Serving the arts
Steven Saunders at the Lowry is at the heart of the North-west's stunning new £70m National Lottery-funded arts centre in Salford Quays, Manchester. The 230-seat eaterie at the Lowry enjoys views across the Manchester Ship Canal to the giant Old Trafford stadium of Manchester United FC. A further 60 covers will be catered for on the adjoining terrace during warm weather.
Saunders has taken on the consultancy of the restaurant for an initial 18-month period. Having helped set up the operation and write menus, he is now contracted to travel north to the restaurant from his base at Sheene Mill, Melbourn, Cambridgeshire, at least 20 days during the first year. In reality, he is usually there one or two days every week.
"It is an enormous challenge to all of us to make a go of the Lowry," says Saunders. "We are already very busy, serving 90-100 lunches a day and 90-100 pre-theatre suppers. Now we need to recruit more staff so that we can extend our opening hours from early in the morning right through to post-theatre dinners. To cope with the extra business, we'll have to double our current brigade of 15 chefs, as well as take on more waiting staff."
On a day-to-day basis, head chef Ian Samson - previously head chef at Cliveden, Taplow, Buckinghamshire, for two-and-a-half years - is running the Lowry's kitchens. As well as being responsible for Steven Saunders at the Lowry, he will also be in charge of the Tower Café, where sandwiches, baguettes and salads are served; banqueting for up to a maximum of 290 covers; and the staff restaurant, which can serve between 150 and 400 staff every day, depending on the workforce needed for theatrical productions
Customers eating at Steven Saunders at the Lowry can choose between the à la carte menu and daily changing set-price lunch and pre-theatre dinner menus. The lunch menu is priced at £10 for two courses and £14 for three courses, while the pre-theatre menu costs £12 and £16 for two and three courses respectively.
While the seasonal à la carte menu has been devised jointly by Saunders and Samson, the daily menus are written by Samson. Early daily menus included the likes of home-cured gravadlax of Scottish salmon with asparagus and lime; braised shank of Welsh lamb, garlic mash, onion gravy and spring greens; and poached pear with chantilly rice.
On the à la carte menu, Saunders's dishes of seared king scallops, soba noodle salad, coriander and chilli oil (£7.50), saddle of wild venison, almondine potatoes, wilted greens and Burgundy juice (£15.95) and brioche bread and butter pudding with orange custard (£4.50) sit alongside Samson's creations of saffron and roasted vegetable risotto, rocket leaves, orange and vanilla dressing (£5.25), pan-fried breast of duck scented with honey and aromatic spices, hash potatoes, spinach and citrus jus (£12.95), and rich chocolate truffle torte with strawberries (£4.75).
Steven Saunders At The Lowry, Pier 8, Salford Quays, Manchester M5 2AZ. Tel: 0161-876 2121 Web site: www.thelowry.com
