A tiny bakery is opening a new shop on an Ancoats backstreet selling specialist treats and classic pastries with a Brazilian-inspired twist.
Serving out of a small hatch on Radium Street, The Flat Baker’s new shop will move into the same building as takeaway slab shack favourite Lazy Tony’s Lasagneria at the start of next month.
Opening on Saturdays only, here pastry and bread lovers will find a multitude of croissants and cruffins, pastel de natas, cinnamon swirls and faviours breads, including focaccia, cornbread, Pão de Queijo (cheese bread) and boozy brioche.
Image: The Flat Baker
Elsewhere, there’ll be more specialist Brazilian treats for sale too, like carrot cake topped and filled with creamy chocolate truffle (brigadeiro), guava polenta cake, tonka bean brownies, and passion fruit and lime meringue tarts.
The new shop opens in the same neighbourhood where it all began for the self-taught baking duo, who started churning out their Brazilian goodies from their Ancoats flat during lockdown two years prior.
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A family business, self-taught baker Matt and his partner Deb have previously collaborated with former Masterchef contestant Caroline Martins, creating calabresa sausage brioche balls for her Brazilian fine dining experience the Sao Paulo Project, and took over the cafe at Deansgate Square’s General Store last year.
Brioche from The Flat Baker. / Image: The Flat Baker
A selection of different breads. / Image: The Flat Baker
The Flat Baker collaborated with Caroline Martins to create these giant brioche balls for her dish of bread-wrapped baked Tunworth cheese, guava paste, mixed nuts, rosemary and thyme. / Image: The Flat Baker
The pair have built up a number of wholesale clients across Manchester, getting their name out there by taking part in a number of the city’s different artisan foodie markets.
They are also the organisers behind Manchester’s new Brazilian Festa Junina Festival, designed to bring together Brazilian chefs, bakers and others in a celebration of their country’s culture and cuisine.
Having spent the past few weeks wrestling their Instagram account back from hackers, the couple is now gearing up to open their new baking studio on Saturday 2 July.
To keep up with their progress ahead of the opening, give The Flat Baker a follow here.
Government to begin giving millions of UK workers ‘significant’ pay rises from this week
Emily Sergeant
The Government is to begin giving more than three million workers across the UK a ‘significant pay boost’ from this week.
Announced as part of last year’s Budget, and in a bid to ‘put thousands of pounds back in the pockets of working people every year’, the Government confirmed back at the beginning of February that a new National Living Wage of £12.21 per hour, and a new National Minimum Wage of £10 per hour would take effect from April onwards.
Ministers said the 6.7% increase to the National Living Wage – which is now worth £1,400 a year for an eligible full-time worker – is a ‘significant step’ towards delivering the manifesto commitment to deliver a ‘genuine’ living wage.
Today, millions of working people will get a pay rise as the National Living Wage and National Minimum Wage increase.
New rates:
🔹 from £11.44 to £12.21 if you’re 21 and over 🔹 from £8.60 to £10.00 if you’re 18-20 🔹 from £6.40 to £7.55 if you’re under 18 or an apprentice
— UK Prime Minister (@10DowningStreet) April 1, 2025
On top of this, the National Minimum Wage for 18-20-year-olds is also set to go up by a record increase of £1.40 an hour, which means full-time younger workers eligible for the rate will see their pay boosted by £2,500 a year.
The minimum wage pay boot has also been called the first step towards removing the ‘unfair’ age-bands that see a 21-year-old getting paid more than a 20-year-old for doing the same job.
According to the Government, this is also the first time the National Living Wage has taken into account the cost of living and inflation.
Three million UK workers will be getting a ‘significant’ pay rise from this week / Credit: Pexels
“In the last Parliament, living standards were the worst on record and sky-high inflation was crushing working people’s finances,” commented Chancellor Rachel Reeves, explaining why the pay boosts are being introduced.
“Making work pay is good for workers, will strengthen businesses’ workforces, and will grow our economy for years to come.
“It’s a key milestone on my number one mission to get more money in people’s pockets as we deliver our Plan for Change.”
Not only that, but the minimum hourly wage for an apprentice is also set to be boosted later this year too, with an 18-year-old apprentice seeing their minimum hourly pay increase by 18% to £7.55 an hour.
As a result of these particular changes, a further four million workers also could benefit from the positive spill-over impacts of the rate increases.
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Body of woman found in River Mersey last year finally identified after ‘extensive’ investigation
Emily Sergeant
The body of woman who was found in the River Mersey last year has finally been identified.
Following what has been described as an ‘extensive investigation’ by Greater Manchester Police‘s (GMP) Major Incident Team to determine the identity of the body, which was sadly discovered in the river adjacent to Chorlton Water Park on 21 March 2024, the family of the victim has now been informed and supported by specialist officers.
The victim has been formally named as 38-year-old Laura Stanley, who was originally from Derbyshire but was living in Stockport.
After the body was discovered, and ‘exhaustive and determined’ investigation by GMP officers began to identify here, including detailed checks of both national and international databases.
The Major Incident Team (MIT) also closely worked in collaboration with specialist forensic service providers to create an anthropological profile, which eventually culminated in the creation of a facial reconstruction image.
Following several media appeals, a relative of Laura contacted officers and then a DNA match was confirmed through a familial link.
“Laura was a kind and gentle person with a great sense of fun and adventure,” Laura’s family said in a heartbreaking tribute to her.
“She was generous, thoughtful, caring and always keen to volunteer within the community. Laura was a proud and loving mum and she will be greatly missed by her girls and all of her friends and family who loved her dearly.”
The River Mersey, across from Chorlton Water Park, where Laura’s body was discovered / Credit: Wikimedia Commons
While Laura has now been identified, police say further investigations will take place to understand her last movements, the events that led to her death, and her discovery in the river.
Additionally, as is standard practice, GMP’s Professional Standards Directorate is also reviewing a previous missing report relating to Laura in the time before the discovery of her body, which will determine prior contact relating to Laura, and whether the appropriate measures were enacted.
#UPDATE | A woman who was discovered in the River Mersey last year has been identified following an extensive investigation by officers in GMP’s Major Incident Team.
Thank you to those of you who have shared our appeals over the last year.
Anyone who knew Laura and thinks they may be able to assist with the investigation is asked to contact police by calling 101, or by using the Live Chat Service at gmp.police.uk, quoting log number 1191 of 21 March 2024.
Alternatively, you can contact the Major Incident Team Syndicate 3 directly on 0161 856 9479, or the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Georgina Pellant -
27th June 2022 
