IT’S a long haul from Melbourne to Manchester. What are the chances of two foodie links this year? Wearing its caffeine-fuelled heart on its sleeve, Another Heart To Feed on Chapel Street Salford sells itself as an all-day menu coffee shop inspired by Oz’s foodie capital.
An all-Australian wine list and dishes such as their Acai Bowl (£7.90), a smoothie-style combo of banana, kiwi, berries and almond milk with sesame seeds, coconut shavings, honey and granola, are certainly a reflection of the five sun-kissed years co-owners Nicola Bell and Alex Hill spent in the city.
Michael Clay, who ran his own restaurant in Melbourne, plans to stock English wines, make his own chutneys and possets and delve into old British recipes, requiring pig’s heads and the like, at the neighbourhood restaurant/bar he is opening in Ancoats in September. He promises British sharing plates focusing on locally-sourced, seasonal and sustainable produce. With a nod to the area’s past, notably its Little Italy heritage.
The 80-cover place is even called Elnecot after the first recorded mention of the settlement in 2012 and Michael wants to entrench as an essential stop-off in the currently resurgent area.
“Our aim is to be a place that feels like a second home to regulars coming along any time of the day – a true neighbourhood place in a great area,” says Cheshire-born Michael
It helps that Ancoats is awash with culinary credibility. Already in Ice Plant, a former fish warehouse turned apartment block on Blossom Street, are Se7en Brothers Beerhouse and Mexica, while across Cutting Room Square pioneers Rudy’s Pizza packs in the punters, while much-anticipated neighbour Goose Fat & Wild Garlic is still giving a passable impression of the Marie Celeste. Never mind – Altrincham pasta kitchen Sugo and Hip Hop Chip Shop have announced plans to move in, too.
“It definitely feels the place to be,” says Michael, who is opening Elnecot in partnership with friend Michael Lever, once of Manchester Food and Drink Festival and now an events manager for Manchester Pride. Indeed, his commitment to Pride means the original opening date of mid-August has been put back to September.
So what can we expect foodwise from Elnecot? “We are still developing the menu, but I’m very keen to feature old English recipes from the area and the north west as a whole. Possets would be good, maybe a pig’s head dish. Preserving, pickling, fermenting, making jams and chutneys are all on the agenda.”
You feel it is a true coming home for the peripatetic young chef, who was running his own English style bistro, The Two Badgers, in Melbourne’s beachside suburb of St Kilda (above). “It was going well, we’d taken over an old Irish pub, altered very little apart from the food – we still had to do Yorkshire puds for the ex-pats – but then my dad got seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident and I had to come home to be near him,” he tells us.
And drinks? “Locally brewed ales, local gins, a few English wines, in particular the sparklers, and an emphasis on biodynamic wines. It all marries with our strongly eco approach.”
Hence sustainably-sourced wooden booths and benches in the 80-cover restaurant and a living wall, plus no plastics in the open kitchen. Oh, an an equally sustainable welcome for customers.
“Our aim is to be a place that feels like a second home to regulars coming along any time of the day. A true neighbourhood place in a great area.”
Melbourne’s loss looks to be Manchester’s gain.