SIMON Rogan’s second restaurant at The Midland Hotel in Manchester is to be called Mr Cooper’s House & Garden.
This follows the successful relaunch of The French at The Midland last month, led by exceptional cooking from Rogan (left on the picture above). Confidential's Gordo loves the place - click here. The national press followed Confidential with adulation.
Mr Cooper’s is going to be an exciting new challenge for us – it’s a bigger site than we have done before and we will be spreading our culinary reach beyond our usual UK-only ingredients, taking influences from all over the world
Mr Cooper's will be 150-seat restaurant, with 50-cover destination bar. It replaces The Colony and marks an entirely new avenue for Rogan with the introduction of a more varied, international style and menus.
Named after Mr Cooper whose house and garden sat on the site of The Midland Hotel in the eighteenth century and the early part of the nienteenth. The hotel chose the name for the second restaurant to reflect their history and heritage.
Thomas Cooper was a popular figure in Manchester. The family were coachmakers by trade and their garden on the site of The Midland was famous for its strawberries, gooseberries, apples and flowers. The Coopers would let the general public stroll the gardens on certain days of the year and picnic there. Cooper Street, the short street across St Peter's Square on the other side of Princess Street, used to extend as far back as The Midland and was named after the family.
1821 map, the shaded area in the centre is Mr Cooper's garden
Mike Magrane, General Manager at The Midland (right on the top picture), said: “The restaurant will bring a completely new concept to the market, and represent a break from Simon’s current British repertoire by offering a more international flavour. It is going to be a more informal offer than The French and will appeal to a wide audience.”
Simon Rogan added: "Mr Cooper’s is going to be an exciting new challenge for us – it’s a bigger site than we have done before and we will be spreading our culinary reach beyond our usual UK-only ingredients, taking influences from all over the world."
Mr Cooper’s House & Garden will open in September 2013.
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The Midland Hotel
