CAMBRIDGE CATALYST Issue 05

HOSPITALITY

VEG OF GLORY

A new restaurant in Ely wants to show you that eating seasonally is healthier, more delicious and better for you, too. The brainchild of local businessman and long-time vegetarian Darren Tofts, 68 Market Street opened in Ely a few months back with acclaimed local chef Stuart Tuck heading up the kitchen team. Darren had been watching the veggie and vegan dining scene evolve with interest, but felt that many of the offerings were samey and, well, a bit uninteresting. He set about creating a restaurant with a creative approach to vegetarian cuisine, offering impeccable service and operating as sustainably as possible. Adorned with pieces by local artists, the building itself is as cheerful and bright as the menu, which tempts with colourful combinations and flavours from around the world. “Due to the ethos of 68 Market Street, our menu changes as and when new produce becomes available,” explains chef Stuart. “We specialise in creating exciting dishes that show off the best of the local produce, while making them accessible for vegetarians and meat eaters alike. We get a lot of comments that avid meat eaters have not missed the meat when they have dined with us.” Popular recent dishes have included cauliflower korma, vegan doner kebab and a spaghetti squash with sweet potato bolognese, while local suppliers on the roll call include much-loved microbakery and fellow Ely-dweller, Grain Culture. As for the future, the team at 68 Market Street hope to grow their space and offering. “The first phase of the refurb was to get the ground floor and kitchen open; we have two other floors that can be used in the future,” explains Stuart. “We’re currently expanding our drinks offering with new cocktails and there are plans to transform the downstairs area into a speakeasy-style bar, while upstairs we have a function room with views over the cathedral, which we want to open for private dining, conferencing or for local events.”

A TASTE OF SPAIN

It’s impossible not to get swept up in the enthusiasm of Mark Hughes as he whisks through his new restaurant waxing lyrical about the ingredients, pointing out a marbled cut of wagyu beef here, a crate of almost football-sized tomatoes there, dodging past chefs in the gallery kitchen as they prep for the service ahead. On the topic of paella, he becomes especially animated, giving a quick, dizzying lesson about the perfect socarrat (caramelised crust), and the steps to achieving flawless flavour and consistency in Spain’s most famous dish. It’s this passion that has already put Mercado Central, Green Street’s latest addition, on the map in Cambridge, generating a huge buzz upon opening its doors at the end of 2019. Set in a beautifully renovated town house, it’s the project of a team of four, with Mark – a bar owner with many years’ experience, joined by his brother, plus Danny, a Spanish produce importer and, erm, world-famous footballer Gaizka Mendieta. The big idea was to bring the flavours of a Spanish market to Cambridge, sourcing the very finest ingredients they could get their hands on – be that wild prawns from Huelva, Galician octopus or Iberico pork from Salamanca. The menu offers both tapas-style dishes cuisine, the team are keen to give diners in the city an alternative to the big chains that dominate the centre of town. “We thought Cambridge needed an independent restaurant in the centre of town. It’s really hard to find a premises, because most of the decent ones are taken up by the chain restaurants, and you can’t compete with them on cost,” explains Mark. “There aren’t enough independent restaurants and it’s a shame – it doesn’t feel that this is the way it should be. All we’re doing really, is getting nice food, cooking it from scratch and serving it to people!” and mains, plus top-notch Spanish wines. As well as an authentic taste of Spanish

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ISSUE 05

cambridgecatalyst.co.uk

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