QUESTION: What do you call the coming together of a triumvirate of Manchester's most lauded pudding pushers?
Answer: Why MilkJam, of course, a new dessert and milk bar coming to Manchester and combining the considerable talents of Ginger’s Comfort Emporium ice cream, BakeOrama’s fantastical cakes and Nicki Griffiths’ Lushbrownies.
MilkJam will take inspiration from America’s dessert parlours and stay open until late evening
If you’re now wondering if this is some late, misguided attempt at an April Fools’ joke, we wouldn’t blame you. It does sound more like the stuff of dreams than reality after all. But, having spoken to the three MilkJam musketeers - who met through renting the same Chorlton-based kitchen - we can confirm that planning for the mouthwatering venture is well underway.
“We’ve already started commissioning the decor,” says Claire Kelsey excitedly, who cites a giant gumball machine to go on the wall amongst other things. “We haven’t found a location just yet but we have our eyes on a couple of spots and really want to get the ball rolling ASAP. The plan is to do a few pop-up events before setting up permanently, it’s a good way to test the waters and get the word out."
Kelsey is no stranger to this, having started off Ginger’s Comfort Emporium by appearing at festivals and markets in her distinctive ‘ice cream van for grown-ups’. Now, whilst you can still find her at fests and markets regionally, Ginger’s also boasts a full time parlour in Affleck’s Palace and even an acclaimed recipe book - Melt - published by Simon and Schuster.
And that's just a taster...Previously a chef and food stylist, Kelsey taught herself the art of ice cream making, combining labour-intensive traditional methods with a generous scoop of vision to - some say - ‘reinvent’ the face of modern ice cream. Churned in small batches, using indulgent ingredients like double cream (no skimping here), flavours have included everything from virgin olive oil with black olive chocolate topping and raspberry sauce (a gelato which won ‘best dessert’ at the British Street Food Awards) to turmeric & pineapple and the Chorlton Crack; a winning combination of salted caramel and pretzel. Future creations for MilkJam will include birthday cake and even beer, served with BakeOrama’s cinnamon ‘pork’ scratchings.
Contrary to the norm, ice cream served at MilkJam will be primarily soft serve, a consistency more akin to the Italian serving - which we know as the direct translation ‘gelato’. It will be available on its own, with BakeOrama’s toppings, squeezed inside a hot toasted Lush brownie sandwich... and no doubt a plethora of other ways, embodying the business’ artistic spirit.
Speaking of which, Charlotte O’Toole’s Willy Wonka-esque cakes are a visual manifestation. The ‘pornicakor extraordinaire’ - otherwise known as BakeOrama - is renowned for her rainbow creations, in whose icing-coated alcoves you might find anything lurking from trolls to dinosaurs to giant whirligig lollipops. As well as making Home Sweet Home the baking bonanza it is today, O’Toole’s assignments have included designing chocolate trucks for Cadbury’s and making one of the Cheshire Housewives a celebration cake (which subsequently featured in the Daily Mail and led to an inundation of requests for said cake). The trained pastry chef also regularly undertakes both corporate and private orders.
That'll brighten up the Instagram profileWhilst MilkJam will boast a dedicated takeaway cake counter, visitors can expect bespoke creations rather than the more generic likes of Patisserie Valerie. And that’s not just in terms of their appearance.
“I’m constantly experimenting with fillings and have an endless stream of ideas running through my head” says O’Toole, whose edible pieces of art are inspired by American cakery. “Recently I developed the Brooklyn Blackout, which has a butterscotch exterior but is filled with chocolate pudding. For all of us, the emphasis is on high quality products that taste great - but we also love to try new things, and give customers the opportunity to do the same”.
Alongside O’Toole’s crazy confections will be a brownie bar, courtesy of Nikki Griffiths’ Lushbrownies. Having first donned her apron at five years old, Griffiths has been baking ever since. A familiar face at the likes of Levy and Chorlton markets, she started making brownies ten years ago and - after winning ‘most delicious’ at the 2008 edition of Manchester Food and Drink Festival’s Bake Off - never looked back, ultimately quitting her job as a teacher of the deaf to concentrate on her chocolate confections full time. Much like her compatriots, the devil is in the detail, whatever the flavour - from Snickerdoodle to blondies to horseradish & ginger.
“My most popular varieties are fudge melt and salted caramel. Because I don’t like additives, I make the fudge and caramel from scratch. The main ingredients? Real diary butter, free range eggs and a lot of Belgian chocolate. I offer vegan and gluten free options too”.
As with her business partners, Griffiths wants to encourage an emphasis on desserts, which are all too often an ‘afterthought’. To encourage this, MilkJam will take inspiration from America’s dessert parlours and stay open until late evening. As well as the individual counters, customers will be able to take advantage of a table dessert menu and can mix and match, as well as sampling aforementioned hybrids like brownie ice cream sandwich.
Takeaway or dine in? Your choice, it depends how long you can withstand such an abundance of sugary temptations. We predict a sweet success.
MilkJam hope to nail down a Manchester city centre site over the coming months, but will be popping-up across the city before then.
