Award-winning pies, comfort food classics and school-dinner style puddings - Great North Pie Co has finally arrived in Manchester.
After launching pie shops and concessions in Ambleside and Altrincham Market, the much-loved pie makers will officially launch their first kitchen and bar at Kampus, opposite Canal Street, on Monday, February 27. Punters can expect a contemporary take on pie and mash dinners with all-butter pastry pies packed full of quality British ingredients.
Featuring exposed brickwork, a stylish tiled bar and intimate booth seating, plus an outdoor terrace, the cosy new pie spot has been years in the making for co-founders and husband-and-wife duo Neil and Sarah Broomfield, who started out making pies from their own kitchen. From farmers markets to a full-scale warehouse and bakery in Handforth - plus a trophy cabinet full of awards along the way - the last ten years have seen the business go from strength-to-strength.
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Key to their success so far has been a commitment to consistency and top-quality ingredients. Speaking to the Manchester Evening News last year, Neil explained: "The recipe has always stayed the same really - an all-butter pastry which just gives the best flavour. In terms of ingredients as well, it’s always about supporting local producers and promoting them along the way.”
From Unwins in Bramhall - who they’ve worked with from the very beginning - to Dewlay's Cheesemakers who supply the cheese and butter for their pies, and chicken and beef from suppliers they’ve worked with for the last decade, their pies are stuffed to the brim with top-notch produce from North West Producers.
Since the pie makers started out 11 years ago, Great North Pie Co has won numerous gongs at the British Pie Awards, and in 2015 won the overall competition. Neil has also judged the coveted pie awards, and Great North Pie was recently listed as a finalist in the BBC Radio 4 Food and Farming Awards, and was nominated for Independent Food Producer of the Year at the Manchester Food and Drink Festival awards 2022.
The first seasonal menu available at their new outpost will include classic pie combinations (£6.50) including 14-hour Braised Beef and Ale made with Yorkshire grass-fed beef, Manchester union larger, seasonal veg and a number of spices and condiments; Roast Chicken and Mushroom with crispy skins, lemon and poppy seeds; and hero classic, Lancashire Cheese and Onion, with Dewlay's delicious cheese, caramelised white onions and Japanese breadcrumbs.
They're joined by a strong line-up of sides (£3.50), with options spanning buttery mash or proper home-style chips, cauliflower cheese, pickled red cabbage, mushy garden peas or chip shop mushy peas all served with roast onion and brown sauce gravy or the house curry sauce for an extra £2.
A rotating selection of weekly comfort food will also be available, from classics such as lamb and pea steamed suet puddings and corned beef hash to Lancashire Hot Pot and keema and chips. Desserts, meanwhile, bring a touch of nostalgia with a series of school dinner-style sweets including chocolate sponge and custard and classic sticky toffee pudding.
For those who just can’t get enough, Great North Pie Co’s range of handcrafted pies, will also be available to take away cold, ready to be heated. Individual pies for takeaway cost £4.75 while a set of four is priced at £18.
And, early birds will also be able snag one of their brand new breakfast sandwiches (£6.50) between 10:30am and 2.30pm. Options include classics such as Cheshire Smokehouse honey-cured bacon and Stornoway black pudding.
Commenting on their first city centre venture, Neil adds: "Since we started making pies it’s always been an ambition to have a base in the city centre. We’d been looking for a while and as soon as we saw Kampus, Little David Street and the gardens, we knew it was the right place for us.
"While it’s our first city centre venue, we don’t have plans to rollout out any more, as we place our focus on keeping the quality and consistency we aim for. We just want to concentrate on doing one thing and doing it well. The mix of traders coming into Kampus is amazing and we’re so proud to be part of it.”
Designed to complement the food offer, drinks fly the flag for local brewers, with Track Brewing Co's refreshing, hazy pale pale ale and Manchester Union Lager on draft (£5.50), plus a variety of wines, proseccos and spritzes - ideal for when the sun shines down on the Kampus garden.
The canal-side venue is open for bookings for large groups on Friday and Saturday evenings. Opening seven days a week, the pie kitchen and bar will open Monday to Wednesday, 10.30am-6pm; Thursday to Saturday, 10.30am-10pm; and Sunday, 10.30am-6pm.
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