodating and made sure that everything was up to scratch with our food. Our waitress was very attentive and checked on us all throughout our meal, even though the restaurant was pretty busy! She took the time to advise us on some things on the menu that we probably otherwise wouldn’t have tried. She recommended that we try the mushroom and aubergine hirata steamed buns which we definitely wouldn’t have chosen otherwise and they were absolutely phenomenal. I absolutely LOVE carrot juice so I tried Wagamama carrot filled contribution to the juice trend. In all honesty, I could have drunk it by the bucket load: it was ridiculously refreshing and the ginger definitely complemented the carrot flavour. Alongside the mushroom steamed buns, we also ordered the ebi katsu which were essentially battered chilli prawns. I love prawns, I love chilli, and to be frank, I would have been perfectly content with just a plate full of these delights. I definitely spied my pal eyeing up my last prawn whilst I was eating some of my main course. I think murder might have occurred if that prawn had left my plate. For mains, I ordered the beef teriyaki donburi, a firm favourite of mine whilst Liam opted for the seafood ramen. We were both incredibly impressed by both the food and service, which just goes to show that Printworks have a fine establishment in Wagamama in their building.

Bellies full and feeling optimistic about our film choice (T2 Trainspotting), we headed the short distance through Printworks to ODEON. I LOVE ODEON. I’m all for independent cinemas and fully encourage people to use them whenever they can but there’s honestly nothing more reliable than a good ODEON cinema. They always have regular showings of films and of course, they serve my favourite raspberry tango ice blast. I have a habit of falling asleep whenever I go to the cinema (dark lights and comfy seats = sleepy hol) but I’m pleased to say I managed to stay awake for the entire duration of the film. The ODEON in Printworks is enormous: it was a little bit like a maze trying to navigate our way up to the screen where our film was being shown. I’ve never seen a cinema as big which obviously has its advantages- the number of films on show was vast so obviously we had a lot of choice when choosing the perfect flick for us. If I’d have had my way, we’d have gone for a viewing of La La Land but that didn’t sit particularly well with my partner in crime. No complaints whatsoever, though, because as a book blogger, watching Trainspotting is definitely something that appeals to me: I’ve read and loved the book and I was incredibly excited to see what they were going to do with the sequel.

I was not in any way disappointed: the film was hilarious, brought together the original, incredible cast and was accompanied with a bloody spectacular soundtrack. There were a few things that happened during the film that threw me a little and I had to really think about the first film- I’d recommend a rewatch of the original Trainspotting if you’re planning on seeing this one but it’s definitely possible as a standalone as well!

We had around an hour after our screening of the show before it was time to get our train back to Liverpool so we OBVIOUSLY nipped into Yates’ for a little bevvie to end the night. I’ll definitely be coming back to Printworks for any future date nights I might have: the range of choice appeals without a doubt. No matter what your taste in food, drink or film, there is something for everyone. The entire evening came together nicely and everything is so affordable. If you fancy a fun, romantic evening on a relatively small budget then Printworks is most definitely the one for you.

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I’d like to say thank you to the PR team at Printworks, Odeon and Wagamama for accommodating us on this amazing evening! As always, views are my mine and mine alone.

Life: Learning a new language with FlashSticks Academy

Life: Learning a new language with FlashSticks Academy

Tuesday, 13 September 2016

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Many of you will know (mostly because I spent the vast majority of the last year complaining about the French language!) that I recently completed a BA in French Studies at university. I came out of it with a 2:1, which I was incredibly chuffed with and after finishing my degree I’ve suddenly found myself re-attracted to the rush and the thrill of language learning. Over the course of my life so far, I’ve been educated in 4 languages and I have a natural attraction (and arguably a natural talent? I don’t know…) towards language learning. I have experience working in English, French, Maltese and Italian and am always excited to learn new words in new languages.

My boyfriend has Spanish family, some of whom live out in Spain and have limited English skills. He’s said from day 1 of us getting together that one day he might want to go and live in Spain and obviously if I’m included in the equation then, I need to be able to speak Spanish. I’m going to be blunt here and say that prior to the last few weeks, my Spanish knowledge was absolutely nada, with the exception of the few obvious phrases that EVERYONE and their dog knows.

(I can also say chorizo and paella in a VERY convincing Spanish accent. If that’s not a skill, then I don’t know what is.)

This week, Isobel, the Marketing Manager for a company called Flash Sticks got in touch with me and asked if I wanted to do a little collaboration with the brand on my blog. I JUMPED at the opportunity to try out the brand for a number of reasons, but mostly because I actually considered contacting them myself a few months back but chickened out at the last minute. I was AMAZED that they wanted to collaborate with ME, little me with this tiny little book blog but hey, I’m definitely not complaining.

I absolutely LOVE this system. I love how the post it notes are colour coded depending on their gender (I absolutely SUCK at remembering the genders of words, even now after years of studying languages, so this will help me endlessly!) I also love how easy it is to use the app alongside the post-it notes: scanning them through allows the word to be read out to you for ease of pronunciation. Spanish pronunciation is pretty simple but hard for my French-orientated brain to comprehend sometimes. I still occasionally pronounce the words in a very bizarre warped French accent. Bad habits die hard.

I’ve been using the system for a few weeks now and absolutely can’t recommend it enough if you’re looking for a way of consciously learning a language and don’t have much time on your hands to sit down and crack open the books. The fact that there’s an app and a PHYSICAL aspect to the learning is definitely appealing to me- just stick the post its around the house and you’ll be learning and remembering, which is the important part, the words in absolutely no time at all.

I have a little code to share with you all, courtesy of the team at Flash Sticks. If you fancy learning a new language and subscribe to the premium package, Flashsticks will send you out a set of their Flashcards absolutely free of charge, across any of the six languages in either beginners or intermediate level! Sounds like a bargain to me, and the programme is definitely worth giving a go. If you’re a busy soul dying to brush up your language skills, then this is definitely the one for you!

What languages can you speak? Which do you want to learn? Let me know your language learning stories in the comments below!!

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