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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Image: Blanchflower
Image: Blanchflower
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.
“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.”
Phil Howells of Blanchflower
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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Image: Blanchflower
Image: Blanchflower
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
Bundobust is giving away free beer after ’embarrassing mess-up’ – on one condition
Daisy Jackson
Bundobust has hit the free beer klaxon again, giving away hundreds of pints next week after a ‘real mess-up’.
The beloved Indian street food brand, which has two sites in Manchester as well as its OG restaurant over in Leeds, shared a statement that says ‘Well this is embarrassing’.
Bundobust has revealed it had planned a huge free pint giveaway for National Beer Day on Monday…
Except National Beer Day isn’t actually until June. They were looking at the American calendar, the silly sausages.
But not one to throw a good marketing stunt away, Bundobust has decided to crack on with its free beer giveaway as planned, on one condition – you must order in an American accent.
The restaurant will be handing out hundreds of free pints of its own Bundobust Brewery beer on Monday 7 April.
Just pop in with a friend, and any time one of you orders a beer and wishes them a ‘Happy National Beer Day’ (don’t forget the accent) you get a free beer for you and your mate.
Bundobust said: “Well this is embarrassing. We’ve really messed up this time.
“For weeks now, we’ve been planning to give away hundreds of FREE PINTS of Bundobust Brewery beer this National Beer Day, Monday 7th April.
Bundobust is giving away free beers after ’embarrassing mess-up’. Credit: The Manc Group
“All you’d have to do is bring a friend in, any time one of you got a Bundobust Brewery beer and wishes us “Happy National Beer Day” you’d get your beer PLUS a free one to give to your mate.
“So simple. So elegant! Only one problem though. Monday 7th April is National Beer Day in America. Ours is 15th June.
“We don’t want to wait that long though!! Also we’ve already programmed the “free beer for a mate” button into the till, which takes a good 5 minutes, so we’re going to go ahead with it this Monday 7th April!
“There’s one catch though: you have to do an American accent when you say “Happy National Beer Day”. Deal? See y’all on Monday, pardner.”
Their cock-up is our win – free beer deal is available at all Bundobust sites from 12pm on Monday.
One of Manchester’s best-loved independent cafes is coming to Bolton
Danny Jones
A much-loved independent Manchester cafe is heading out of the city centre for the first time as they plan to open a brand new premises over in Bolton.
Bolton as a town and wider borough has no shortage of cosy little caffs, but the addition of this latest place for a brew, butty and a bake is sure to be an instant hit just as it was in Ancoats.
To call Cafe Cotton a cult favourite would be grossly understating things at this point: the Blossom St spot tucked into Hallé St Peter’s is not only a beautiful space inside but looks out onto Manchester’s trendy and ever-bustling Cutting Room Square, making it a great place to sit with a coffee.
With that in mind, as they prepare to open their third location further out towards Lancashire, Boltonians have every reason to be very excited.
Cafe Cotton is coming to a town in Bolton. (Credit: The Manc Group)
The indie success story began way back in 2013, if you can believe that, serving sandwiches, sweet treats and more to the Manc masses.
Oh yeah, they also do bloody brilliant coffee that’s considered some of the best in the city.
Opening another venue on the ground floor of Neptune Mill in neighbouring Piccadilly East just this past January, the expansion of the brand has been a relatively steady one despite more than a decade of loyal patrons and new customers becoming each year.
However, good things come to those who wait, as we’re sure the Bolton natives will vouch for when the next Cafe Cotton opens up in Farnworth Green.
The opening date might still be up in the air, but here’s a little glimpse at the kind of goodness they can expect to enjoy:
The new addition is part of the overall Farnworth regeneration project, which is being headed up by investors Capital and Centric, who are famously responsible for numerous new developments in and around Manchester in recent years. Over £20 million has been set aside for the wider plans.
Cotton Cafe’s founder, Chris Griffith, said of the soon-to-open site: “We’ve been on an amazing journey growing Cotton, and we’re incredibly grateful for the loyal following we’ve cultivated. Now, Farnworth Green feels like the perfect next step.
“This isn’t just about opening another café; it’s about investing in a community. The bakery is a big move for us too, allowing us to craft everything from scratch and supply all our locations with freshly made goods.
“We’re also buzzing to team up with Bolton Council to offer apprenticeships, helping young people take their first step into the industry.” The authority itself is actually looking for a project lead as we speak.
Is this the start of a big period of change for Bolton?
Georgina Pellant -
7th March 2023 
