People’s History Museum (PHM) is bringing a new food experience to the national museum of democracy and, with it, a sustainable food revolution by partnering with Manchester’s leading conscious food company, Open Kitchen. Open Kitchen at People’s History Museum will be the first museum cafe and bar in the country that intercepts food that would otherwise go to waste.
As a museum where ideas worth fighting for by change makers past, present and future are shared, explored and championed, People’s History Museum is the perfect fit for Open Kitchen, who are committed to fighting for a sustainable and fair food future. Alongside working with a range of food businesses to source perfectly edible food that would otherwise go to waste, Open Kitchen purchases ingredients from a sustainable food chain – local, seasonal, organic, independent, short supply chains and Fairtrade – supporting other ethical businesses and social enterprises, making it the first of its kind in the UK to take this combined approach.
With a launch to coincide with the reopening of People’s History Museum on Wednesday 19 May, Open Kitchen at People’s History Museum will be a fresh and modern cafe and bar operating from the museum’s Spinningfields home overlooking the River Irwell. It will celebrate sustainable and ethical produce with an all-day menu that caters for everyone, from museum visitors, to after work socialisers, families and digital nomads. In the evening, the ambience will switch to offer table service drinks and small plates.
Katy Ashton, Director of People’s History Museum, says, “We are a values-driven organisation and we’re very excited for Open Kitchen to be taking its place within the national museum of democracy. We share Open Kitchen’s passion, belief and dedication for access to good food for all and look forward to their brilliant food and drink offer being part of PHM. Through this innovative partnership we will continue to place communities at the heart of everything we do, advocating environmental responsibility, inclusion and access, and committing to fair pay as Real Living Wage Employers.”
The menu will be largely vegetarian and vegan, showcasing a smaller selection of meat dishes using Pasture for Life reared, locally sourced meat. The menu will change seasonally, and Open Kitchen will be working directly with farms to highlight the beautiful sustainably produced veg and fruit that is already grown in the North West.
Sustainability feeds into every element of the cafe, with Open Kitchen at PHM’s fit out using upcycled, recycled and reclaimed materials, staff uniforms will be Fairtrade, organic and locally made and all of its takeaway packaging will be 100% compostable.
Open Kitchen has earned huge respect in the North West over the past few years, evolving from a pop-up operation, to running its pioneering ‘pay-as-you-feel’ waste food restaurant on Oxford Street to becoming Manchester’s leading private and corporate conscious catering company. All profits subsidise its community-focused work, with Open Kitchen supporting independent food banks and homelessness support charities with meals, food and supplies. Its support was vital during the Covid-19 crisis, with Open Kitchen adapting its operating model to become part of the Manchester Emergency Food Response Team, producing over 140,000 meals to support local communities.
A Real Living Wage Employer, Open Kitchen is signing up to the GM Good Employment Charter, with the ambition of creating decent, stable jobs in the hospitality sector. By partnering with People’s History Museum, which shares its ideologies and principles, they aim to lead a radical change in the way Manchester considers, buys, eats and talks about food and drink.
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.”
Corin Bell continues, “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.”
James Bouchier, Executive Chef and Director at Open Kitchen, says, “2020 has been devastating for the food, drink and hospitality sector, and it felt really important to us to commit to offer decent and stable jobs to good people as the economy recovers. We know that our ethics around supporting people and communities to be resilient and successful has to start in-house, and it’s one of the reasons we’re so excited about working with People’s History Museum.”
Both organisations will be sharing updates ahead of the opening of Open Kitchen at PHM. You can keep up to date with the latest PHM news by signing up to receive its e-newsletter, subscribing to the blog, checking its website or following the museum on social media on Twitter @PHMMcr, Facebook @PHMMcr, and Instagram @phmmcr.
You can find the latest information and updates from Open Kitchen at; www.openkitchenmcr.co.uk
@openkitchenmcr on socials
ENDS
For further information about People’s History Museum please contact Fido PR:
laura.sullivan@fidopr.co.uk / clare.short@fidopr.co.uk / 07557 901540
For further information about Open Kitchen please contact Echo PR:
kat@echo-pr.co.uk / 07779 240233
Images are available here:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/fmev04qsjrdip2w/AAC13EHplBy8Q2Qyefoune8na?dl=0
About People’s History Museum (PHM)
People’s History Museum (PHM) in Manchester is the national museum of democracy, telling the story of its development in Britain: past, present, and future. The museum provides opportunities for all people to learn about, be inspired by and get involved in ideas worth fighting for; ideas such as equality, social justice, co-operation, and a fair world for all. PHM offers a powerful programme with varied themes; 2018 looked at representation and commemorated 100 years since the first women and all men won the right to vote in Britain, in 2019 the focus was on protest to mark the bicentenary of the Peterloo Massacre in Manchester, the 2020-2021 programme is on the theme of migration and 2022-2023 will explore disabled people’s rights and activism. Previous winner of Kids in Museums Family Friendly Museum Award.
We are hugely grateful for the generosity of our funders who have supported PHM during our period of closure and to reopen safely:
Arts Council England, Granada Foundation, Greater Manchester Combined Authority, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, Manchester City Council and The National Lottery Heritage Fund.
About Arts Council England (ACE)
PHM is an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation (NPO). The work of PHM is supported using public funding by ACE, the national development body for arts and culture across England, working to enrich people’s lives. ACE support a range of activities across the arts, museums and libraries – from theatre to visual art, reading to dance, music to literature, and crafts to collections. Great art and culture inspires us, brings us together and teaches us about ourselves and the world around us. In short, it makes life better. Between 2018 and 2022, ACE will invest £1.45 billion of public money from government and an estimated £860 million from The National Lottery to help create these experiences for as many people as possible across the country. artscouncil.org.uk.
About Open Kitchen:
Open Kitchen is Manchester’s leading sustainable catering company. Our team of passionate chefs create beautiful, unique and thoughtful menus for any occasion or event. We are committed to producing food in the most sustainable and ethical way possible. We work with a range of food businesses to stop good food from being wasted, and also purchase ingredients, working only with local, sustainable, and ethical suppliers. Our chefs use this ever-changing mix to produce nutritious, seasonal menus that offer the lowest carbon catering possible, while maintaining great quality.
Profits from our business go to supporting communities suffering food insecurity across Greater Manchester.
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