WHAT a summer it has been for the team behind Bangers & Bacon. May ended with their Spinningfields Left Bank diner invaded by the Hairy Bikers on location. Now June departs with the trio crowned winners of The Kitchens street food start-up contest.
It’s the latter honour that has the lasting consequences for Manc indie heroes James and Heather Taylor and chef Richard Brown (pictured above).
“Six hours of filming about chicken with the Hairy Bikers – we hope we don’t get edited out,” says the equally hairy James, a butcher by trade. Their new permanent business with an enterprising new menu, provisionally titled ‘Beastro’ won’t get edited out any time soon. One whole side of six-unit Kitchens complex is now theirs, as they expand into the areas once showcasing Mumma Schnitzel, Hip Hop Chip Shop and later their own seak-centric sideline, Well Hung.
They, Chaat Cart, Wholesome and Raw and Yakumama made up the original six tenants chosen by Spinningfields developer Allied London, who will now live up to their part of the deal by pumping business support into the winners.The three units opposite will continue to trade as pop-ups with a changing line-up of new and existing traders.
Spinningfields project manager Rochelle Silverstein says: Bangers & Bacon have worked tirelessly over the last year to develop a loyal customer base, through a combination of diverse and high-quality menus, sell-out events, including innovative Chef’s table supper clubs and a constant passion for their trade.
“Come rain or shine, from breakfast through to dinner the dedication displayed throughout the process was simply unrivalled.”
James says: “The expansion means we can grow beyond the public perception of Bangers & Bacon as solely about bacon butties. That brand name will live on for street food projects as will Well Hung, but the new plans go much further.
“We will continue to open for breakfast and at weekends for brunches, which have been hugely popular. In the evenings the food will develop from the the kind of one-off ‘Beastro’ supper clubs and chef's tables we have done with the likes of Robert Owen Brown.”
As the name suggests, meat remains central to their dream, but it will be served in a radically transformed setting as the trio continue to demonstrate the depth of ambition that won them the competition launched a year ago.
TOM thinks they deserve their own TV show. Just lose the beard, James!
The Kitchens Leftbank, Spinningfields, Manchester, M3 3AG
