Andrew lands in Manchester and asks: Has the recent regeneration had any effect on the food scene? Learn more about the Big British Food Map at Channel4.com/food
Manchester, a city I never really got to know before leaving its suburbs in ’94, has changed beyond all recognition now. Massive amounts of cash poured into the city in the late 90s, so with all this wealth and regeneration, what’s the food scene like?
Well, not wanting to break Hartley’s Law of Manchester food journalism (1. Why are there no good restaurants? 2. 'It's glam oop north' WAG based stories), I decided to seek out an audience with the first lady of Mancunian food herself and invite her to lunch.
We went to the vastly improved and enlarged Arndale Centre - it now boasts the largest branch of Next in Europe apparently - and tucked away in one tiny corner is the food hall. Here, there was a fantastic and well-stocked fishmonger as well as a butcher, greengrocer and bizarrely, a Polish shop. Sarah and discuss the lack of good produce shops in the city centre and the much talked about restaurant situation. She attributes it to the fact that Manchester’s entertainment DNA is in music and clubbing, not really dining. There’s still some good places however, and she goes on to recommend Red Chilli in Chinatown, Sam’s Chop House for traditional British food, Dimitris on Deansgate and The Earth Café.
The Earth Cafe was added to the Big Food Map by Annie-Rose so after I left Sarah I went for a nose round and a chat with front of house manager, Mike Tollerfield. It's attached to the Buddhist centre above and all the food on offer is vegan. There’s also a strong lean towards fair trade complemented by local sourcing wherever possible. Refreshingly, there’s a lack of 'mock meals' (vegan versions of meat dishes), and everything is made fresh, there’s a daily special, which today is Aloo gobi, the classic Indian dish of spinach and potatoes. There’s also free water and Wi-Fi.
Keeping with the Indian theme I pushed on to This and That, of which hecate said on the map: 'A daily changing menu of virtually all you can eat for a fiver. Just take a bit of this and a bit of that and you'll be filled [sic] up'. I came here as a student and it’s not changed one iota. It’s never going to win an award for décor, but it does do a cheap, filling plate of curry.
Finally I wondered over to Thomas Street, which looks and feels like the Manchester I remember, and chanced upon the newly opened Six Pack Deli, run by Ashley Schofield. Now I’m the first to admit I’m more keg than six pack when it comes to the body beautiful, but the emphasis here is on tasty, but also healthy food. The smoothies are worthy of investigation, and Ashley talks me through the Acai berry that he has imported from the Amazon, harvested sustainably by a tribe who manage the forest. "It'll keep you going all day," says Ashley. He’s also baking his own low GI bread for paninis as well as spelt and honey breads for sandwiches.
So, yes, Manchester has changed in the past 14 years. The new developed areas house all the familiar casual dining places, but if you venture down the odd back street, or nose around in the Northern Quarter or China town you can find interesting food - you’ve just got to look for it.
From the North West or been up there lately? Why not add your food suggestion to the map.
Read more about Andrew's tour of the North West.
Andrew's off to Sheffield to check out the silver service
Next week he's in East Midlands so add your local food places to the map
Sofia from London won last month's hamper. Add a place to the map and you could win next
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