From pickles to pasta, The Creameries menu is taking a turn in a new direction as owner Mary Ellen McTague hands over the reigns to her Head Chef, Mike Thomas.
As of this week, he’ll be completely changing the restaurant’s existing menus and format – moving away from the fixed-price, fine-dining style taster menus for which the Chorlton restaurant has become known.
In their place, Mike will introduce a more straightforward, simple pay-by-the-plate approach – cooking up a range of fresh pasta dishes alongside freshly-made focaccia and bar snacks, created in-house daily.
Image: The Creameries
Embracing the flavours of Southern Eurp[e with a focus on Italy in particular, his new Campagna project will introduce dishes like beef shin ragu and parloude clams with chickpeas, pastis and rouille (a similar creation is currently doing very well on the specials menu at Ancoats pasta kitchen Sugo).
Elsewhere, foodies can sink their teeth into the likes of cuttlefish stew with braised fennel and confit duck leg with puy lentils.
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Diners can expect to find a new selection of starters, salads and desserts, including hazelnut torte with zabaglione cream, with prices ranging between just £7 and £14.
Hazelnut torte with zabaglione cream / Image: The Creameries
After stints at Where the Light Gets In, Bright, Rochelle Canteen & Leroy, and a couple of years at Honest Crust, Mike joined the Creameries as a Chef de Partie in 2019, quickly progressing to Head Chef in September 2020.
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He’s pretty much been running the restaurant ever since, with chef-owner Mary Ellen taking a step back to focus on her restaurant-backed charity project Eat Well MCR.
On Sundays, three courses will be available for £30 as the menu turns ‘Al Forno’ (roughly translating to ‘baked’), with lasagne a comforting favourite.
Rabbit ragu. / image: The Creameries
Raddicio salad. / Image: The Creameries
Think bubbling lasagne alla ragu bolognese or king oyster mushroom vincisgrassi (a style of vegetarian lasagne), accompanied by a crisp green salad, followed by a beautiful, classic tiramisu or a Courtyard Dairy cheese plate.
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Working with owner Mary-Ellen McTague at the Creameries he has been able to hone his craft and has developed a commitment to excellence and a passion for great ingredients.
On taking over The Creameries with his Campagna concept, Chef Mike Thomas is straightforward.
“It sounds pretty simple but I’m most excited about making people delicious food,” he said.
Mike has spent the last 4 years hosting his Umbra Foods supper clubs around Manchester and it’s finally time for his hearty yet refined, ingredient-led cooking to have a home of its own.
Dishes will change seasonally, in close collaboration with suppliers such as Cinderwood Market Garden, who will be growing specialist ingredients for Campagna, and Littlewoods butchers.
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The wine, as ever, remains a key, carefully curated part of the offer, with a focus on delicious, low-intervention Italian wines that are perfect with pasta.
A new children’s menu will also be available to make the new concept accessible to all.
Creameries owner Mary-Ellen McTague said: “It’s been a pleasure working with Mike this last couple of years, and to see his skills and confidence grow. I’m so excited to see Campagna come to fruition.
“Chorlton is in for a treat!”
Feature image – The Creameries
News
No trains are set to run through Stockport station for three weeks this summer – here’s why
Commuters can expect some significant disruption to a major rail link this summer, as no trains are set to pass through Stockport train station for the best part of a month due to fairly sizeable maintenance worksnearby.
As a result, those catching the trains in and around the North West will have to make do with alternative services, diversions and rail replacement buses for at least three weeks.
With the Stockport station ‘Masterplan‘ officially announced in 2024, the key Greater Manchester connection is set for a major overhaul in the coming years, with the aim of turning it into a “modern facility” fitting of the town’s ongoing resurgence.
First up, it seems, is the long overdue replacement of the Greek Street roundabout bridge, which was built back in 1958 and has been in need of updating for some time.
⏳10 weeks to go❗️
From 2-23 August, trains won't run through Stockport while we rebuild the Greek Street railway bridge as part of a £20m investment in safer, stronger journeys
🚧Rail replacement buses will be in place and more information to come
— Manchester Piccadilly (@NetworkRailMAN) May 30, 2025
More details surrounding specific travel arrangements are set to be distributed to the public in the coming weeks, but Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) have confirmed they will be accepting train tickets on Bee Network buses in the meantime.
While the ticket office and underpass between Edgeley and the recently regenerated Stockport Exchange will remain open, the station itself will be virtually out of operation for three weeks in August.
At present, the works are scheduled to last from Saturday, 2-23 August, so many of those travelling through the town during this time may need to make alternative arrangements.
Issuing an update late last month, Network Rail’s project manager William Brandon said: “The work to strengthen Stockport is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make train journeys on the Manchester spur of the West Coast Main Line safer and more reliable.
“I understand that closing the railway through Stockport for 21 days will be inconvenient to our passengers, and I am sorry about this […] I’d advise passengers to plan ahead and allow extra travel time for their journey.”
The area in question. (Credit: Network Rail)
Network Rail clarified that while the Greek Street bridge is being demolished and the new one (which is set to last all the way up until 2145) is reinstalled, engineers have already been working closely with utility companies in the locale to safely divert gas, water, electricity and so on.
As for Avanti West Coast themselves, Stockport Station Manager, Lisa Magee, went on to add: “While there’ll be no trains to or from Stockport for 21 days […] Avanti West Coast teams will be on hand to support those making journeys via rail replacement bus.
“Together with Network Rail and other train operators, we’re finalising the timetable and will share more details in the coming weeks, so customers can plan their journeys in advance.”
“We’d like to thank customers for their patience and understanding, and as always, we strongly encourage them to check the National Rail website, as well as with their train operators, for the latest updates.”
This isn’t the only major travel update for SK announced as of late, either – something much bigger is coming to the borough as part of the Bee Network expansion.
Two teenagers have been arrested on suspicion of murder after another teenage boy was killed in New Moston.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) explained that officers were called out to reports of a serious assault at Nevin Road, in the New Moston area of Manchester, at around 5pm on Sunday (8 June 2025), and when they arrived at the scene, they found a teenage victim who was critically injured.
The victim – who police have now confirmed to be a 14-year-old boy – later died in hospital, despite the best efforts of all the emergency services and staff from the air ambulance involved.
Early investigations established the identities of possible suspects, and after attending a nearby address, police first confirmed that a 37-old woman was arrested on suspicion of assisting an offender.
Then a short time later, two people – both males aged 14 and 16 – were arrested on suspicion of murder, and not long after, a further 14-year-old female was arrested overnight, again on suspicion of assisting an offender.
At this time, all four of the suspects arrested remain in custody for questioning.
#ARREST | We have arrested two boys, aged 14 and 16, on suspicion of murder after the death of a 14-year-old boy yesterday, in north #Manchester.
— Moston Harpurhey Police (GMP) (@Gmpmoston) June 9, 2025
“This incident will have shocked and saddened the local community, and distressed anyone who witnessed it,” commented Detective Chief Inspector, John Charlton.
“We are deploying significant resources to this murder investigation, and this led to quickly identifying potential suspects. We are still trying to establish the full circumstances around the incident, so there will be a large police presence and several scenes in place while we continue to investigate this horrific incident.
“The boy’s family are being supported by our officers and we are determined to give them the answers they deserve.”
Police say that despite making several arrests, this is still a ‘live investigation’.
Officers are now actively appealing for information, doorbell or dashcam footage, or eyewitness accounts from anyone who was in the area at the time, so if you think you can help, contact police on 101 quoting log 2250 of 8/6/25, or use the LiveChat function on the GMP website.
Information can also be reported to Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
Georgina Pellant -
1st February 2022 
