This year, I was mostly absent from Manchester Food and Drink Festival.
Not entirely deliberately – work, and writing for other publications took me away from the city, and off around and about, but I can’t help feeling that this year it seemed a little too big.
There was a lot on, and aside from a pop to the hub (at least there was Mancunian gin available), there was only one other must attend on our list.
Goatober.
As a meat eater, and dairy lover, it’s only fair that I consume as much of the animal is possible. It’s one of the reasons (apart from it tasting pretty damn good) that I eat offal. I feel that I owe it to the animal.
It’s also why we have a bit of a problem with the dairy industry. To create milk, cows and indeed goats need to have babies. The females are kept, but the males are not. Whilst in the UK we have rose veal, when it comes to goats, and our increasing use of goats milk (particularly for those with dairy issues), there are a lot of male kids that simply aren’t being consumed.
Goatober was created to help with this. We eat goat in this country, but in truth, not enough to cope with the increase in production. Goatober is a month of celebration of the flavour of this meat, that’s often dismissed as being gamey, earthy,
In this event, held at Koffee Pot in the Northern Quarter, James Whetlor hosted a pop up dinner Darren Goodwin (ex-Grafene), Mary-Ellen McTague (Manchester Art Gallery Café) and Richard Sharples (Hispi), showcasing goat meat and dairy throughout.
We began with a welcome cocktail, and our first dish was a selection of nibbles from Mary Ellen MacTague.
Crisp toast accompanied little pots of sweet quince and saffron chutney, on top of tender goat shoulder. The chutney was surprisingly a little overwhelming for the meat, but the second dish made up for it. Thinly sliced cauliflower, with soft fresh goat curd and goat ham held the richness that the other dish didn’t.
Our second dish was from the skilled hands of Richard Sharples, and whilst the kid goat breast held a delicious texture similar to (proper) corned beef, and the roll of cabbage held sharp pieces of it was the sauce that had me damn near licking the plate. The sweetness of the mussels along with the mustard and a sharpness that cut through the fattiness of the meat was delicious.
Our third dish was one of James’ own – Cabrito Al Disco. No, we’re not talking flares and platforms, the ‘disco’ refers to the pot, held over an open fire that the dish is normally cooked in. It’s a deliciously rich paprika spiced stew, served with polenta. And something I’m going to have to make at home, because it was homey, satisfying and perfect for the autumnal weather.
Our final savoury dish was from Darren Goodwin – pickled beetroot and raddish dotted the place, whilst the main element, the featured slivers of salt baked celeriac, a rich kid goat centre and was topped with an intensely savoury smoked Peakland cheese custard. The latter enhanced the savoury nature of the celeriac, whilst matching the flavour of the goat, whilst the pickled roots both cut through it, and pushed through more earthy notes.
Our final dish featured a sambocade – a form of cheese cake, which was both light, salty and creamy. A perfect match for the sweet acidity of the bramble sorbet, and was probably my favourite dish of the evening simply because it felt a little challenging. The saltiness was more pronounced than I was used to and I simply couldn’t decide if I loved it or hated it.
Overall, it was a great nod, to a great animal. And I can only hope that it’s only the first of many Manchester based events.
More, please.
This meal, and accompanying drinks were paid for by ourselves.