We took Jay Rayner for lunch at one his favourite Manchester restaurants - here’s what he had to say about the city’s food

Last time food critic Jay Rayner visited Erst in Manchester he hailed it “one of the best meals of the year” in his weekly column for The Observer. Just over a year later, as he tears into a beef fat flatbread, does this still stand?

“This is outrageous, but in a good way,” he says, as the kitchen staff breathe a collective sigh of relief. As many restaurateurs will know, a glowing review from Rayner can make all the difference.

Just last month, a restaurant in Cardiff received thousands of bookings following the critic's write-up, in which he described the ramen shop as “inventive, geeky and superb”. A similar effect has been felt in Manchester, where he’s dished out plenty of compliments over the years - most recently for The Alan, Climat and The Black Friar.

Read more: "This is our new home": The pub in Altrincham with the best prawn toast in the city

A frequent visitor to the city, his admiration for Manchester’s food scene is well documented, but on this occasion he’s here to record the latest instalment of his BBC Radio 4 culinary panel show, The Kitchen Cabinet. Although, he’ll be back again in just a few weeks, behind the ivories, as The Jay Rayner Sextet takes to the stage at the Albert Hall.

“We put my name on it because it’s my fault, so I take full responsibility,” he offers. The night will feature performances of iconic tunes from jazz greats like Herbie Hancock, Horace Silver and Dexter Gordon, seasoned with stories from Jay’s life in food and journalism, as well as insights from growing up with his mother, the well-known agony aunt and sex columnist, the late Claire Rayner.

“I won’t spoil it for you, but there’s an anecdote about getting my parents ashes into the urns on the stage of the production of