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…”
A ‘legacy walk’ in memory of the Joe Thompson is taking place across Greater Manchester
Danny Jones
The ‘Walk With Me for JT’, a.k.a Joe Thompson ‘Legacy Walk’, is back next month, and Greater Mancunians are being encouraged to take part.
Returning this year following his tragic passing last April, the now annual charity walk has already raised thousands for charity and is set for another big turnout.
Joe Thompson, an ex-Rochdale AFC and Bury FC player, sadly died at just 36 following a long battle with lymphoma, having been diagnosed three different times in 12 years.
While the young husband and father of two’s story is a heartbreaking one, it has also become a source of inspiration for so many across the North West and, indeed, across the UK, with people once again gearing up to complete a fundraising walk in his name.
Set to honour him by making the journey from his adopted home of Rochdale all the way to Old Trafford, with Thompson having come through Man United’s youth academy, the 15-mile trek will start at his former club’s Crown Oil Arena and stop at Bury’s Gigg Lane as well as Salford City’s Peninsula Stadium.
First held in 2024 under the ‘Walk With Me for JT’ banner, the initial legacy walk saw the Bath-born footballer and countless others complete 21 miles in an effort to raise money for treatment.
Gone but never forgotten, the charity walk survives not only in the hearts and souls of his family, friends and other people’s lives he touched, but in the community spirit that his struggle and immense bravery in the face of illness helped spur on throughout the region and beyond.
Writing on social media, the Thompson family and the Foundation in his memory said, “Last year, he walked beside us. This year, we walk for him. This isn’t just a walk… It’s a promise. A promise to carry his strength, his belief, his light forward.
For every family facing illness. For everyone experiencing loss or hardship. For anyone who needs hope right now. Every step matters. Every mile has meaning. Whether you’ve walked before or this is your first time. You won’t walk alone.”
Join the annual Joe Thompson legacy walk on Saturday 2nd May 💙
Departing from the Crown Oil Arena, the 15-mile walk will finish at Manchester United's Old Trafford 🏟️
They signed off by adding: “Be part of something bigger. Be part of Joe’s legacy. Be part of the movement. Get a team together, invite your friends, colleagues and family and let’s raise funds to support The Joe Thompson Foundation.”
With the event beginning at 11am on Saturday, 2 May, there have already been numerous sign-ups, and you can expect even more to lace up their shoes and pay tribute to a local hero.
If you want to join in the effort and help do your bit, you can register for the 2026 Joe Thompson Legacy Walk right HERE.
Manchester rent is now ‘41% more expensive than five years ago, according to a recent study
Danny Jones
Yes, that’s right, as per some of the latest data on leased housing in central Manchester, it’s now approximately 41% more expensive to rent here than it was half a decade ago.
If you’ve lived in and around the city centre for long enough, chances are that you’ve already been feeling that difference, especially of late.
The ongoing cost-of-living crisis roughly began in 2021, following the economy and the world essentially opening back up after multiple lockdowns, so it’s little surprise that new research has shown affordability when it comes to renting has been on a slump ever since, too.
As well as the price of seemingly most things in everyday life going up post-pandemic, the average rental rate for even just a one-bedroom flat/apartment has jumped up significantly between 2020 and 2025.
Even some ‘available’ housing in town is being hampered by claddin (Credit: Valienne via WikiCommons)
That’s according to the numbers crunched by credit card experts, Zable, anyway.
Not only did their recent report cite the rent prices going up even before the cost of living crisis – essentially following the outset of the Covid-19 outbreak – but if their figures, the rate of inflation and the unwaveringly high demand for housing are anything to go by, this trajectory is likely to continue in 2026.
As of February this year, around one in three UK households is now a single-person occupancy, which already comes with its challenges (the Manchester City Council tax discount being a thin lifeline for countless), not to mention energy bills and the cost of groceries continuing on an upwards trend.
Put in the simplest and most reductive terms, it’s now almost £300 dearer for most people to live on their own than it was back in 2020, and besides Liverpool clocking in as second on the list of increasingly expensive cities to live (a 42.12% increase), Manchester came in third.
You can see the full table down below:
Rank
City
% increase – 2020-2025
Difference from 2020 to 2025 in £
Average rental cost for a 1 bed 2025
1
Newport
47.39%
£2,611
£8,121
2
Liverpool
42.12%
£2,290
£7,727
3
Manchester
41.00%
£3,364
£11,569
4
Edinburgh
40.28%
£4,620
£16,090
5
Leicester
39.93%
£2,391
£8,379
6
Wolverhampton
39.22%
£2,049
£7,273
7
Nottingham
39.07%
£2,400
£8,543
8
Glasgow
38.02%
£2,679
£9,725
9
Colchester
37.63%
£2,617
£9,572
10
Cardiff
37.06%
£2,828
Average rental cost for a 1-bed 2025
Another fear is that with lots of people finding it hard to manage living in other major cities like London, even those moving to Manchester are also having an impact on how available affordable housing is here.
That’s why schemes such as the new ‘social rent’ development over in Wythenshawe are so important to the current generations of renters, with the possibility of owning your own property in the future becoming increasingly difficult for so many.
It’s also worth noting that Manchester ranked fourth among the British locations where the cost of living is said to have increased the most over the past five years, with the average difference in annual spend growing by an estimated 22.84%.
The Manc -
6th February 2020 
