Last week we had an exciting visit to Manchester planned with our Diversity PIE group from Leeds. They travelled down from Leeds on the train bright and early, the first time on the train for some of them!
We had a cultural food tasting tour of the city planned with Rob from Scranchester Tours, to continue to build on the work on diversity we had been doing throughout the sessions.
Our first stop was to the Manchester Craft and Design Centre, a hidden gem in the Northern Quarter. Here the young people had their first sweet treat of the day – some delicious Portuguese Natas. Everyone had a try (with some coaxing of course!) and most of the young people were big fans!
We then had a look at some of the artwork lining the Northern Quarter streets and the meaning behind it – who knew that so much of it related to food!
We then went to Kabana, an established curry café that Rob had been visiting for years. With the eclectic and eccentric Northern Quarter eateries it is easy to overlook anything that doesn’t look as flashy, but then we would have missed this gem! The young people got to sample a lamb and chickpea curry with naan and rice. It was family style dining and I loved listening to the conversations happening on each of the tables!
After looking at some more amazing pieces of art, we made our way to Mackie Mayor – a former butchers hall, turned popular food hall. Here the young people sampled fish tacos and we received very mixed reactions!
The next stop was more palatable for the young people – Nell’s Pizza! These aren’t any normal pizzas, they are ginormous and the slices were bigger than their heads. At this point, the bottomless pits that are teen stomachs were beginning to fill and the students were unsure of how much more they could eat!
Finally, we made our way through the maze of Affleck’s Palace – a rite of passage for every Mancunian teen! Hidden away at the top was a delicious ice cream shop (Ginger’s emporium), where we ended our food tour with a salted caramel and peanut butter ice cream. Some of the young people showed off their chess skills and others had a browse at what Affleck’s had to offer!
The group then headed back to Victoria Station to get their train back to Leeds. It was a jam-packed day, with lots of walking, some rain and a teeny bit of sun! Thanks to Rob at Scranchester Tours for a great day!
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