Sam Buckley of Stockport restaurant Where The Light Gets In is a good egg. He is fiercely dedicated to taking care of his staff’s mental and physical health, he does loads for the local Stockport community and his excellent restaurant continues to set an example of sustainable nose to tail, locally-minded cooking - further highlighted by its awarding of one of Michelin’s new Green Stars this year.

Yellowhammer takes its name from the bright yellow woodland songbird

Now the sustainable Stopfordian (thanks, Twitter) has announced he will be launching a new project. Yellowhammer is a bakery, deli, pizza and wine bar and, er, pottery, which will occupy the ground floor of 15 Lower Hillgate in Stockport’s old town.

Buckley will team up with baker Rosie Wilkes and potter Joe Hartley to launch the new venture on 25 August. All elements of the venue will “work in synergy” - the pottery will be used in the kitchen and for service as well as being available to buy. There will also be pottery workshops with a focus on thoughtful sourcing of materials and low-tech production methods.

Stockport Where The Light Gets In Exterior In 2021 — **Where The Light Gets In Stockport**

Yellowhammer: bakery, deli and more

Yellowhammer takes its name from the bright yellow woodland songbird, known for its distinctive “a little bit of bread and no cheeeeeese” call (it sez here). The neighbourhood bakery will specialise in “simple, baked goods and sourdough bread using organic flour, grain-grown and milled in the UK”. It will also work to support small local farms that promote biodiversity as well as aiming to "reestablish links between farmers, millers and bakers" .

Sam’s has long championed local farmers and building community links between restaurants, producers and consumers. He talks at length about this in our 2021 interview about sustainable dining here.

A Hand Drawn Image Of The New Bakery Yellowhammer In Stockport From Sam Buckley Of Where The Light Gets In — **A hand drawn image of how Yellowhammer bakery will look** James Hartwell @james_hartwellart on Instagram

What will be on the menu at Yellowhammer?

You can expect beautiful, big crusty sourdough loaves (served whole, in halves or in quarters) along with baguettes and rye bread. Sweet and savoury buns will be baked daily in Sam’s inimitable style. We expect local fruits, roots and flowers to make an appearance. There will be sandwiches, pies and tarts too. Buckley was on the cutting edge of the natural wine trend in Manchester so it’s no surprise that occasional weekends will see him crack open the cellar for some of the funky stuff served alongside house-made pizza with Sam’s vinyl collection on the turntable and some special musical guests.

Joe Hartley's Left, Right and Centre is responsible for the pottery bit. This will split its time between design, production and skill sharing. The project will provide a facility for designers to work in different ways with clay. The space will open its doors to the wider community with scheduled workshops, offering "a variety of insights, experiences and interpretations in traditional and non-traditional methods of working with the material".

Wtlgi Where The Light Gets In Sam Buckley 2 — **The theatre-style dining room at Where The Light Gets In**

Where the Light Gets In celebrates its fifth birthday this year and has built up a cult-like following for its intimate theatre-style kitchen with a rotating cast of charismatic and talented chefs; many of whom who have gone onto other successful projects - think Lorcan Kan of Things Palace and Joseph Otway of Higher Ground as well as sommelier Levenshulme Caroline Dubois who runs natural wine bar Isca.

A Basket Of Freshly Made Bread Knots On An Allotment From Rosie Wilkes At Yellowhammer The New Bakery In Stockport From Sam Buckley Of Where The Light Gets In — **Rosie Wilkes who bakes for Where The Light Gets In will be baking treats like these at Yellowhammer**

Buckley said of the opening: "We’ve been working towards creating a second destination in Stockport for some time now, a place that’s relaxed and informal as well multi-functional, where we can welcome regulars, Rosie can bake her incredible baked goods, serve great wine in the evenings and sell pottery. Yellowhammer will be a real collaborative space, somewhere we will host music nights, community events and workshops. We can’t wait to welcome people through the doors."

We wish Sam, Rosie and Joe all the best with this new project and can’t wait to visit when it opens.

Yellowhammer, 15 Lower Hillgate, Stockport SK1 1JQ - opens on 25 August

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Main Sam Buckley image credit: Chloe Frejaville