THE Observer Food Monthly celebrated its 200th issue last weekend with, among other foodie look backs, a list of the ’20 food books that have stirred our emotions’. No, The Hairy Bikers Favourite Tyneside Turnip Tips didn’t make the cut, but first up was Moro, the Cookbook from the folk who run the London restaurant celebrating Spanish food and its North African influences.
Would that Manchester could boast a place nailing that wonderful culinary cross-fertilisation that sprang from the Moorish conquest of Southern Spain. Now maybe it will have with the news that award-winning El Gato Negro is eyeing a second site in – where else – Ancoats. And the word is its Hull-born but Iberian-inspired chef/patron Simon Shaw may focus on those North African and Middle Eastern contributions he has admitted his admiration for.
The former Harvey Nichols group exec chef has certainly cracked his first love, Spain and its tapas (exquisite dishes include braised ox cheek above), at El Gato, which moved from the Pennine hamlet of Ripponden to King Street two years ago, since winning Newcomer and Premium & Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year respectively at the 2017 and 2018 Manchester Food and Drink Awards. It has also retained its Michelin Bib Gourmand.
Now they have confirmed rumours that they're close to signing for a spot for their new brand on Ancoats' Cutting Room Square, already home to Rudy’s Neapolitan Pizza, Seven Bro7hers craft beer bar and neighbourhood bar/kitchen Elnecot.
Simon Shaw said: "It's no secret we've been actively looking for a strong second Manchester site and I can confirm we're in conversation with a couple of locations, one of which is in Ancoats. It's an incredibly young and vibrant space and an area in which I'd love to open. As conversations are still very much active it is however too early to say more."
Ancoats is becoming a kind of gastronomic gold rush with the onrush of indie operations to become part of it. Pollen Bakery and Cask have just confirmed their moves to Cotton Field Wharf, next to New Islington Marina; Altrincham pasta masters Sugo are opening their second outlet, while street food hit squad Hip Hop Chip Shop are opening their first permanent home.
Add in established operations such as Ancoats Coffee Co, and on Great Ancoats Street itself Japanese tea room Cha-ology, Squid Ink bistro and another Food and Drink Awards winner, Ancoats General Store, and it’s quite a scene in the making.