Home cook Ben creates new tasty hot snacks for hungry shoppers in Bangor

Talented home cook Ben Manton has taken the first step towards achieving his aim to open and run his own café in which to create novel food experiences for customers.

Based in Belfast, Ben (30) has developed his own marinated chicken and waffle dish which he’ll be launching soon as a snack for hungry shoppers at Market Fresh in Bangor, one of NI’s fast growing outdoor food events that has seen the launch of other artisan products. He’s named his start-up business appropriately Chicken and Waffles.

Originally from Bangor, Ben has the backing for his first step into hospitality from wife Fiona, other family members as well as friends especially from his time as a Queen’s University student in Belfast.

“I love cooking and regularly prepared meals from my friends and fellow students at university. I used the opportunity this provided to experiment with a number of original dishes including chicken and waffles,” he remembers.

“The chicken and waffle snack is an original hot product based on my own recipe for the marinade I use overnight to give the chicken thighs a distinctively rich flavour. The tasty chicken is then served hot on a standard waffle. In addition, I’ve created and produced a range of spicy sauces for customers to choose with the hot chicken snack. These sauces include a BBQ, a Louisiana and a very hot Scotch Bonnet chilli, all of which are also based on recipes I’ve created. There may be an opportunity in the future to develop the recipes further and sell them at local markets as well as farm shops and delis in jars.”

While Ben subsequently started out on a career in banking, he still hankers for his own café in the future.

“I really enjoy my work in various areas of finance including customer support,” he continues. “One of the outstanding benefits of this is the tremendous experience I’ve gained in financial management and in working with customers. These could prove immensely important for me in hospitality at some time in the future.”

Ben describes himself as “a success driven and passionate brand ambassador” in dealing with customers and the wider public. He has past experience in hospitality, working, for example, as a fully trained barista in local coffee shops and also as the manager of a popular and acclaimed restaurant in Belfast’s busy Cathedral Quarter. He was responsible in this role for hiring and training staff, and achieving agreed business targets.

He accepts that hospitality has now become “a tough gig” due to the coronavirus lockdowns and the impact of the current spiralling energy costs.

“I was dismayed by the severe difficulties experienced by restaurants here since the emergence of the coronavirus,” Ben, father of four month old Nico, the couple’s first child, continues.

“It was so very sad to see our restaurants and other eateries, which created so many employment opportunities over the years and transformed NI and especially Belfast into a world class food and drink location for visitors from all over the world and, of course, local people, shuttered for very many months. And they are still grappling with a lack of confidence among local diners due to the ongoing pandemic.

“Tourism has also been badly affected by the restrictions impacting travel across the world and especially from key markets such as the US, Canada and other parts of Europe.”

He’s not deterred by these problems and the developing energy costs and staffing difficulties: “I am hugely encouraged by the gritty determination of restaurant owners and chefs here to sustain and grow business. There have been some very innovative responses to the coronavirus including delivery and click and collect services offering gourmet meals. They’ve all invested heavily too in health and safety systems for both staff and diners in line with the regulations. These creative responses certainly deserve greater recognition and support from Stormont to help safeguard one of our most important and creative industries and one which has – and continues to – benefit local food and drink producers.”

The launch of his hospitality enterprise, initially on a part-time basis, will see Ben become our latest kitchen table entrepreneur behind an innovative local food venture. He plans to explore the opportunities for his Chicken and Waffles business and the hot snacks he will cook freshly on a stall in Bangor and then at other markets over the months ahead.

Ben, in doing so, is following the trail blazed by some of NI’s most successful smaller food producers which started on a journey to retail success here and abroad. The list includes Mash Direct in Comber as well as Melting Pot Fudge, Tom and Ollie, Longbridge Drinks and Suki Tea House, all four from Belfast taste tested their initial products at the iconic St George’s Market.

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