Cafe inspired by Ready Steady Cook
A CAFE aims to help the environment and be Macclesfield’s answer to TV show Ready Steady Cook.
The Surplus Food Cafe at the Hope Centre, on Park Green, opens two evenings a month and will prevent perfectly edible items being wasted and thrown away by turning it into meals.
Supermarkets are being encouraged to also help out by donating unwanted stock rather than simply getting rid of it. It operates on a ‘pay as you feel’ basis where diners decide how much to pay.
The operation is run by manager Emily Gunnion, deputy Emma Dennehy and kitchen supervisor Peter Campbell, who say it is not a foodbank and open to everyone.
Emily said: “The fun part is we never know what meals we will be making until the day, as the food delivery arrives.
“It’s exciting, a Macclesfield version of Ready Steady Cook, we are blessed to have two fantastic chefs who volunteer their time and experience.”
A pilot evening has been held with a roast dinner, Mexican food and burgers all on the menu and has highly successful. Now Emily and her team feel the cafe is ready to open to the public.
She said: “This is about us treasuring creation by stopping all this food going into landfill, and building community with people coming together to eat and chat from all backgrounds comes out of that.
“We welcome anyone who comes to pay as much as they feel for the food, or nothing at all.
“So you get a big mix of people sitting around a table talking and eating together. The meal will be sourced using food that would otherwise go to waste, the exact menu will be decided on the day.”
Opening days are August 23 and 30, September 20 and 27, October 18 and 25, November 22 and 29, and December 13 and 20. Each sitting is 5.30pm to 8.30pm - to book a table email manager@ hopecentremacclesfield. org.uk or pop in to the centre.