OUR grand burghers can relax and enjoy reading this week's musings by The Knutsfordian as he has other burgers in his sights.

Yes, the good old-fashioned beef burger and the way it has been deconstructed, reimagined and cheffed into oblivion.

Long-serving Knutsfordians will remember the delights of the 100 per cent real beef burger served with a decent glass of red in Sir Frederick’s wine bar – or the classic quarter pounder served in a sesame seed topped bun with a choice of three relishes in the late What’s Cooking.

The Knutsfordian believes the Liverpool branch of What’s Cooking is still going strong in Albert Dock, but since the sinking of The Yellow Duckmarine he has been unable to return.

The burger du jour around the town now features pulled pork, lumps of chicken, shredded lamb, or mashed up brisket.

An old-fashioned 100 per cent traditionally-shaped beef burger is rarer than a copper on the beat.

Topped and bottomed by either a brioche bun or a caramelised onion bun, these towering constructions are held together by super-sized cocktail sticks reminiscent of the knitting needles used by my dear Mama to knit my bootees as a child.

Brioche is not for burgers – the French were told: “Qu’ils mangent de la brioche” (often translated as let them eat cake).

On the side there are giant onion rings and chips.

Not just any old chips but ‘hand cut’ or ‘real’ chips.

One wonders what constitutes a ‘fake’ chip.

Another culinary trend The Knutsfordian has noticed as he squires Ms Pole around the town is the increasing use of platters, or planks, used to serve ‘sharing’ dishes.

Ms Pole is the epitome of the modern multi-tasking female.

She gossips at full throttle, yet can scoff all the ‘best bits’ of the platter whilst glugging Tattinger – and still finds time to breathe.

The Knutsfordian abhors having his whitebait vanish only to be left with the mushy peas.

One can only hope the new Twenty One Bar and Grill has set aside some of its £237,000 budget to buy plates.

  •  PS – The Knutsfordian’s head gardener Sam is wheelie concerned his green bin won’t be emptied from mid-November to mid-March.

Cheshire East Council’s latest money-saving idea is to double the usual two-month winter break to four.

This will save CEC roughly £7.52 per householder over four years.

How much extra will it cost households to take green refuse to the tip, sorry, their local household waste recycling centre? Or will they create cunning disguises and hide it in the black bin?

  • PPS – The Knutsfordian. Knutsford or Notsford?