05/02/2024
1 - Eccles Cakes from made with dry-aged beef fat paired with a raw milk cloth bound Cheshire cheese from
2 - Facade of Manchester Coffee Tavern temperance tavern established 1877 to 'afford all the advantages connected with the ordinary public-house, the great and material difference being that no intoxicating liquors of any description will be obtainable on the premises' this one was the 3rd to be opened in a space of 3 months.. after 4 months they'd sold 33,420 ECCLES CAKES!
3 - 1878 Whitweek advertisement offering 'private room for ladies' and showing that a year after forming they'd opened 7 premises
4 - Elizabeth Raffald who's probably the inventor of the Eccles cake (her recipe for 'sweet patties' was gifted to an employee who moved to Eccles). She also wrote a cookery book which ran to 20 editions and contains the oldest written recipe for Macaroni cheese and the modern day iced wedding cake. She had time for a servants agency, a cookery school for the daughters of 'ladies', a coaching inn, a co-written book on midwifery and the first ever Manchester trade directory.
Today, Manchester is blessed with some amazing bakeries and coffee shops and on any given weekend there's people queueing for filled croissants and all sorts of highly instagramable bakes but, as far as I can see, there's not an Eccles cake to be seen. Not the case in London where you can find them .john.restaurant, and
