THE final total crowdfunding total aidsed The Creameries Chorlton, now on course to hit £30,000 with still 10 days to go to deadline.
Chef Mary-Ellen McTague and her partners in this project to restore this much-loved Wilbraham Road landmark hit their initial £20,000 target within their first week and are now aiming for a final push to raise further cash for equipment at this bakery/dairy/cafe schedule to open in March 2018.
“We are beyond delighted at all the support we have received from local people, supporters further afield, and the press in Manchester”, says co-organiser Sophie Yeoman. “There has been such a positive reaction to our project, which means so much to us as we put a lot of thought into what our community wants and needs, and then designed The Creameries around that.”
After the initial success, the team decided to try and raise more money through offering unique gifts for pledgers, rather than having to rely on costly bank loans to start up their business.
“Once we saw how keen people were to get involved we added a whole host of new and exclusive rewards in weeks two and three of our campaign,” says Mary-Ellen. “We wanted to make sure that what we were giving our pledgers in return for their donations was something truly new and exciting. We reached out to friends and colleagues, racked our brains, and thought hard about what would make really good presents for people to buy.”
As a result, The Creameries crowdfunding has become a real collaborative project, bringing together chefs, poets, independent breweries and musicians from across the UK. Together they’re going to put on a range of extra special evenings and events.
Here’s the trio’s top 6 from their range of rewards with lots more to be found on their site. Check it out.
• A Southern Indian cookery class with Chaat Cart from Marple (main picture).
• A 4 course meal from Richard Sharples from Elite Bistros (Hispi, Burnt Truffle, Wreckfish and Sticky Walnut) and Mark Greenaway coming all the way from Restaurant Mark Greenaway in Edinburgh,
• A Spanish masterclass class and supper hosted by the award winning chefs from Levanter and Baratxuri in Ramsbottom. Hope for fish!
• A poetry evening with the critically acclaimed Adam O’Riordan, Helen Mort and Andrew McMillan.
• A beer and cheese event with Black Lodge Brewery and a beer masterclass with Cave Direct.
• An organic Croatian wine tasting with Pacta Connect, to include snacks made with Croatian olive oil, truffles, honey and other delicacies.
PLUS A new offer ToM has just spotted would make a perfect Christmas stocking filler – for £100 legendary chef Robert Owen Brown is offering a one-off three courses for four people at his acclaimed Hinchliffe Arms, Mytholmroyd near Hebden Bridge in January. You can expect the likes of crispy black pudding potato cake, Cornish octopus and bread and butter pudding.
