NOT every pub grub menu pays homage to one of our greatest chefs, steeped in his own French heritage, but accompanying Tom Kerridge to Manchester as he opens the Bull & Bear inside The Stock Exchange Hotel (launching on November 15) is the Mushroom ‘Risotto’ Claude Bosi (above).
Claude Bosi’s West London restaurant has just come in at number 6 in the Good Food Guide Top 50 2020 (just behind Moor Hall) and he shares a friendship as well as Michelin stars with Tom, whose latest venture previewed last week hoovered up more than a 1,000 bookings inside 48 hours. So Taste of Mancheter suspects the kitchen may be getting through tonnes of mushrooms and parmesan before Christmas.
Alongside Tom’s chef superstar status, a major attraction of his first outpost beyond his Marlow, Bucks base and London is the setting – under the great dome of the former Stock Exchange trading floor he promises “an approachable and social space, blurring the lines between elegance and informality”.
Tom (above) and his Executive Chef Dan Scott have created a menu that is influenced by Tom’s pub in Marlow, The Coach, which holds a Michelin star. The menu will be divided into three stages, ‘First’, ‘Second’ and ‘Third’, with the team recommending four to five plates per person, allowing diners to experience a wider selection of the menu.
The Bull & Bear will celebrate the style of cooking that Tom is renowned for – refined British comfort food and classics using well-sourced produce, in an environment that is approachable yet luxurious. The Stock Exchange appear to have achieved that with a sensitive restoration of the Grade II listed building’s Edwardian opulence, all golds and greens.
Some signature favourites from The Coach will be making an appearance such as the aforementioned risotto, the Coach burger with smoked brisket and dill pickle and Chicken Kiev with cauliflower cheese.
‘First’ will include rotisserie beetroot salad with feta and mint; smoked chicken and ham hock terrine with piccalilli; and duck liver parfait with plum chutney. ‘Second’ features fish fritter of the day with pease pudding and tartare sauce; crispy pig’s head with celeriac rémoulade and spiced date sauce; venison chilli with toasted rice cream, red wine and chocolate. ‘Third’ offers the likes of whisky and rye pudding (fresh from the oven, below); hot chocolate tart with hazelnut ice cream; the Coach profiteroles with soured vanilla cream.
For sides buttered hispi cabbage and rotisserie celeriac with winter truffle both sound like they would hit the spot but it would be criminal not to oder the Kerridge chips, below. From first hand experience down in Marlow we know how awesome they are with Kerridge ketchup.
The Stock Exchange will open on November 15 as a member of Relais & Châteaux, an association of 580 unique hotels and restaurants throughout the world owned and operated by independent entrepreneurs. Booking is now open, including booking for The Bull & Bear and for two further food and drink experiences overseen by Tom and his team – The Bank, offering private dining experiences for up to 14 people, and The Vault, catering for private events for up to 120 people.
The Bar, too, is part of the grand design. Tom has been working closely with Anthony Peart, bar Manager at his two-starred Marlow flagship, The Hand & Flowers, to design a drinks menu of cocktails that celebrates British distilleries, alongside a selection from Manchester breweries plus beer from Rebellion, a Marlow-based brewery.
The man himself, who was first approached by a Twitter DM messahe from Gary Neville, is going to be around quite a bit to ensure the quality matches his other lauded establishments.
He told us: “The Bull & Bear will be a bit of Marlow up north which we can’t wait to share with the city of Manchester. The food scene up there is so vibrant and exciting and we’re looking forward to being a part of it. Our goal is to be somewhere that people feel welcome and looked after while enjoying some delicious food. The hotel is going to be stunning and it’s a brilliant setting for our first Manchester site.”
The attention to detail is apparent even in the pubby name, which reflects the the legacy of the building. The old Northern Stock Exchange was witness to the ups and downs of bull and bear markets; the bull represents a rise in the market with the upward motion of the bull’s horns and the bear a dip in the market with the downward swipe of the bear’s paw.
We have not doubt that the Bull will be in the ascendancy food and drinkwise, while the 40-room hotel itself will provide a boutique bolthole unlike any other in the city. Congratulations to co-owners Gary Neville, Ryan Giggs and hotelier Winston Zahra. It has taken a while, but good things come to those who wait.
Bull & Bear, Stock Exchange Hotel, 4 Norfolk Street, Manchester, M2 1DW. 0161 470 3901, [email protected]. Book via this link.
Check out Tom Kerridge cooks at Manchester Food and Drink Festival – plus the rest of this year’s phenomenal line-up here.