A chance meeting with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay gave an added spur to a young chef’s dreams of setting up his own restaurant.
Now 23-year-old Ben Popplewell is set to launch Cafe Mandalay – believed to be the only restaurant in the north specialising in contemporary Burmese cuisine – in Huddersfield town centre.
Ben, who lives in Cleckheaton, is joined in the venture by his girlfriend Myinzu Theint, 23, who was born in Burma – now Myanmar – and whose family came to live in London when she was a teenager. The pair met at the University of Huddersfield, where Ben was studying criminology and Myinzu was doing chemical engineering.
Despite his choice of degree course, Ben said it had been a long-term dream to have his own restaurant.
A few years ago Ben and his dad Mike went to London to visit Gordon Ramsay’s restaurant – and the man himself just happened to be there.
Ben was training to be a chef and Mike got a photo of the two together.
“We went to one of his restaurants when I was doing my apprenticeship,” said Ben. “Gordon shook my hand and said ‘welcome to the industry’. That really spurred me on and made me realise that this is ‘a big deal.’
“I took a year off after A-levels before going to university and did an apprenticeship at Redbrick Mill in Batley to train as a chef. While I was at university I worked part-time as a chef at the Golden Fleece in Birkenshaw.”
Ben also worked at The Green Bottle in King Street in Huddersfield – the premises now being refurbished as Cafe Mandalay.
“I loved the location being so close to the university and part of Kingsgate,” he said.
“When The Green Bottle closed I decided to take my chance. We have been looking at the premises since December and we got the lease last Monday (April 2).
“The day I signed the lease I broke my ankle playing football, so I’ve been hobbling my way round! We have got the kitchen pretty much right and now we are refurbishing the rest of the restaurant.”
Ben’s vision is for a 40-seater restaurant with a light, airy atmosphere. The look will be modern with deliberately mismatched tables and chairs. The menu will list dishes in Burmese with an English translation, such as chicken noodle soup and braised pork shoulder.
“I got to know more about Burmese cuisine by cooking for Myinzu,” said Ben. “I have adapted the recipes to make them more modern.”
Diners familiar with Chinese and Thai cuisine would find Burmese food even more to their taste, he said.
While Ben will run the kitchen, he hopes shortly to take on a number of part-time staff front of house and an apprentice chef during the first year of trading.
