Barbakan

After being recommended to visit Barbakan by my dissertation tutor a fellow foodie (who swore by their bread). I decided to jump on a bus and have myself a little trip to Chorlton, which is a suburban area southwest of Manchester city centre. My quest however was not for the award winning delicious breads but for the two components essential to the french meal tartiflette, bacon lardons and reblochon cheese. 

Having researched Barbakan as a recently graduated student who loves food would do to pass the job searching hours! I came to realise that it was not just the never ending range of breads they offered but a whole emporium of other goodies such as spicy sausages, smoked hams, salamis, traditional pates, olives and continental cheeses. Unlike more conventional chain supermarket stores, Barbakan sold both of these items. Which after hours of internet searching for reblochon cheese was a relief as my only other options were Waitrose or Asda near enough two hours out of Manchester. The lardons were not so hard to find and to be fair normal bacon cut up would have sufficed, but I love food and when cooking try to get the best and most affordable option.

Upon arrival all of the staff were welcoming and attentive and I was soon served by a very friendly gentleman. As I have a tendency to butcher the French language what occurred after was a small lesson in French whereby I went bright red in trying to repeat after the man R-E-B-L-O-C-H-O-N! Anyhow this embarrassment was soon over and I asked him what bacon would be good for my tartiflette. Now the main reason I love smaller, independent food stores is that much like Paris itself the people who work there know what they are talking about and are passionate about the food they are selling. 

After recommending a pancetta which he preceded to cut into strips for me (also what is handy about a delicatessen or butchers) we finished our talk of food and he told me the total which came to £5.38. Being a student price matters and it really matters when you spend most your money on food, so I weighed up the price compared to what I would have paid in the supermarket. In Tescos they sell their Finest range of pancetta for £2.50 serving 2, the reblochon from Sainsbury's would have cost £3, altogether coming to £5.50. Now I know it's only 12p difference but the quality and amount of food you pay for really does out weigh the supermarkets equivalent. Now I can compare as I have purchased both supermarket and Barbakan products and the cheese is richer and tastier (I can account for this as it stank out the whole bus) and the bacon lardons were more intense in flavour and less fatty. 

All in all I would highly recommend Barbakan to any fellow foodies out there in the Manchester area as a great place to get good quality food at a reasonable price. I plan to go back soon to taste the bread delights and shall write a review of my tastings!