Shadia Al Hili is urging a woman passing by her Altrincham Market stall to sample the food on offer.
But there’s a problem.
The woman appears more confused than interested by what’s on sale.
Shadia tries again, this time in Arabic.
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“Honestly, it’s authentic ful madamous – give it a go.”
The woman frowns. Real ful madamous doesn’t exist ready-made outside her homeland – never mind the UK. This doesn’t seem right.
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She gazes at the pot on the table, sniffs, piles up a spoonful, and raises it to her lips.
There’s a pause.
All of a sudden, she urgently beckons her husband over to the stall. They stand together tasting samples for some time, before the woman turns to Shadia, places a palm on her shoulder and looks her right in the eye.
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“Thank you for doing this,” she says.
All those endless hours in the kitchen suddenly seemed worthwhile. Shadia felt she might just be the right person to introduce ful madamous to the British market after all.
Ful madamous – a dish of cooked fava beans served with a stash of aromatic spices, olive oil, garlic and a touch of chilli heat – is not just a favourite for Middle Eastern families; it’s an essential part of their staple diet. It tastes like home.
Shadia, a mother of two and entrepreneur from Salford, is the first woman to popularise the magnificent, healthy cuisine in the western hemisphere. And it’s making a big impact.
This is how she did it…
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“We’re putting ful madamous on the map”
The fact that ful madamous has never quite made it onto British soil as a supermarket snack seems bizarre for two reasons.
Firstly, it’s one of the oldest foods in the world – having been a staple of the eastern diet for more than five thousand years.
Second, it offers pretty much everything the body and mind needs to fire on all cylinders.
Packed with healthy carbs, protein and vitamins, it’s what Shadia refers to as a “little bowl of heaven” – and Shadia is selling it for just £2.95 a pop.
Ful madamous- translated as “mashed beans” in English – is nothing short of a superfood, tasting like a thicker, fuller version of hummus although with 75% less calories.
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Among its incredible health benefits is the also the presence of levodopa – a dopamine precursor and chemical proven to fight Parkinson’s disease.
“We’re trying to put madamous on the map,” explains Shadia, who set up her ful madamous brand Cuzena in 2017.
“It has so many benefits for people, it offers a real insight into Middle Eastern culture, and it’s perfect as a meal or snack.
“The fact that you couldn’t just buy it off the shelves seems mad to me. It’s one of the tastiest, healthiest foods in the world!
“I’ve always had a bit of an entrepreneurial mind-set, but when I closed the fridge one day after realising my family hadn’t made ful madamous, I thought – ‘Why can’t you just buy this in supermarkets?’.
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“It wouldn’t leave me, and I decided to give it a real go.
“I’ve been very passionate about making it happen ever since.”
“They have hummus now”
Raised by Middle Eastern parents – who’d moved to Salford in the 1950s – Shadia is convinced her dad is looking down on her right now and laughing at the fact she’s introducing a nation to a food that’s reigned humble but supreme in the east for centuries.
“He’d find it bizarre, but I think he would be very proud” laughs Shadia.
“I remember my mum coming home and excitedly telling my dad – ‘You won’t believe it, they have hummus in the shops now.’”
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“It was a big thing then. But nowadays, hummus is everywhere. That’s the plan for ful madamous.”
Shadia calls ful madamous the “cousin” of hummus, but this concoction differs in the fact it can be eaten hot or cold. It’s also earned privileged status as ‘SYN FREE’ at Slimming World whilst fitting in a veggie or vegan diet.
So why, until now, has ful madamous evaded British buyers?
“I think for many years, people didn’t enjoy the earthy colours of dark food,” Shadia explains.
“I certainly think the stars have aligned for us to introduce our bean ranges with the growth of plant-based eating.
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“I think a lot of people believe the best beans are grown elsewhere. But we’ve actually had excellent beans growing here since the iron age.”
Not that that made it any easier to make ful madamous, of course.
Shadia had to go through more than 1,000 tests until she found a blend that really hit the spot. But two years ago, she successfully completed the soft launch of Cuzena – which is now available both in Manchester and nationwide.
There are currently three flavours for sale – garlic & coriander, fiery chili, and caramelised onion – with plans in the pipeline to expand the range in 2020.
“ I think the perception of Middle Eastern food is that it’s really complicated and contains all sorts of things like rose petal water” Shadia tell us.
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“The fact is – it’s humble food with magnificent flavour and Cuzena plans to show how thoroughly simple and thoroughly modern the food is. I’m just so glad more people are beginning to discover what it’s like.”
“True happiness must be shared”
Nobody had heard of Cuzena a few months ago. Barely anyone knew what ful madamous was, either.
Yet, Shadia’s Middle Eastern dish is now available at Wholefoods, As Nature Intended, Bents Garden Centre, Unicorn, Ancoats General Store, Sale General Store, two city centre SPARs (Princess St and Oxford Rd), Booths supermarket and Selfridges.
Cuzena is also enjoying distribution from Cotswold Fair and The Health Store.
“It’s been a busy few months, but I’m so glad people are discovering it,” says Shadia.
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“At Cuzena, we respect the Middle Eastern tradition to share from ‘one plate’ – we only make food that you can share.
“That’s our attitude: True happiness must be shared…”
The Greater Manchester high street that now has THREE great wine bars in a 200m stretch
Daisy Jackson
A popular suburb of Greater Manchester seems to be having a bit of a wine bar moment – and for once, we’re not talking about Stockport.
Prestwich has a buzzing little food and drink scene, and just this week has welcomed a brand-new wine bar.
That brings the total number of wine bars in the village to three – and they’re all in just a 200m stretch of the high street.
The latest addition is Cellar Door, headed up by siblings Ben and Sarah and sitting side-by-side with acclaimed neighbourhood restaurant The Pearl.
Cellar Door joins long-standing favourite Whole Bunch Wines (formerly known as Grape to Grain) and the new-ish Chin Chin, which comes from the same team behind Elnecot in Ancoats.
And beyond that, The Pearl has a ‘wine window’ where they’ll pass your drink out to you to drink on their pavement bistro tables.
If you much prefer a decent glass of wine instead of a pint, Prestwich is becoming the new hotspot for a bar crawl.
Read on for more on each of these brilliant independent businesses.
Cellar Door
Cellar Door is the newest wine bar to open in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc Group
The newest wine bar on the Prestwich high street is Cellar Door, opened just this month by brother and sister Ben and Sarah.
It’s their first project together and is stocked with more than 200 different wines, plus plenty of beers (including some local names), selected batched cocktails served ice-cold, and a menu of nibbles too.
Spanning two floors, there’s a sunny balcony upstairs for sunnier days, but in the meantime, get cosy in a booth with a glass of something from their VAST vino collection.
Whole Bunch Wines (formerly Grape to Grain) wine shop in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc GroupWhole Bunch Wines (formerly Grape to Grain) wine shop in Prestwich. Credit: The Manc Group
An ‘off licence with a difference’, Whole Bunch Wines (which used to be known as Grape to Grain) is Prestwich’s original spot for a wine.
Almost a decade old now, Whole Bunch Wines has a proper enomatic wine machine which means you can have a glass of their chosen bottles each week (without committing to a full bottle – though no judgement if you do want to do that too).
They also have a counter stuffed with cheese, meat and fresh bread so you can customise yourself a deli board.
There’s not much better than grabbing a bottle to take away from Whole Bunch, then changing your mind and cracking it open sat on one of the barrel tables outside instead.
Last but definitely not least on this mini wine crawl around Prestwich is Chin Chin.
This lovely spot comes from the team behind Elnecot, who initially opened it as Dokes Pizzeria (but then Rudy’s opened up opposite and honestly, who can be arsed) before pivoting it to be a wine bar.
There’s jazz vinyls playing, an enormous selection of rotating wines, a smart interior of tiled tabletops and moody red paint, and – a weekly highlight for locals – Sunday Sessions with roast dinner-inspired sandwiches and £4 pints.
Manchester City hit with backlash from season ticket holders after ‘divisive’ North Stand update
Danny Jones
Manchester City have shared a new update on the impending North Stand expansion and concourse upgrade, but the most recent reveal has been met with plenty of backlash from supporters set to suffer the consequences.
The Etihad is currently undergoing a major transformation that will see numerous new facilities added to the wider campus experience – most notably the increased capacity of the North Stand, which will make room for a further 7,000 or so fans.
Back in March, the club revealed the official brand partners for their upcoming on-site hotel, which will also accompany a new sky bar and rooftop stadium walk experience as part of the wider plans, but while adding more seats and things for matchgoers to do sounds good on paper, it’s come at a cost for many.
Reacting to the news of social media, many regular fans are now set to be forced out of their seats to make way for more hospitality sections at the end of the stadium, meaning the post has proved ‘divisive’ to say the least.
Are you joking? I’ve sat in the same seat for almost 20 years and this is how I find out I’m ‘relocating’. It’s an absolute disgrace the way you’re treating loyal fans in favour of tourists. I was there when we were shit, do you think they will be here if we go to shit again?
As you can see, both Blues, neutrals, and even rivals alike are expressing their shock and disappointment in not only the decision but the manner in which the announcement was made.
One person said on X: “You turfed me and hundreds of others out of our seats four seasons ago when you dug them up for digital signage. We were all split up and had to scrape around for new seats. Had enough of all the new rules and digital tickets/transfers. I sit on my sofa now and save £3k.
Reply in the comments underneath the response, a Manchester United fan added: “I don’t like City, but this is something I can stand with [fans] on.”
Even well-known online commentators like ‘HLTCO’ (Hopkin Looking To Curl One), a.k.a. Dan Cook – a notable Crystal Palace die-hard – shared his two cents online.
“Man City season ticket holders are being told that they’re being permanently moved from the seats they’ve had for years to accommodate a new corporate seating area”, he wrote, adding: “This is the sort of thing that fans everywhere have to push back against; these clubs see us as a nuisance.”
In terms of what the stadium overhaul looks like, the latest CGIs show the first proper glimpse of the new ‘Cross Bar’ that will “offer a relaxed, social atmosphere” for around 300 fans, as well as the new ‘City Hall’ concourse area, which will cater to around 500 punters both on game-days and beyond.
As detailed in the full statement on the club website, they have insisted that they will be supporting those “may need to move seats ahead of the commencement of the 2026/27”, clarifying that no one will need to be relocated to accommodate the Cross Bar, specifically.
They go on to add: “We understand that relocating seats may be unsettling, and we are here to support these fans”. They have promised things like a “priority relocation window” and, most crucially, a guarantee that they won’t have to pay more to sit in what is typically a more expensive stadium block.
However, while they have also assured that people will be able to move groups of seats so as to stay around their friends, as explained by a user above, this is easier said than done and ticket uncertainty remains a big concern among the fan base.
What do you make of the latest Etihad Stadium news, City fans?
The Manc -
6th February 2020 
