Manchester Jewish Museum has offered its first look at the brand new museum cafe and launch menu.

The new cafe will be located at the front of the museum’s new entrance, overlooking Cheetham Hill.  Manchester Jewish Museum’s cafe will open daily from 10am to serve a contemporary vegetarian kosher-style menu.  Visitors to the café will experience first-hand the tasty delights of a Jewish diet whilst learning about the history and traditions of Jewish food. The majority of the food will be prepared on site using kosher, vegetarian and largely locally sourced whole-food ingredients, though will not be prepared under Beth Din supervision. All the food served is suitable for vegetarians and there will also be a range of kosher pre-packaged snacks available. The café will offer a seasonal menu including seasonal ‘specials’ surrounding Jewish Festivals such as Chanukah and Shavuot. Future seasonal menus will be updated to showcase a variety of dishes originating from other Jewish communities across the world.

Manchester Jewish Museum will open on Friday 2 July.  The cafe will offer a menu inspired by Ashkenazi and Sephardi recipes including Lentil soup with spinach & drizzle of zesty lemon oil served with pitta; vegetarian cholent served with challah bread; bagel with shmear and carrot lox, a take on the Ashkenazi classic combo of smoked salmon and cream cheese bagels; falafel, served with homemade hummus; cakes, bakes and fruit.

Coffee will be provided by Abe & Co Coffee, a Jewish-owned micro roastery based in Whitefield with tea from Brew Tea, a Manchester based Tea Company and other drinks from Manchester based drinks manufacturers Steep Soda.  Bagels and challah bread will be provided by North Manchester Jewish-owned State Fayre Bakery.

Manchester Jewish Museum will also feature a new Learning Kitchen where schools and community groups can cook, bake and explore Jewish food culture together with a programme of events to celebrate food starting with the Eat the Archives programme.

The Eat The Archives programme has been developed over two years by theatre-chef Leo Burtin to explore how food can help bring the museum’s collection to life through taste and sharing stores.  On Wednesday 23rd June Eat the Archives: Live will take place in the museum’s Learning Kitchen. Participants will enjoy a three-course meal served with a side of stories from the museum’s collection. Throughout July Greater Manchester residents will be able to book Eat the Archives: at Home where Leo and museum’s Creative Producer, Dr Laura Seddon, will help you host the event in your own home, serving guests a three-course meal as they explore Manchester’s rich Jewish history.