Wednesday 8 August 2012

Happy Oatcake Day!

Yes, indeed, somebody decided a few years ago to institute a National Oatcake Day - to celebrate North Staffordshire's own local delicacy. (For those that don't know, it's a thick savoury pancake served with melted cheese - and it's wonderful).

Chris Bates
I must admit that I've never lost my taste for oatcakes, which really are the food of the gods, even if they are a 'poor man's dish'.  As a new book published today says: "An Oatcake Is For Life – Not Just For Breakfast".

The dozens of little shops making oatcakes in this part of the world are part of the charm (oatcakes must be eaten freshly made; after a day they are half what they could be).
The Oatcake Kitchen in Dresden is one of my favourites, and it even has a range of...yes...oatcake merchandise, including mugs, greeting cards and T-shirts!
Chris Bates, who runs the shop (and appears on some of the greeting-cards even), is something of a local legend...

Links: The Oatcake Guide

3 comments:

  1. Humm, I digress,food of the 'GOODS'?

    THICK PANCAKE' Humm.
    'Dozens of little shops'?Humm.

    Chris Bates,Leg-End more like it, have you seen his Ebay account? His oatcakes, in my opinion are very, very average.
    Any true oatcake purist will tell you that oatcakes, like lobby, taste better the day after they were baked.

    A very middle class take on a wonderful staple of the people of North Staffordshire.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Cheers.
      Thanks for spotting the typo. Now fixed
      Dozens of shops - see http://theoatcakeguide.co.uk/ for a list.
      Seen his Ebay account...? No. But his oatcakes are still good.
      Taste better the day after...? Well, traditionally, people would often buy their oatcakes fresh on a Sunday morning, and eat them for that day's breakfast, so - I'd be interested to know why you'd wait a day.
      Lobby, yes, tastes better the day after, as - by definition - it was often the leftovers of Sunday dinner made up on a Monday.
      Middle-class...? Well, if you say so...

      Delete
  2. We owned an oatcake shop some years ago, the traditional craft is, I'm afraid to say dying out.

    Ask any baker worth their salt (!!) when any yeast based, baked item tastes best, how often have you heard people complaining about heartburn after eating warm bread?

    You cannot seriously quote the oatcake guide, just one example is May Bank Oatcakes, they shut the doors at least 15 years ago!

    If you want my opinion, the best oatcakes being baked in North Staffordshire are from Oatcake Annie's on Victoria Road in Fenton, and no I don't have any connection to them.

    ReplyDelete

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