Tawny Stores

1. Tell us a little about Tawny Stores.

I have always wanted to open a little neighbourhood grocers where I could source high quality ingredients that I could use in the kitchen as part of a menu but also sell to customers. I found as a chef that it was alway difficult to get good quality local produce at home and have always wanted to create a place where I would be buzzing to shop in myself.

Part deli/grocer, part kitchen, Tawny works in a way we can showcase a lot of our great ingredients we sell in the shop on the menu as well, giving people inspiration for at home as well as reducing any wastage. A lot of our products come from friends who I have met in the industry during my time as a chef in Manchester – small batch Burmese chilli oil from May at ‘Rice Over Everything’ to Jeremy Jackson’s Cumbrian farmhouse butter and our loose leaf tea which is blended across the road in Goyt Mill.

2. What is your most memorable coffee experience?

My most memorable coffee experience would have to be during my travels in Mexico. I was travelling alone at the time and was visiting Oaxaca City. I had taken part in a cooking class earlier in the day where I had visited the most beautiful local markets to collect ingredients. I was blown away by the variety and quality of it all. After a day of cooking I found the most beautiful coffee shop and sat in a shaded courtyard and drank a simple black coffee. It was a poignant moment after the cooking class using some of the most amazing local ingredients and then drinking coffee grown and roasted in such proximity.

3. What does your morning coffee routine look like?

As I’m mainly in the kitchen at Tawny I am normally first in the morning to get the focaccia baked and I turn the coffee machine on first thing. Once I’ve got the bread in the oven I make myself my first coffee of the day and if I’m lucky I nip outside into the garden and enjoy five minutes next to the canal before everyone else arrives for the shifts.