Josephine Sandwith grew up running around restaurants. Her parents ran the much-loved French bistro Beaujolais, first on West Mosley Street and then Portland Street in the 70s and 80s.
So of course rather that the stress, hard work and long hours of hospitality, she went into teaching instead, known for its general relaxed vibe and casual work ethic.
But the pull of restaurants was always there, and six years ago, with her husband Dean, they started the Stretford Canteen pop-up supper clubs. First off taking over their local greasy spoon cafe in the evenings - Pine’s Pantry on Moss Road - they moved to various temporary venues in and around South Manchester.
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Their ‘French-ish’ menus, as Jo calls them - French with a British, nose-to-tail twist - found them gathering a loyal following for their nomadic cookery, but now, they’ve thrown open the doors of their first actual restaurant. It’s a daunting but exciting step.
“My mum used to take me into work as a baby, so I grew up with it,” she says. “So that was the reason I decided not to do it! I did lots of other things, working as an artist, embroidery designer, teacher, but there’s a part of me that, whenever I’d see an empty space, I’d think ‘that would make a great restaurant’.”
So after taking redundancy from teaching, the opportunity to make a change suddenly presented itself. “My husband was always interested, and I would always say ‘it’s a really hard life, it’s not glamorous, it’s not what people think it is’,” she goes on. So starting as a pop-up seemed the best way in which to dip a toe in, and luckily, neither were deterred.
“We’re here, and we’re doing it!” she says. “And we had every opportunity through Covid and lockdown to walk away, but we’re still here.”
Part of the first stage of the reimagining of Stretford Mall, by developers Bruntwood, it’s only a walk from home, and it’s a family affair too. Jo’s mum Maureen, who first ran the kitchen at Beaujolais, bringing classic Lyonnaise cooking to Manchester, is helping out with bookkeeping, along with daughter Eve, formerly of Erst, on front of house duties.
Meanwhile, former Mary-Ellen McTague sous chef Deb Burton is working alongside Jo in the kitchen. And pleasingly, some of those old recipes from those days doing her homework at a restaurant table are on the menu at the Stretford Canteen today. Like Tomates Farcies - tomatoes stuffed with beef ragu and bechamel and finished with gruyere cheese, all made to the original Beaujolais recipe.
Other influences on the menu include the likes of Fergus Henderson, of the legendary St John in London with its ‘nose to tail’ ethos, and his wife Margot Henderson’s Rochelle Canteen, the name of which was also an inspiration. Dean and Jo are also great fans of reluctant celebrity chef and cult cookery writer Simon Hopkinson.
“It seems almost gruesome, the idea of eating everything from the bones outwards,” she says. “But it’s about history, and respect for the animal, and about being frugal, and that really appeals to us as a place to start.”
Produce comes locally too, from the meat at Littlewoods in Heaton Moor to vegetables from Glebelands in Sale. The fish comes in from Fleetwood, a little further afield, but that’s a nod to Dean’s upbringing in Blackpool.
“Because we’ve been doing this for quite a long time as a pop-up, we have people who have followed us, and who have been interested in us, and been on the journey too,” she says. “So we feel really fortunate that we’re already getting so much appreciation.”
Stretford Canteen is open now.
118 Chester Rd, Stretford, Manchester M32 9BH
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