IN the week of the Manchester Food and Drink Awards ToM feels a pang of nostalgia for Aumbry, a serial winner of Chef and Restaurant of the Year in the days when it turned Prestwich into a fine dining destination. The cottage that housed it, extended, is now home to Solita but Aumbry’s legacy lingers on in the continued presence in town of head chef/proprietor Mary-Ellen McTague, above, (Real Junk Food Project and Manchester Art Gallery Cafe) and her protege, Richard Sharples (Hispi).
The pair reunited at a MFDF Goatober Dinner at Koffee Pot in the Northern Quarter, where four chefs were tasked with showcasing the culinary potential of kid meat. It was part of a monthlong UK celebration of this squandered raw material organised by James Whetlor (below) of Cabrito Goat Meat, which buys male goats, a waste product of the dairy industry, from farmers to rear for meat.
In a pre-dinner address to diners Whetlor said a big thank you for Aumbry’s ahead of the game commitment to ethically sourced goat meat. He and Grafene head chef Darren Goodwin completed the quartet of guesting chefs at Koffee Pot. Stand-out dishes included (below) kid goat and salt baked celeriac ‘lasagne’ smoked Peakland White custard and pickled roots and a spicy Cabrito al disco.
First launched in London 2016 Goatober UK saw over 40 restaurants take part and the launch event raised £6,300 for charity Action Against Hunger.
