Staffordshire Foods

How do you feel about the demise of oatcake shops? And will supermarket oatcakes do?

Dave Malam Stoke (now Austria)
Terrible news about the nondescript terraced-house with open front-window serving hatch,offering the Potteries delicacy, known worldwide as the Oatcake Shop.Its not rate youth!!!Waterloo Street will never be the same and should be renamed"Oatcake Shop Street", in honour of the staple diet of Stoke City dwellers.Waterloo was not so great anyway 'cause we always beat the French andnothing could ever beat The Oatcake!-------p.s.Waterloo St is part of Hanley not Bucknall and is just below Wellington Road School where SIR STANLEY MATTHEWS was a pupil (and me).His brother Jack had a Barbers Shop opposite the school, where he produced many wicked haircuts!!!

mark myatt
the tudor cafe cross heath does the best oatcakes.fact.

Pauline
The Oatcakes from the supermarkets are not a patch on the real ones from the old oatcake shops. I hope they never disappear long may they reign

Riki
Supermarket oatcake give the Staffordshire oatcake a bad name. They are, thick, stodgy, and full of baking powder which gives them a horrible taste and odour. Is it laziness, having to wait for the yeast to work, or cheapness that make people think that supermarket obominations are real Staffordshire oatcakes?Tarah,Riki

Beverley Hunter
Of course supermarket bought oat cakes will not do, it will be like the revolting 'packaged pancakes'.Traditions like the oat cakes shop is what made britain great.I do so hope the people of Stoke on Trent will stand up and be counted and not let the closure happen.

Gary Hawkins
Excellent video, but Waterloo Street is not in Bucknall.

keith millsop
keep oatcake shops. Need to encourage small businesses. supermarkets would sell factory made oatcakes.

Daniel LEUNENS
I'm living in France but have already been at the "Hole in the wall". People in S.onT. must fight to keep it. I Enjoyed it years ago and hope to go back again.

Anne Morton
This place should become a listed building and TREASURED as something quintessentially English - not buldozed out of the way in the name of 'progress'.No, supermarket oatcakes will not do, just as supermarket crumpets, teacakes or scones will not do. They are nothing like the real, homemade thing.What is it with the town planners of today? Why do things have to become standardised? Individuality is being lost. Let's keep this place and value it!

claire
I am gutted that all the old oatcake shops are closing, personally i find the oatcakes from the supermarket to be tasteless and not a true example of what a propper potteries oatcake.

Alphonso Richardson
Not a big fan of oatcakes, but i'm even less of a fan of over-priced 'identikit' housing developments (why is it almost always apartments?) that suck the life & character out of places, with no concern for community or family?

David Mullett
I moved from Stoke over 50 years ago but still remember buying oatcakes for a snack on the way to Hanley Speedway. For special occasions I had cheese melted on them, butter smeared over and the cake rolled to eat as the butter ran down your hand. Wow! What a feast. These days we occasionally manage to find some in our local supermarket for a treat and we even allow special friends to try them out. They think they are wonderful. Don't stop production.

Mrs M Spike - Leicester
Disgusting that this lovely shop has to go. This brings an excellent traditional service and is so rare and needs to be kept. If it has to go then move it to another area and do not ever give up your rare tradition. We shall visit your shop soon and purchase some of your oat cakes as seen on tv. Just wanted you to know you have our support. Suppose if you were a pub or a yuppie set up you would be stopping! typical of today's society get rid of the lovely things in life and replace with the 2008 era stuff. We need your places to keep Britain, Britain and not to let it go to the dogs as it is doing. We hope you stay.

William Storey
I am a geordy who has relations in the poteries and spent some happy times there when I was young visiting relatives and I can remember the hole in the wall and the fantistic smell and taste of the oatcakes which I ate for breakfast dinner tea and supper.We are using regeneration as an overall excuse to get rid of all our traditions and I do hope that commonsense prevails and that the potteries retain the hole in the wall.Incidentally my mothers name was Hanah Storey nee Hancock if any of my relations can remember her,I can be contacted at this Email address. More power to your elbow,keep the oatcakes cooking. Bill Storey.

keith williams
oatcake shops are not in demise and in stoke they never will be - this is the relocation of one style of shop - there are plenty of oatcake shops in stoke and all are doing well - the home made oatcake shop and stoke will never die

Irene Edge
They are taking away part of the tradition of the Potteries and supermarket oatcakes will not come anywhere close to the original true oatcakes.

Kerry Wood
Why are they demolishing our heritage we want people to come to stoke on trent to see What its culture has to offer and they think building new houses will do that?? Wake up and smell the coffee!!!

M A Christie
Supermarket oatcakes are pathetic, they are often over a day old and have no taste and are only good as Frisbees. You can only get the real taste of an oatcake, when its still warm from the hob. And I have been eating them for the last 60 years.

Phyllis,,,,Chell Heath
Buy my family ,family run oat cakes any time the supermarkets will NEVER taste the same,,,We used to use THE HOLE IN THE WALL, years ago when we lived in Leek Road, but we are a bit to far away now so we use a family run one near us.So GOOD LUCK to the HOLE IN THE WALL,,,,,

Holly
I think that if the 'hole in the wall' oatcake business has been such a strong tradition, it should not be demolished and strong action should be taken against the govermernt.

Nicola Souter
No! Supermarket oatcakes will not do. This type of business should be supported not demolished to make way for housing - this is traditional England and should be preserved at any cost.

Cindy
I'm not from Stoke but have lived here 20 years. They should not be forced to close this is part of Stoke's heritage and should be allowed to continue. Other cultures are allowed to have their mark on the Stoke landscape and yet 'Stokies' are not allowed to preserve their own. Political madness yet again. Leave the hole in the wall alone!!!

Mrs L A Davies
I feel that this is yet another example of planners and developers making all towns and cities look the same and they themselves live in nice character places but do not care about the rest of the population - A I'm alright jack!

Roger Harrison
Supermarket oatcakes are not bad but there is no way they are anywhere as good as freshly made oatcakes from your local oatcake shop.

Jay
There are actually six towns in the Potteries!

david bate co ned kelly pub holland
when ime back in stoke i allways head 2 the nearest oatcake shop 2 stock up 4 expats and dutch punters been doing this 4 28 years they go down well with a pint or 2 so keep as many oatcake shops going as possible

Geoff Tomkinson
No, quite simply supermarket oatcakes aren't scratch on roper fresh oatcakes. My local supermarket sells North Staffs oatcakes which in my opinion aren't the best and cost more than fresh ones

Alma G reen Montgomery
Iwas born in tunstall stoke on trent. And every sun morning before going to the baths i used to order my oatcakes and pick them up when going home - never missed once. i still eat them here in Atlanta Ga, USA but they are not the same. i have a package of the last pack i got before they closed it down. i would give anything for some real Stoke On Trent oatcakes. my cousin brought some back on the plane about 20 yrs ago; thats the last time i had the real ones my brother Raymond lives in stanfields; i call him all time and always tell him i miss my food over there. I'm still a little Brit even if i live here. keep thos oat cakes ! I still keep in touch with this site love you all tra

Phyllis Jones
I think that the Hole in the Wall should be left, it is part of history, part of our culture and it would be criminal to destroy it. No supermarket oatcake could be up to the standard of a production that is so popular and has been going for so long

Mel Smith
This oatcake shop has to be saved. The oatcakes served by Glenn, Sue and staff are the best in the area. Made fresh before your very eyes, they are not the blankets served up in many other local shops.My parents, my grandparents and my great grandparents all used this Hole in The Wall.Keep our heritage alive.

barry brotherhood
Too many of our British traditions are being sacrificed at the hands of developers in the name of progress,without history we are nothing.Ensure that the hole in the wall is preserved and rebuilt into any developers building.

Christine Reynolds
I have watched your article twice today about:An oatcake shop which is the last of its kind in Stoke-on-Trent, is to be demolished.
I don't believe the article to be wholly correct. The 'Hole in the wall' shop is certainly not the only or last oatcake shop in the City. My local "Lockets" in Longton (one of the five towns in the City of Stoke-on-Trent) was open as I drove passed, to check, this lunchtime. Your piece is misleading.

WEBMASTER SAYS:
Thanks. I think the report is saying that this is the last of the 'hole in the wall' type of shop, where the oatcakemakers work in their own front room and lean through what was the window space.