Mary-Ellen McTague's crowdfunded restaurant opens this month
The chef raised £32,000 on Indiegogo last year to transform a former Edwardian dairy in to The Creameries restaurant.
McTague was a sous chef at Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck and ran acclaimed Manchester restaurant Aumbry for five years until 2014.
She has teamed up with baker Sophie Yeoman and designer Soo Wilkinson for the new project, which will serve freshly baked bread, British and Irish cheese, home-churned butter and fresh curds.
Separate lunch and supper menus will focus on locally-grown vegetables, and ethically sourced fish, seafood and meat.
The Creameries space has been designed to encourage interaction between the kitchen and customers. It also features a children’s area for art, playing and reading, and will run an events programme ranging from wine tastings to cookery classes.
“We have purposefully placed our bread oven right in the heart of our building, and our kitchen is open for all to see,” says Yeoman.
“We want to be able to talk to our customers, and we hope that this approach will spark conversations about food, where it comes from and how it’s made.
“Nothing is hidden away here. You might arrive just as the bread is going into the oven, or as we are preparing lunch, or curing and smoking some meat, which I think is great as it will connect customers to what they’re eating.”
Since Aumbry’s closure McTague has worked as director at The Real Junk Food Project food waste café and overhauled the menu at Manchester Art Gallery.
The Creameries opens on 24 April.
