Kool Runnings’ legendary Caribbean food truck is back in Old Trafford
"A lot of people missed us you know, since we come back a lot of people came back, complaining, kept saying 'where were you guys, where were you guys?'"
Now more than ever, we’re starting to get used to the fact that the food businesses we love often come and then go. But in the case of Kool Runnings’ Caribbean food truck, whenever it goes missing there’s always more than a little bit of a panic.
The legendary kitchen-on-wheels has been feeding its community for a quarter of a decade, and if it disappears – as it sometimes does – its loyal regulars start to fret.
Lately, the truck has been missing from its Old Trafford patch. As a result, fans have been left wondering what is going on and whether it might have closed for good, as so many great hospitality businesses seem to be doing at the moment.
Good news, then, that after a short hiatus, it is back: once again parked up in its rightful spot, slinging out its famous fried and jerk chicken, as well as handmade patties, massive dumplings, creamy coleslaw, mac and cheese, and plenty more to the waiting crowds.
Jerk chicken on the grill at Kool Runnings food truck in Old Trafford. / Image: The Manc Eats
Image: The Manc Eats
Owner Aval Saunders has been steadfastly feeding his community what is widely considered to be some of the best Yard food in the north since 1998, cooking late into the night out of his food truck with a little help from his sons.
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He hates waste and will generally stay open serving until all the food is gone. Making everything from scratch, with fresh patties prepared daily, also means that everything is super fresh – but the days are long, and he works hard.
Queues here are common, especially in the summer when the smell of spiced meat on charcoal billows from the trailer and hungrily winds its way around the neighbourhood.
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It’s unsurprising, then, that he felt he needed a bit of a break – telling us that he has just returned from spending time abroad recuperating in Jamaica.
“So yeah, we’ve been back home to Jamaica just to have a bit of rest because you know we’re busy we’re very busy,” he told The Manc.
“A lot of people missed us you know, since we come back a lot of people came back, complaining, kept saying ‘where were you guys, where were you guys?’ But we had to take a break because we’re tired innit.”
It’s dark and our pictures don’t really do it justice, but trust us when we say that the food here is worth every bit of hype that it gets.
A fixture in the community for some twenty-five years now, it’s become a longstanding favourite for whole generations.
Aval’s cooking has also amassed some famous fans over the years. Footballers like Sergio Agüero, Andy Cole and Rio Ferdinand, as well as sports personalities Usain Bolt and Tyson Fury are known to be regulars.
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Even Ainsley Harriot of Ready Steady Cook fame has popped by the truck in the past for a scran, so we understand.
This is the sort of food that you just want to shovel in, no cutlery needed. Packed with flavour, then jerk chicken here is marinaded in a secret rub and then thrown on the grill until it’s blackened with smoke, whilst its accompanying gravy is thick, sweet and peppery with a nice hidden kick.
Thank goodness, then, that the Kool Runnings truck is back where it belongs. With the Longsight shop currently closed for a refurb, we were starting to wonder where to go for our next fix.
Feature image – The Manc Eats
Eats
‘Do not let Britain’s independent businesses disappear on your watch’ – Manchester bakery makes heartbreaking plea to Andy Burnham
Clementine Hall
A beloved Manchester bakery has issued an open letter to Andy Burnham ahead of the Budget begging him for help.
Barbakan Deli in Chorlton is basically an institution at this point.
The legendary bakery and delicatessen has been serving the community for 62 years, famed for its freshly-baked loaves of bread, its handmade sandwiches, and its pastries and cakes inspired by bakes from across Europe.
Posting on Instagram last night on Thursday 18 September, Frankie Dyer the director of Barbakan, issued an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
Images: The Manc Group
It read: “Dear Mr Burnham, As an independent business owner in the hospitality sector, I am begging you to please read this.
“Really read it. And seriously consider what businesses like mine are telling you before the upcoming Budget.”
It continued: “In just the last two years, we have self-funded new bakery machinery, new catering kitchens, essential repairs and renovations and opened a second retail site, creating another six local jobs. We have won more than ten national awards for the quality of what we do.
“We have invested. We have grown. We have employed more people. We have worked harder than ever. In short, Prime Minister, we are doing everything you keep asking British businesses to do.
“And our bank balance is finished. That is the reality.”
The letter finished by Dyer inviting Andy Burnham to come visit the bakery and pleading for a ‘fighting chance’ to save the business: “We need action. We need meaningful reductions in the tax burden placed on employers.
“We need Employer National Insurance looked at urgently. We need a business-rates system which allows independent high-street businesses to survive. We need VAT reform for hospitality. We need Corporation Tax to reward businesses which reinvest, employ and grow.
“And we need proper grants and incentives that help established independent businesses invest and expand — not schemes with endless criteria which most ordinary businesses can never access. We need you to do something.
“And we need more than one token gesture in the Budget. A band-aid for a bullet wound. So I am asking you, Prime Minister, to come back to Manchester and see it for yourself. Pop an apron on and stand behind our counter.
Images: The Manc Group
“Come into our bakery in the middle of the night and meet the people making Manchester’s bread while most of the city is asleep. Look at our payroll, our energy bills, our rates, our supplier increases.
“Look at what leaves our bank account every single week simply for the privilege of keeping 50 people employed and our doors open. You said you wanted a government that understood the regions. You now have an opportunity to prove it.
“Independent businesses across this country are not asking for a handout. We are asking for a fighting chance. I sincerely hope your next Budget gives us one”.
Drinks prices revealed as Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub opens inside T2
Emily Sergeant
It’s official… Manchester Airport’s first-ever JD Wetherspoon pub has officially opened its doors inside Terminal 2.
The 300-seater pub – which welcomed its first customers earlier this week – is named The Belle Vue after Manchester’s historic showground.
Throughout the pub, you’ll spot design features that nod to the city’s sporting heritage – including vintage event posters and memorabilia, a ‘locker wall’ hosting trophies and other sporting exhibits, and a cricket-themed design in the carpets and bar panels.
Creating around 150 jobs in the process, The Belle Vue is the final planned new eatery to open in the airport’s redeveloped Terminal 2, marking one of the final steps in the super-terminal’s decade-long, £1.5bn transformation.
Manchester Airport’s first-ever Wetherspoons pub has opened inside Terminal 2 / Credit: Supplied
According to the MEN, pints are priced from £6.20 for Carling and Coors lager, £6.45 for Budweiser, £6.60 for Guinness, and £6.70 for Poretti and 1664 Biere.
Prosecco is £9.20 for 175ml glass and £37.10 for the full bottle, while spirts and mixers are £6.80 for singles and £10.20 for doubles.
There’s also the classic Wetherspoons tea and coffee machines, where you can refill as many times as you like for just £3.60.
“It’s a proud moment to see the final new retail unit opening in our new-look Terminal 2,” commented Richard Jackson, who is the Retail Director at Manchester Airport.
“To be rounding off this 10-year programme by adding such an iconic name as Wetherspoon to the terminal is particularly special and we know that it will prove extremely popular with passengers. We think they’ll love the nods to Manchester’s heritage in the décor and design – and of course the name.”
Georgina Pellant -
7th February 2023 
