What’s hot in Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent turns 100 in 1925, and the place affectionately known as “The Potteries” will be celebrating a century since the city received its city status from King George V. The year-long celebration won’t just about be looking back. It will also be about looking forward. And in the meantime, here’s a chance to look at the present - and at a “Top 10” of what’s currently hot in the City of Stoke-on-Trent.
Cris Cohen
Stoke-on-Trent chef Cris Cohen has taken the whole subject of “local food” to a new level. Passionate about all things connected with the topic of food culture, Cohen has a desire to connect the “deliciousness of food” with a wider range of special experiences. Combining all of that with storytelling, his Chef’s Table at FEASTED in the former Spode Works has been followed by a second restaurant, STOCK, in nearby Newcastle-under-Lyme. This focuses on dishes associated almost exclusively with The Potteries: Lobby; and Staffordshire Oatcakes. His choice of Lobby includes Japanese Ramen, Vegan Haleem and Lamb Jam. Its new definition, says Cohen, is: “If Lobby was cool!”.
Goods Yard
Goods Yard is a new neighbourhood for 2025 of 174 rental homes, 30,000 square feet of workspace, independent bars, eateries, coffee shops and stores, aal fresco eating and a lush, green public square designed for socialising. Sitting between Stoke railway station and the Trent & Mersey canal, Goods Yard is set to become a major destination for residents, locals and visitors alike. Currently on the hunt for creative businesses and the best independents bars, eateries and stores, Goods Yard is a multi-million pound regeneration project delivered by urban regeneration specialists Capital&Centric.
Duchess China 1888
How can a pottery company that has manufactured classically designed handmade ranges of fine bone china in Stoke-on-Trent for over 135 years be described as “hot”? Just take a look at their range of current day products and collections. It includes the work of Lou Rota,a London based designer who has long been drawn to the beauty of the natural world, and the Life Is An Attitude designs of Cachetejack by Nuria Bellver and Raquel Fanjul, a Spanish freelance illustration duo with a nomadic lifestyle. Located in the heart of Stoke-on-Trent, the factory shop, offers a selection of traditional and modern patterns, Royal Winton chintz and whiteware items.
Trentham
A renowned and award-winning garden, set alongside the only Monkey Forest in the UK, Trentham has reinvented itself recently as a music venue that can bring rock anthems, club classics and top stars to its lakeside stage. TrenthamLive has grown dramatically since its inception, to the point where it now offers a four-night line up of acts. This August, Deacon Blue, Lightning Seeds, Jess Glynne, Sam Tompkins, Manic Street Preachers and Public Service Broadcasting will be amongst the headliners.
V&A Wedgwood Collection
Very few people know that the V&A Museum has an outpost in Stoke-on-Trent. But the V&A Wedgwood Collection is the “museum of Wedgwood’s design history and creative future”. From the collection and UNESCO-recognised archives to fun family activities, V&A Wedgwood Collection can be viewed Monday to Sunday 10am to 5pm entirely free of charge. It is housed at World of Wedgwood, the company’s global HQ, where it’s also possible to enjoy a factory tour, hands-on activities, plenty of retail therapy, and food and drink options which include acclaimed 2-AA Rosette restaurant Lunar.
The old Spode Works
It’s worth keeping an eye on what’s happening at the old Spode Works in the centre of Stoke. The 250 years old potbank is now home to accommodation, a café, occasional theatre performances, art space, an urban garden, and around 40 studio spaces created by the Association for Cultural Advancement through Visual Arts (ACAVA). The “birthplace” of Cris Cohen’s chef’s table restaurant FEASTED, it’s also where visitors will find the Spode Museum Trust which tells the full history of the incredible factory, stages temporary exhibitions and sells beautiful old pieces of the famous blue and white Spode ware in its shop. Better news still, a further £10m of Government funding is also about to be invested on the complex.
100 years of Art Deco
One of the most pivotal moments for Art Déco (known initially as 'Style Moderne') was the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs et Industriels Modernes held in Paris in April 1925. That exhibition provided the impetus for the Art Déco movement, and was dedicated to the display of modern decorative arts - bringing together thousands of designers from all over Europe and beyond, including Emile Jacques Ruhlmann and Rene Lalique. They became prominent promoters of the early Art Déco movement, putting their own modern spin on traditional craftsmanship. But the UK’s capital of ceramics, Stoke-on-Trent, also created a wave of Art Déco designs, with three women - Clarice Cliff, Charlotte Rhead and Susie Cooper - becoming household names and leading exponents of the craft
Claybody Theatre
Proudly displaying a Made in Stoke-on-Trent backstamp on its website, Claybody shapes new and ambitious drama from the cultural heritage and contemporary lives of the people of North Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent. Its Artistic Directors are Conrad Nelson a critically acclaimed director, actor and composer with a vast body of work in theatre, television, film and radio; and Deborah McAndrew, an award winning playwright in her own right, whose moving WW1 drama An August Bank Holiday Lark won awards for Best New Play 2014 at the UK Theatre Awards and Manchester Theatre Awards. Actor Toby Jones has close connections with the city, and is Claybody’s Patron.
The British Ceramics Biennial (BCB)
Initiated in 2009, the BCB Festival has grown to be the single largest contemporary ceramics event in the UK. It presents artworks from the UK’s leading ceramicists alongside work by international artists, in exhibitions and special events held across the city every two years. Its mission is to develop, sustain and expand innovative ceramics practice and improve lives together with artists and creative communities. The next BCB Festival will take place in the Autumn of 2025, and will once again bring together work by some of the world’s leading ceramicists in a breathtaking display of this art form.
The Staffordshire Oatcake
The Potteries is one of the very few places in Britain which possesses a genuinely 'regional' dish: the Staffordshire Oatcake. Having the appearance of a moist pancake, or crêpe, it is made (usually from a 'secret' recipe) largely from oatmeal and yeast. To some, it's the 'Oat cuisine' of The Potteries; while others describe it as the 'Tunstall tortilla', 'Potteries poppadom', or 'Clay suzette'. At one time, the oatcake was the equivalent of the Cornish Pasty - workers in The Potteries would wrap whatever left-overs they had in their oatcakes, and put them close to the bottle oven kilns to warm them for lunch. The subject of a recent article in The Guardian, there are still almost 30 oatcake shops in the area - many of them in tiny terraced shops, where the smell of freshly cooked oatcakes mixes mouth-wateringly with a full range of fillings. Stoke-on-Trent chef Cris Cohen also claims the oatcakes which feature on the menu at STOCK are “the most authentic and traditional in Staffordshire”.