Cambridge Street Collective: new food hall will seek to showcase Sheffield’s ‘multicultural DNA’, says founder

The opening marks the culmination of a plan four years in the making after Blend Family, the firm behind the food hall, first proposed the project to Sheffield City council prior to the Covid 19 pandemic.

Blend family is also the company behind Kelham Island’s Cutlery Works, as well as similar venues in Manchester and Liverpool.

Matt Bigland, founder and CEO of Blend Family, said: “I think one of the draws of coming here is being able to sit and see that there are other cultures in the building, and all these people who make up the multicultural DNA of Sheffield.

“It gives you a melting pot, and a blend of people that combine to make an energy and a buzz.

“You see people enjoying what they do, theyre cooking the food they love, its authentic, its not from a corporation, its real people doing it. We want things people would serve to their mums or grandmas.

“It also authenticates what you’re doing. If a Thai family is here eating at a Thai restaurant, you know it must be good.”

The new food hall has space for 1,200 patrons and features 20 independent vendors, including Nepalese, Palestinian, Malaysian, Chinese, Greek and Ethiopian cuisine.

The venue also features a top-floor bar serving premium cocktails and tall drinks which use Japanese spirits.

The food hall’s founders also have plans to use the space to celebrate cultural holidays from the countries whose cuisine is featured in the venue.

Mr Bigland said: “A lot of our events will be based around the culture of the different kitchens.

“If you’ve got a young family who are growing up in Sheffield, you want them to experience all the different cultures in the city, but sometimes it's hard to know where a dragon dance is happening for Chinese New Year, or where you can see Ethiopian new year or a celebration of Diwali. This gives us the ability to showcase some of that.

“So we want to put on events for holidays such as Chinese new year, where we’ll have Mandarin classes for children, lantern classes, Thai Chi, and just really showcase and really celebrate that culture.”

Mr Bigland also noted that he hoped the food hall could act as an incubator for small, independent food companies in Sheffield.

He said: “Sheffield is a city of independents, and I think we need to embrace them.

“Street food is great in summer, but in winter people have no bread and butter money coming in, and it's a risk for small businesses taking out a ten year lease and putting their life savings into a bricks and mortar business, and not setting up in the best area because that's all you can afford.

“So we wanted to create something which is the next step up from street food or markets, and give them a space.

“They come in, we vet them and curate every kitchen, and we’re looking for that passion, that hunger and that authenticity.

“By putting those businesses in this incubation space, in two or three years they will probably fly the nest, but hopefully at that point they will take a place within the city cenre where they can have their own restaurant.”