A new dog-friendly bakery and cafe is opening in Chorlton this year, bringing gorgeous Viennoiserie, handmade pasta, Roman pizzas and relaxing brunches to the south Manchester suburb.
The brainchild of Altrincham and Sale baking champions Blanchflower, the new eatery will see the team take over the home of former Chorlton favourite The Creameries.
Once ground zero for acclaimed Manchester chef MaryEllen McTague, the site has sat empty since September last year when she threw the towel after several attempts to bring in new business -pronouncing that things had been‘f*cked’ ever since the pandemic.
Now, the Blanchflower team is set to breathe new life into the beautiful old Edwardian dairy.
Promising Chorltonites a “thoroughly modern café”, morning service at Blanch will start with coffee and a counter “piled high with freshly baked Viennoiserie” followed by a late, relaxed breakfast and brunch service.
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Lunch, meanwhile, will span everything from chunky focaccia sandwiches and Roman-style tray baked pizzas, to fresh seasonal salads and handmade pasta dishes such as tortellini, agnolotti and ravioli.
Blanch will open every day for breakfast and lunch, with an indulgent all-day brunch menu served in Chorlton at weekends.
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Then on Friday and Saturday evenings, it will open later for dinner, drinks and nibbles, with dogs welcome to head in with their owners at all times.
According to owners Claire and Phil Howells, the new site will give them an opportunity to explore new cooking styles.
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Building on ten years of sourdough baking experience, at Blanch, they will experiment with a whole new world of pizza and expand their daytime dining offering.
Speaking on the new opening, Claire Howells, Blanchflower’s head baker and co-owner, said: “We feel that our 10 years of sourdough bakery experience means we can create something genuinely different and excellent.
“There is a whole world of pizza that is hardly touched in the UK and so many combinations of flour and starters that can elevate the dough to another level.
“Using more whole grain flour, long fermentations and longer cooking times provides more flavour and texture and is also much easier on the digestion.”
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Phil Howells of Blanchflower said: “I think the rise of daytime dining has been a quiet revolution in Britain.
“Cafes like ours didn’t exist in 2010. It’s funny because when people are flattering us, they say we do ‘restaurant food’, but we’ve never seen why there should be any difference in the level of ambition we bring to our cooking.
“We’ve always been in a state of constant evolution and with Blanch bakery and canteen, we wanted a space where we could move forward again with a fresh mix of products, albeit based on the skill set we have.
“It’s why we used a name so similar. We want people to know it’s us but understand that the offering will be different. Baking and dough is always front and centre of what we do and Blanch will be no different.
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“We think reopening the space is important for Chorlton’s dining scene because it’s such a great space. It so stylish and it has one of the loveliest shopfronts in the whole of Manchester.”
Feature image – TripAdvisor
Eats
One of Manchester’s best restaurants is opening a ‘bread kitchen’ in Exhibition food hall
Daisy Jackson
A Michelin guide restaurant in Manchester is branching out with a new project, and this time it’s all about bread.
The team behind Another Hand will be taking over one of the kitchens in food hall Exhibition, launching Jaan, which will specialise in Persian cooking.
The new bread kitchen will focus on Wildfarmed House Flatbreads, which will come with an array of seasonal toppings.
And a lot of the produce heading to the Jaan kitchen at Exhibition will be taken from what’s not used at Another Hand around the corner.
For example, a whole sirloin that’s used for Another Hand’s ex-dairy sirloin dish will provide meat trimmings that will be turned into Jaan’s beef tartare.
The tail and trim from Another Hand’s seared trout will head to Jaan to be used in a fire-roasted sea trout fatoush salad.
And the two restaurants will share other bits of produce too, like a squash that will go into both a Winter Squash small plate at the main restaurant and a scorched summer squash dish at the food hall.
Another Hand’s famous flatbreads will be the staple on the menu at Jaan, which is moving into the beautiful kitchen on Peter Street hot on the heels of the departure of Rigatoni’s.
Since it launched in 2022, the restaurant’s become known as one of Manchester’s best, even earning a place in the Michelin guide.
It’s famed for its sharing plates, as well as the team’s efforts to drive sustainable practices, sourcing produce from across the north west.
Most ingredients used in the restaurant have travelled no more than 40 miles, and the bread comes from Holy Grain while the chocolate comes from Dormouse, both right next door.
Jaan will be moving in to the Exhibition food hall in Manchester
They hope that Jaan will help their sustainable credentials even more, allowing them to use up almost every scrap of produce.
Small plates will all be served with house flatbreads, and toppings will include smoked aubergine, whipper butterbean, black garlic cheese bread, ex-dairy beef tartare, and ras el hanout spiced lamb.
And larger plates will include slow-cooked lamb shank with ancient grains, grilled octopus and nduja, and chermoula chicken rice.
Chef patrons Max Yorke and Julian Pizer said: “We feel extremely privileged to be offered the opportunity to cook alongside Osma and Baratxuri at Exhibition Manchester.
“Over the last few years our small 24 cover restaurant has generated a large waitlist and we are excited to showcase our new concept to a wider audience.
“Most importantly, as we make more steps to improve our environmental standards, our food waste systems showed an obvious area in which we could develop.
“By opening a second kitchen in such a fast paced venue we can take unused produce from Another Hand and even further reduce, and hopefully eradicate, our wastage.”
Jaan Persian Bread Kitchen will open within Exhibition on 8 May, joining Osma and Baratxuri on the venue’s restaurant floor.
Gary Neville lines up Michelin star chef for his Stock Exchange Hotel restaurant
Daisy Jackson
Gary Neville has announced a new restaurant within his five-star Stock Exchange Hotel, which will open almost a year after the previous eatery announced its shock closure.
The magnificent dining room at the heart of the hotel was previously home to Tom Kerridge’s The Bull & Bear, which closed at the end of 2022.
It was then replaced by Stock Market Grill, a restaurant by the award-winning Schofield brothers (who operate officially the best bar in the UK) – but that was open for only a matter of months.
Thankfully, the Manchester United legend and property mogul now has grand plans for the Stock Exchange’s restaurant offering, roping in two-time Michelin star chef Niall Keating.
Niall will be launching Tender this summer, a luxury dining experience ‘named after the tender care put into crafting each dish’.
There’ll be gourmet food for everyday dining within the hotel’s historic dining room, which will undergo a renovation before Tender’s launch.
Its menu will offer weekday brasserie lunches, a la carte dinners, afternoon teas, Sunday roasts, a chef’s table and a special tasting menu.
The Stock Exchange Hotel is home to one of Manchester’s most beautiful restaurant spaces. Credit: The Manc GroupThe Stock Exchange Hotel is home to one of Manchester’s most beautiful restaurant spaces. Credit: The Manc Group
Niall Keating at just 33 years old has already earned two Michelin stars, making him one of the youngest two-time Michelin star chefs in the UK.
His CV has included stints in kitchens at the best restaurants in the world, including Restaurant Sat Bains and Benu in San Francisco (a three Michelin-star spot).
He then headed to The Dining Room at Whatley Manor Hotel, where he earned his first star in 2017 and a second in 2019, as well as a prestigious Green Star in 2021 which recognises sustainability practices.
Speaking about today’s announcement, Gary Neville, owner of Stock Exchange Hotel, said: “We couldn’t be happier to be partnering with Niall Keating for Tender and bringing his culinary expertise to the hotel.
“His vision to create versatile and accessible dining options is exactly what we’ve been looking for, to allow everyone visiting Tender to find the right experience for them.”
Niall Keating added: “From when I first walked through the doors of the hotel into the dining room, I knew this was the place for me and that we could create something really special.
“I immediately felt connected to both Gary and General Manager, Tracy Harrison, and I knew what I wanted to create at the hotel and restaurant. I want a space that feels vibrant, warm and energetic, that brings to life the history of the stock exchange roots of the hotel, while providing an upscale and comfortable brasserie dining experience.
“In addition to the main dining room, we will also be opening ‘The Bank’, which is a beautiful private space for up to 12 guests, where we will be providing a truly exceptional dining experience.”
Gary added: “We will also shortly be announcing a series of events and live music experiences, including a weekly music plan, within Tender, that will really bring the venue to life, making it the heart of Stock Exchange Hotel.”
Tender restaurant at the Stock Exchange Hotel will officially open on 5 June.
Its opening hours will be Wednesday to Saturday, midday to 10pm, and Sundays midday to 7.30pm.