A new food experience is coming to town.
Manchester’s leading ‘conscious’ food company, Open Kitchen, is set to open a new cafe in Manchester, residing within the People’s History Museum near Spinningfields in the city centre.
Continuing to champion sustainable food, the new cafe will bring a brand new food experience to Manchester and will be the first museum cafe and bar in the country that intercepts food that would otherwise go to waste.
Working with a variety of food businesses, Open Kitchen sources perfectly edible food that would otherwise go to waste, with ingredients sourced from local, organic and independent businesses to create an ‘all-day’ menu that everyone can enjoy. Focusing on vegan and vegetarian-friendly dishes, the menu will be switched up seasonally – reflecting the ever-changing produce that the business rescues from being tossed on the landfill.
If that wasn’t all, the theme of sustainability will run throughout the entire cafe, with all decor and furnishings created with upcycled, recycled and reclaimed materials, fair trade staff uniforms, and even 100% compostable takeaway packaging.
The launch of the new cafe will coincide with the People’s History Museum’s re-opening date on May 19th, two days after the government’s restrictions on indoor dining are set to be lifted.
Corin Bell, Founder and Director at Open Kitchen, says, “We’re thrilled to be partnering with People’s History Museum on this exciting new venture. Affordable good food for all has always been something that we’re really passionate advocates for. To site our new cafe within the museum of democracy, equality, and rights, especially as the debate about the Right to Food
rages, just feels like a perfect fit.
“When you work in a huge environmental problem like food waste, you’re always sort of trying to put yourself out of a job by pushing to fix the broken system, hopefully to the point where food waste stops happening in the first place. It felt important for us to start to demonstrate how we can change our food system to design out food waste. We hope that by demonstrating how short supply chains, working directly with producers, buying local and seasonal, etc can reduce food waste, we can inspire people to change their habits around food.”
Open Kitchen gained momentum for the cause as a pop-up operation upon its launch three years ago, running as a ‘pay-as-you-feel’ restaurant on Manchester’s Oxford Street, before supporting independent food banks and homelessness support charities with meals, food and supplies – which has been vital help throughout the pandemic.
[Featured image: Supplied]