The hidden gem in Heaton Moor serving up extra special steak and chips that takes 45 days to make 

There’s a hidden gem in Heaton Moor that’s claiming to have the ‘best chips in the North West.’

A very bold claim, I know. 

But James Hulme isn’t messing around – the owner and head chef of The Moor, James trained under the critically acclaimed celebrity chef Marco Pierre White before landing himself in the kitchen at Quaglino’s in St. James in London. 

He then came back up to Manchester to open the popular Spinningfields spot 20 Stories and, more recently, the lesser known The Moor in the Stockport suburb of Heaton Moor, just a stones-throw away from Manchester’s city centre.

The menus at The Moor are ever changing, and James’ ‘no waste’ approach to cooking is evident. But, perhaps most prominently, James’ menus are known and beloved for their high quality and locally sourced produce.

Take the steak, for example. James exclusively sources retired dairy cows from a farm just outside Buxton for his beef – traditionally used in Basque cooking, chefs tend to use retired dairy cows based on the fact that once their time in the milking industry is over, they’re put out to pasture to fatten up and relax, a cushty lifestyle that adds to the maturity and marbling of the meat.

Once in the restaurant, the steak is cooked over charcoal made from the fell trees from the same farm in which the cow once grazed – that’s either heartwarming or eerie, I’ll let you decide.

The steak is aged for a minimum of forty days and absolutely nothing on the meat goes to waste; the fat is used for cooking the chips, the bones for stock and the trimmings go to make the sauces.

The fish is also sustainably sourced from local fisherman, who deliver whatever comes in on the boat on the same morning the order is placed, as is the locally sourced vegetables. 

But let’s discuss the real star of the show – those three-day long cooked chips.

Now, The Moor don’t hold back when it comes to the humble chip – their first step is to thinly slice their potatoes so that they’re paper-thin, and then mix them with the melted beef fat from the ribs and a sprinkling of thyme. Then, they’re baked in the oven until soft.

The slices are then pressed together overnight until they’re as compact as possible and sliced into the chunky chip shape we all know and love. And last but not least, they’re then deep fried to order, leaving them crispy on the outside and wonderfully fluffy on the inside. 

Though it is worth mentioning that the chips only come as a side with the rib steak, and can’t be ordered individually. Though is that really a bad thing?

The menu offers a whole host of luxurious options, including a mangalitza pork belly, the beef tartare, and the Dashi-cured chalk stream trout. There is both a lunch menu and a dinner menu, as well as a Sunday roast menu on, you guessed it, Sundays. 

The restaurant is now open and taking bookings – check out the full menu and get yourself a reservation here.