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It's
true what they say, an army marches on its stomach, and the Toon
Army is no exception.
In
order to win the battle for the Premiership, our valiant Black and
White soldiers require nourishment for both the mind and body.
Despite
being welcome at some of the best restaurants in town, haute cuisine
still can't match good old home cooking.
Soul
Food
Until
recently, Toon players of Afro-Caribbean origin such as Dyer, Cort,
Lua Lua and Bramble, missed their homely meals.
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| Carl
Cort loved his traditional home cooking whilst staying on Tyneside |
The
lads craved real 'Soul Food' such as Jollof Rice, Egusi Soup or
a Jamaican platter of Rice and Peas, fried chicken and plantain.
Luckily
for our hungry heroes, United reserve player Richard Offiong is
a local lad, and his Nigerian born mum, Agnes, is a great cook.
Richard,
an under 20 international, often invited his team mates home to
enjoy traditional Afro -Caribbean food.
So
popular were Agnes' dinners, her guests suggested she opened a restaurant.
Richard
put his cash behind his mum's new venture and Heavenly Manna, thought
to be one of the first Afro-Caribbean eateries on Tyne and Wear,
opened on 109 Shields Road, Byker in October 2003.
It's
all about oil
Agnes
buys most of her ingredients locally, but the big difference with
African and Caribbean cooking is palm oil.
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| Rice
and Peas is an Afro-Caribbean favourite |
Palm
oil is to African cooking what olive oil is to Mediterranean cooking
and gives a most unique and authentic flavour.
Agnes
and her cooks Anthonia and Affi aim to bring a taste of Africa to
the Geordie palate with dishes such as Cow Leg, Stew Peas with Oxtail
and Edihganikon Soup.
Global
cafe
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| Agnes:
To the Manna born |
Heavenly
Manna reflects the growing multicultural community of the East End
of Newcastle.
There's
even an African Community Centre in the Byker Wall, which is open
to all and aims to help the integration of people of Africa origin.
Cow Leg & 2 Veg
Heavenly
Manna was formerly a successful English Café serving fry
ups, bacon butties and a daily meat and two veg special.
Agnes
retains the core customers, by offering a wide range of traditional
English dishes, though Heavenly Manna's exotic menu is now attracting
Asian and Chinese diners, as well as the more adventurous East Ender's.
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| Jamaican
Special: Stew Peas with Oxtail |
With
Wor Agnes providing the ammo, the Toon Army will be a force to be
reckoned with.
| Your
views |
Many
thanks for info about Heavenly Manna. I checked it out this
afternoon along with my other colleagues here. It was fab. I
had Beans special and Yoruba stew. Loved it. Padma
I am definitely going to check this out. I have had a fair amount
of West Indian home-cooking in the past and there are some similarities
with cuisine I have had in Venezuela and Colombia (fried plantain,
refried beans and the like). I hope the place survives - or
even moves in to town (stuff like this is what makes Newcastle
worth sticking with!) Nik |
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