THE Eccles Cakes above were shot by Joby Catto (jobycatto.com) for Robert Owen Brown’s cookbook, Crispy Squirrel and Vimto Trifle. It was published only a couple of years after the country’s biggest high street baker had taken the legendary Lancashire curranted pastry off its shelves. Its future looked flaky and ROB’s championing in print and at The Mark Addy a (quite delicious) rearguard action.
Flash forward to 2017 to find the region’s chefs going head to head in the first Ultimate Eccles Cake Off to be held at Solita Didsbury on Monday, April 24. The event, organised by food blogger Hungry Hoss, will raise money for Manchester homelessness charity Not Just Soup, which was founded by Solita restaurateur Franco Sotgiu to encourage restaurants to cook in rota for the city’s homeless.
The roll call of chefs is impressive – Adam Reid, from the French; Andrew Nutter of the eponymous restaurant; Mary-Ellen McTague, once of Aumbry now at The Real Junk Food Project; Lisa Allen, from Michelin-starred Northcote; Richard Sharples, from Hispi; Steven Smith, from the Freemasons at Wiswell; Stosie Madi, from The Parkers Arms near Clitheroe; Solita’s chefs; and, of course, Robert Owen Brown.
Restaurants and bakeries including Hawksmoor, Manchester House, T & Cake, The Fat Loaf, the Hare and Hounds and The Rat Inn are also providing their own takes on thr Eccles Cakes.
The panel judging their efforts comprises Hungry Hoss, Northern Restaurant and Bar show CeO Thom Hetherington, Marc Wilkinson, Michelin-starred chef patron of Fraiche on The Wirral and The Guardian’s Tony Naylor.
Tickets for the live bake-off are available from this link for £25, including a welcome drink, a starter, a burger main and all the Eccles Cakes you can eat. Proceeds from ticket sales will be split between Not Just Soup and a charity of the winning chef’s choice.
The event is sponsored by Bookers, R. Noone & Son, Boutinot Wines, Amato Products and Cave Direct Beer.
Solita Didsbury, 10-12 Warburton Street, Manchester M20 6WA.