Indie bakehouse Batard is opening a new cafe inside SEESAW on Princess Street, giving fans of their artisanal bakes something new to look forward to.
A project born out of lockdown after Batard co-founder Lewis Loughman left his head baker position at doughnut and cookie brand Gooey, the newcomer bakery has made some serious waves this year.
First opening as a pop-up at Withington Public Hall Institute before transitioning into a wholesale business, Lewis and co-owner Dorothy Jaffa have spent the past few months supplying the likes of Osma Kitchen Bar, Edinburgh Castle, Foundation Coffee House, Takk, and Bernie’s Grocery Store with their ‘proper good’ bread and bakes.
Inside the new cafe space inside SEESAW that Batard will be taking over later this month / Image: Adrian Brenner
But now, come the end of September, they’ll be taking up a new permanent residency inside SEESAW – a fresh coworking space that’s recently been opened by the team behind Takk in the Northern Quarter and Ancoats new ‘part-time’ wine bar and shop, Kerb.
Serving up the bakes they’ve become known for using flour freshly milled on-site, as well as a food menu focused on local produce and seasonality, they’ll be bringing back some all-time favourite bakes as well as introducing a new breakfast and lunch menu.
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Fans of Batard’s notorious steak bakes will be pleased to hear these will be making a return, alongside some new dishes like a ‘fish butty’ comprised of house-made Hokkaido milk loaf, beer-battered haddock, tartar sauce and iceberg lettuce.
There are also some plans to add a selection of pies to the offering here further down the line.
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Baker Lewis Loughman pictured with a tray of his infamous steak bakes / Image: Adam Pester
The new menu will consist of breakfast and lunch items using the best produce Manchester has to offer – and each dish will be created using a product baked freshly on-site, with Batard showcasing their baking skills through creations like Hokkaido milk loaves, babka, and sourdough batards.
All menu ingredients will be sourced locally, with Batard working with independent suppliers including Littlewoods butchers, The Crafty Cheese Man, and Cinderwood (a new one-acre market garden in Cheshire focused on growing food for flavour, founded by organic grower Michael Fitzsimmons and Higher Ground chef Joseph Otway).
Coffee will be served by SEESAW’s baristas using beans from local roastery Swansong, with natural wine, local beer and cocktails to follow.
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Inside the new cafe space inside SEESAW that Batard will be taking over later this month / Image: Adrian Brenner
Speaking on the new opening plans, Philip Hannaway, Managing Director at SEESAW said:
“We’re really excited to welcome Batard into SEESAW. As a fellow startup they share our love of the creative and doing things differently. We couldn’t think of a better addition to our SEESAW cafe offer and we look forward to our members, as well as the public, enjoying what we have to offer between us.”
To keep up with new developments ahead of Batard’s opening, make sure to follow them on Instagram here.
You’ll find their new cafe inside SEESAW at 86 Princess St, Manchester M1 6NG. The opening date is still TBC.
Major Manchester gig WILL be going ahead after band cancels prior dates
Thomas Melia
An upcoming gig in Manchester is still scheduled to go ahead even in light of recent high-profile cancellations of previous dates.
After a string of UK tour date cancellations, The Last Dinner Party, an all-female indie band, are ready to continue with the remaining shows including the upcoming event in Manchester.
Their breakout hit ‘Nothing Matters’ and accompanying album ‘Prelude to Ecstasy’ set them off to a very good start in the music industry and won them their very first BRIT for ‘Rising Star’ this year.
But during their scheduled gig in Lincoln on 28 September, upon entering the venue fans were left feeling ‘uncomfortable and disrespected’ with a security policy at the show which led to many male fans being searched by staff at the venue.
The London-based indie rock band released a statement saying these security checks ‘would not have been implemented had we been made aware of them in advance’.
Unfortunately, the gig was cancelled while fans were in the venue and a show in Cardiff got the axe shortly after too, this time ‘due to illness’.
Their headlining dates for Birmingham and three other UK cities were also cancelled after receiving medical advice, but now they’re back and fighting stronger than ever.
An official statement recently shared on the band’s instagram read: “We want to express how truly sorry we are to have missed the shows this past week and how grateful we are to you all for supporting and understanding whilst we take the time needed to feel better.”
The Last Dinner Party Manchester gig WILL be going ahead. Credit: @thelastdinnerparty on Instagram.
In this, The Last Dinner Party updated fans that they’re excited to play Dublin feeling “revitalised” which commences tonight and if all goes well they will be gracing the crowds of Manchester at the end of the week.
The Last Dinner Party are set to perform their fifth Manchester gig and second show at O2 Victoria Warehouse on 11 October just three weeks since their last stint in our city.
Tickets for The Last Dinner Party’s upcoming Manchester show are still available and onsale here.
Manchester City win watershed case against Premier League over sponsorship rules
Danny Jones
Manchester City have landed an early blow in what is set to be a long and arduous series of legal proceedings over the coming months as they have won a case against the Premier League over their rules around sponsorship and related party transactions.
The current English champions, who have won a record four Premier League titles in a row, launched legal action against the division back in June after claiming that their restrictions around Associated Party Transactions (APT) rules and sponsorships were unfair and unlawful.
Now, as it turns out, an independent panel of three retired judges ultimately concluded that the rules were unlawful and, at least in part, contrary to the Competition Act 1998.
The details of the case are obviously numerous and complex but, in short, it has been found that Man City were unfairly blocked from moving forward with two huge sponsorship deals earlier this year.
BREAKING: Man City has won their legal challenge against the Premier League's Associated Party Transaction rules, which surrounds commercial deals between clubs and their related companies 🚨 pic.twitter.com/ZevrXvOOhd
Although the outcome has been somewhat debated by the league itself, it was decided that the imposed regulations were unfair and “discriminatory in how they operate, because they deliberately excluded shareholder loans.”
Issuing a statement following the decision, the Premier League said they “welcome the Tribunal’s findings, which endorsed the overall objectives, framework and decision-making of the APT system”, adding that it also “upheld the need for the APT system as a whole and rejected the majority of City’s challenges” while reiterating that the rules are necessary for their “financial controls to be effective”.
They went on to add that “the decision represents an important and detailed assessment of the APT Rules, which ensure clubs are not able to benefit from commercial deals or reductions in costs that are not at Fair Market Value (FMV) by virtue of relationships with Associated Parties.”
Meanwhile, the City Football Group responded to the news in a series of bullet points, insisting that the “Premier League was found to have abused its dominant position, […] had reached the decisions in a procedurally unfair manner” and that they will now have to “restate the fair market value of two transactions entered into by the Club.”
Safe to say people have noted quite a distinct difference in tone when it comes to statements from the two parties regarding associated parties and their transactions with clubs but, nevertheless, it’s a victory for the Manc club could have a huge knock-on effect regarding how much teams can spend in the future.
Quite a contrast in wording between the statements from Man City (left) and the Premier League (right) on findings related to Associated Party Transaction rules. pic.twitter.com/H3QkHlwMGM
The Premier League have also reassured that two particular aspects of the existing rules that didn’t fully comply with the Competition Act will be rectified promptly and will be “conducting a process that can allow the league and clubs to enact those specific changes quickly and effectively”.
Not only does this mean that CFG is likely to restart conversations with the two blocked parties – one being the Etihad Group and another with a bank based in Abu Dhabi – but that other clubs could now potentially look into further lucrative sponsorship deals, although ‘fair market value’ will still be assessed.
You can read page 164 of the document which summarises the full Tribunal HERE.
Meanwhile, the still outstanding case against Man City over their 115 charges regarding FFP breaches has now begun, though a decision is still a ways off.
Georgina Pellant -
1st September 2021 
