A new, ethical waterfront cafe has opened inside the People’s History Museum on the edge of Spinningfields.
Serving up fat breakfast sandwiches and pastries for breakfast and wholesome dishes like tagines, stews and daals for lunch, it’s got seating inside and out – including a beautiful evening sun trap overlooking the River Irwell.
Its owners are also currently in talks with Allied London to take over the space directly on the water, overlooked by Axel Void’s Peterloo mural – a move we think would be a great boost to the area.
Here, menus are for “cowards” – or so we’re told by founder and director Corin Bell, who we meet for an ethical breakfast and coffee ahead of the cafe’s launch on Wednesday 19 May.
Asked how it feels to be opening after all the madness of the past year, she quips: “We’re still in the middle of the madness, we’re not done with the madness.”
In all seriousness, though, Corin seems to have it all very much together. As she admits herself, “it’s not easy being green” – even more so when you’re trying to use any and all buying power the best you can to support the future you want to see.
Peterloo mural by Axel Void, commissioned by PHM to mark the massacre’s 200th anniversary / Image : David Dixon
But the way we see it, they’re doing a damned good job. Everything in the cafe is ethically sourced, right down to the chairs we’re sitting on, which she tells us are made from repurposed fishing lines.
Initially, Open Kitchen had hoped to open the cafe in 2020, but instead were called upon to feed those in need during the pandemic – putting together roughly 140,000 meals for the city’s most vulnerable residents.
Now firmly installed in the PHM and working with a huge range of food businesses right up and down the supply chain, the cafe intercepts food that would have otherwise ended up in the bin and turns it into hearty meals.
Working with everyone from farmers and wholesalers, to product manufacturers and big food factories that make products for supermarkets, they’re touching on every point you can imagine – ensuring no food goes to waste.
Corin states: “If it’s mouldy or it’s bad, food is a business and it goes to waste. It’s cheaper to dump it from the system than to keep it in. And that’s where we come in.”
“We work with cosmetic grade outs, fruit and veg that is too big, too small, a little bit bug-bitten, the wrong colour.
“We’ve had cauliflowers before that were rejected by a very large supermarket because they were the wrong shade of white.”
“We [also] take lots of part-prepped ingredients, you know those massive bags of chopped onions and part-prepped potatoes and things like that you get. As soon as you start prepping veg like that it gets a very short shelf life.”
The daal at Open Kitchen / Image: Lucas Smith photography
But they don’t source everything for free. Some things, like the thick cuts of bacon in our breakfast sandwich, or the chunky slices of sourdough encasing it, are instead purchased locally from suppliers that meet the cafe’s high ethical, sustainable and local requirements.
“It’s that bit trickier from a food safety point of view, obviously you’ve got to be a lot more on it with high-risk foods,” Corin explains.
This includes some small businesses the team knows are working very ethically, but have not perhaps bothered to go through the proper certifications, because “it’s a hassle if you’re a little family-run operation.”
She tells us about a small farm in Derbyshire that has offered the cafe a whole mutton “about twice a year” and the kitchen’s plans to do nose-to-tail butchering to ensure nothing goes to waste.
A new, ethical waterfront cafe has opened inside the People’s History Museum / Megan Eaves via Flickr
Further down the line, she also wants to introduce tasting evenings with small plates and wine that would educate diners on some of their amazing suppliers and ethical production processes.
Corin is aware that many people find the concept of living ethically daunting, and she acknowledges sourcing ethically is never simple.
Just by talking about the process of finding their coffee supplier Bird and Wild, who support the RSPB and use an old, sustainable farming method that also protects the habitats of birds, she reveals the minutiae detail that needs to be considered when making such decisions.
“You go, ‘we need a coffee supplier’ and then, ‘oh god it’s not that simple’, because [often] they’re clearing land, they’re destroying the environment, there’s child labour, there’s militias controlling entire governments because coffee is a cash crop … so you go down these massive rabbit holes and every simple decision you want to make [is never simple].
“I can understand why some people think ‘I can’t win and it’s exhausting’ ’cause it is hard work, but I think that message, so long as you’re making conscious choices and you’re thinking about where it’s come from and who is involved in making it, that’s a start, and you just go from there.”
To us, the beauty of a cafe like this means that, even if you do feel too overwhelmed to start implementing all of these ethical practices into your everyday life, you can start somewhere.
Namely, with a tasty bowl of ethical daal sat in the sun overlooking the River Irwell.
Food & Drink
The old fire station in Salford that’s now home to a bakery, brewery and bar
Daisy Jackson
A former fire station in Salford has been turned into a bustling base for some of the North West’s finest baking and brewing talents.
The Old Fire Station, right beside the University of Salford, is now operating as a bakery, brewery, bar, cafe and restaurant.
That means pastries, bread, pizzas and even beers are made within a few feet of where you’ll be eating and drinking them.
The space is beautiful, still boasting those gigantic red fire station doors and the traditional ceramic tiles that would have been here when the space was still home to fire engines instead of bread mixers.
Around half of the pastries coming out of the bakery, headed up by Erick Molero Delgado (his CV includes top bakeries across the USA and Europe), are completely vegan – not that you can tell from looking at their glossy, laminated layers and extravagant fillings.
We’re talking perfectly cubed laminated brioche with sweet maple flavours, mini pizzettes with olives and tomatoes dotted inside a pastry wall, and striped pain suisse stuffed with nuts and chocolate.
Then there are the not-very-vegan-at-all pastries, like a spandaeur, which is like a croissant and pastel de nata hybrid, and thick slices of Basque cheesecake.
There are new signature ‘Salford bagels’ too developed by assistant head baker Scott Shannon, which are a fusion of North American, German and Jewish styles, fermented for up to 48 hours with a crisp outer shell and a chewy centre.
A spandaeur pastry and a pain suisseHeirloom tomato bruschetta on sourdoughThe bakery line-upThe ‘Salford Bagel’ with smoked salmon
We had ours stuffed with smoked salmon, cream cheese and capers and raved about it all the way home.
Erick says: “Our new menu is a true labour of love by the whole team – from early ideas and experiments right through to the final bake.
“If someone has an idea, we run with it. That creative freedom is priceless. It keeps the work exciting, and it means our customers have the opportunity to get something fresh every time they visit.”
As for the beers, they’re all made on site too – on the opposite side of The Old Fire Station is Lark Hill Brewery, headed up by Jack Dixon, who’s able to experiment and explore new flavours in this top-spec microbrewery.
Jack Dixon in the Lark Hill BreweryLaminated briocheThe Old Fire Station bakers at work
There are experimental beers, sometimes made in collaboration with researchers at the University, as well as true-to-style classics like a New England Pale Ale and the Lark Helles, a fresh take on a classic German lager.
Jack said: “Having the autonomy to design and brew what I want, without limits, is rare and exciting,.
“It means every beer we pour here has a story and a personality. We’re proud to bring something new to Salford’s craft scene.”
This summer, they’re launching New York-style pizzas, made on slow-fermented, hand-stretched pizza dough.
And very little goes to waste here – the trimmed-off croissant pastry is now being turned into their own croissant loaf, which they’re whipping into French toast for the brunch menu.
Everything at The Old Fire Station is crafted with talent and love, and you can really taste it.
Lord Mayor of Manchester opens crucial new community kitchen in Blackley
Danny Jones
The Lord Mayor of Manchester, Councillor Carbine Grimshaw, has opened an upgraded community kitchen in the heart of Blackley.
Recently refurbished and officially unveiled last week, the uplifting new space, based out of the GM ward’s Higher Blackley Community Centre (HBCC), aims to be a key outlet and amenity for the area.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony, which took place on Thursday, 17 July, was attended by local councillors, centre staff, as well as local community members and volunteers.
Christened with a commemorative plaque celebrating the completion of the important renovation, the work has been carried out by North West-based perimeter physical security specialists, ATG Access.
A wholesome moment with the Lord Mayor.
Having sat virtually untouched since the 1960s, the kitchen space was long overdue for some TLC, and now it has been reopened as a modern, purpose-built and community-driven facility.
Speaking at the event, the Lord Mayor said: “The work that has been done here is fantastic, especially the social value aspect of it. It’s clear to see it’s far more than just a community centre; it’s the hub of the community. The support it provides to so many people is remarkable.
“I’ve had the pleasure of meeting some of the unsung heroes behind it all, from centre manager Kate and her dedicated team, to the board of trustees and all the volunteers. It’s a shining example of what community spirit can achieve, and I’d love to see it replicated right across Manchester.”
The kitchen itself is now kitted out with entirely new units, fresh flooring and splashback surfaces, as well as large appliances including a big range cooker, American-style fridge freezer and commercial dishwasher – all donated by ATG and its supply chain partners, Van Leeuwen and Welding Engineering.
But it isn’t just a place to cook; the sizeable room will host workshops, events, meet-ups and various other activities, from toddler groups to adult learning programmes, as well as offering services to various classes and groups.
BeforeAfter
In just its first week of being put to use, the kitchen has already helped provide meals for 11 families who would otherwise have gone without – nothing short of brilliant news for the district.
As for ATG, Managing Director, Richard Ellis, went on to say: “From our first visit, it was clear this was a place where we could make a real impact. The building was well-used and worn, but the people and the work being done there were inspiring.
“We felt a responsibility to help and were delighted to do so, getting ‘hands on’ through our volunteering programme.”
Finally, HBCC Manager Kate Shannon added: “It’s been a huge lift for the community. The new kitchen means we can do more, support more people, and take pride in our space again. It’s been a real team effort, and we’re so grateful to ATG.”
Well done to everyone involved in bringing the Higher Blackley Community Centre Kitchen to life.
Well done to everyone involved in bringing the Higher Blackley Community Centre Kitchen to life.
Georgina Pellant -
20th May 2021 
