This summer, Manchester sourdough specialist Pollen will open its second cafe in the city.
Featuringa unique ‘glass gallery’ wall, diners at the new eatery will be able to watch Pollen’s talented pastry chefs at work as they tuck into a seasonally-changing menu of breakfast, brunch and lunch dishes.
Adding to its already-popular waterside location at Cotton Field Wharf at Islington Marina, which first opened in 2018, the new cafe and kitchen at Kampus will serve a varied menu alongside pastries, cakes, speciality baked goods and its much-loved range of sourdough bread.
Located opposite Manchester’s Gay Village, it will move into the new city centre garden neighbourhood this June – opening its doors on Thursday 9.
Video: Pollen Bakery
As well as offering diners a front-row seat to all the kitchen action, the new cafe will also be significantly bigger than the Ancoats site.
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It will open from Wednesday to Sunday, with plenty of seating both indoors and out, with an al fresco area overlooking the green foliage of the Kampus garden, joining a growing foodie community that includes the likes of Cloudwater, Levanter, and Nell’s Pizza.
First launched in 2016, Pollen was one of the first bakeries in the city to offer up a range of sourdough and viennoiserie – regularly drawing huge early-morning queues as Mancs clamoured to get their hands on popular treats like cruffins and loaves of 28-hour sourdough.
Founded by Hannah Calvert and Chris Kelly, who both share a love of great bread bordering on a (healthy) obsession, over the years Pollen has become something of a stalwart of the city’s baking scene – leading the way for a number of other new openings in kind, such as Trove, Batard and Longbois.
Grilled cheese with Ogleshield, Cheddar, Fior de Latte and 24 Month Comté. Grilled with @pluckypickle Miso Kimchi and hot sauce or Nduja & Salami on Pollen’s 28 Hour Sour. Image / Pollen
Vegan pistachio and strawberry tart. / Image: Pollen
Lucky Charm Cruffin • Cereal Milk Crème Diplomat topped with Milk Clusters & a Lucky Charm. / Image: Pollen
After spending time in France, they were inspired by the general availability of top-class fresh bread and pastry products and how they form a part of daily culture.
So, after trying their hand at making artisan sourdough in their home kitchen using the San Franciscan approach to bread-making, they quickly became hooked and began baking for friends and colleagues.
Soon, they decided to take the plunge, expand the business and invest every penny they had into making a go of their own bakery.
“We had the passion, the drive and the eye for detail and quality to be able to bring something new, exciting and needed to the city centre” says Hannah.
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“We put our heart and souls into everything we do and are always pushing forward to give our customers and the city the best offering possible.”
The Pollen Bakery team, pictured at the 2021 Manchester Food and Drink Awards
Chris added: “Our second location in Kampus forms part of our evolution and growth. After drastically running out of space at our Ancoats bakery, the new location re-homes our pastry team in a dedicated pastry kitchen behind a glass gallery so you can see all the action taking place throughout the day and the masters at work.
“We will still serve the full range as usual at the Marina, but the new kitchen will allow us so much more creative freedom.
“With a bigger café space, we’re creating a brand new, modern, refined menu which will change with the seasons and showcasing the best produce available at the time.
“We’re working with some fantastic suppliers and can’t wait to show you a taste of what we’re working on.”
Pollen will join a raft of other like-minded independent businesses at Kampus, including new arrivals Madre’s Mexican Taqueria, Great North Pie Company, Beeswing Wine Bar, Cloudwater beer hall and a General Store.
Feature image – Pollen
News
Police warn criminals ‘don’t bother’ attending Parklife after already making arrest
Daisy Jackson
Greater Manchester Police have said that criminals shouldn’t ‘bother’ coming to Parklife festival this weekend, after already making an arrest at the festival site.
Officers have been carrying out searches of people arriving on site this week – and have already arrested a 24-year-old man.
A quantity of pills and a knife were both recovered from the man, who has been arrested on suspicion of possession of Class A drugs and possession of a bladed article.
After the arrest, Superintendent Phil Spurgeon issued a statement to criminals, saying ‘don’t bother coming to Parklife’.
He said: “We have a really robust police and partnership community safety operation for the festival, and the arrest and seizure yesterday demonstrates the vigilance of security staff, our thorough search procedures and our commitment to keeping people safe.
Parklife Festival, and (right) the suspected Class A drugs seized this week by police. Credit: GMP
“Make no mistake, illegal items such as weapons and drugs can have fatal consequences. Our top priority this weekend is keeping people safe, and anyone caught trying to take such items into the festival will be robustly dealt with.
“I hope the genuine festival-goers are excited for the fantastic weekend ahead and I am confident the majority will enjoy the event responsibly and safely.”
Greater Manchester Police and Parklife security staff will be working closely together to intercept anyone travelling to the festival with criminal intentions.
The arrest on 8 June was thanks to the festival’s drug detection dogs.
University of Manchester hit by cyber attack with ‘data likely copied’ by unauthorised party
Emily Sergeant
The University of Manchester (UoM) has confirmed that it has today become “the victim of a cyber incident”.
In a formal statement addressing the situation, the city‘s flagship further education institution says some of its systems have been accessed by an “unauthorised party” and that data has “likely been copied” as a result of this.
The University’s in-house experts are said to be “working around the clock” to resolve the issue.
External support teams are also said to be working in collaboration with the University to understand what data has been accessed.
Patrick Hackett – Registrar, Secretary, and Chief Operating Officer at the University of Manchester – explained in a statement issued this morning: “Regrettably, I have to share with you the news that the University is the victim of a cyber incident, [as] it has been confirmed that some of our systems have been accessed by an unauthorised party and data have likely been copied.
“Our in-house experts and established expert external support are working around the clock to resolve this incident, and we are working to understand what data has been accessed”.
— The University of Manchester (@OfficialUoM) June 9, 2023
Mr Hackett said he understands the nature of the issue will “cause concern to members of our community”, and says the University is “very sorry for this”.
The University says it is also working with relevant authorities – including the Information Commissioner’s Office, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the National Crime Agency, and other regulatory bodies – to resolve the issue, and will provide information to those affected as soon as they are able to.
Students and staff are also be told to be vigilant to any suspicious phishing emails within the coming days – with the University’s IT Services team having published some relevant advice to refer to.
Georgina Pellant -
25th May 2022 
