of the restaurant before it’s opened!"
Gary, who has a large following on social media, has been interacting with diners to help him make decisions on large aspects, including the name. The chef thinks it’s important to have this kind of support over social media.
“Aside from for my ego, it is great," he explained. "Because it means people believe in what you do. Especially within the Manchester crowd! It makes you believe that what you are doing is right.”
After five years of service at Sticky Walnut, Gary thinks it’s the right time to open a third establishment, in order to offer more to his staff and guests.
He said: “Sticky Walnut looks after itself now and Burnt Truffle is getting there! I just feel like it’s a brilliant way to progress, not just for me but for everyone. I have got staff who are ready to make the next move, some key members who are ready for the next thing. It’s necessary in order to keep everybody interested, and to keep the momentum up of what we do just sounds right for me.”
Hispi, a 60 cover restaurant which is due to open in the summer, will be similar to its siblings Sticky Walnut and Burnt Truffle, serving bistro food such as (as described on Twitter) ‘some kind of sticky braised meat’, ‘cheesy truffle chips’ and tarts which ‘will be like our religion’…
Gary said: “I’m a one trick pony to be honest, I don’t know anything else, I only know bistro food! It will be the same style as Sticky and Burnt, it’ll have a neighbourhood bistro feel to it. The site that we have probably got is a really old building, which will work really well for the sort of thing that we do. It’ll just be relaxed and hopefully cool, without trying to be cool!”
