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What an offal load of tripe!

28/11/2007

TRIPE is making a comeback in Stalybridge —thanks to Gordon Ramsay.

The cheap and nutritious dish, made from the lining of a cow or sheep’s stomach, was trumpeted by the Michelin-starred chef recently, prompting sales to rocket.

At the height of its popularity in the late 1800s, there were thousands of tripe parlours specialising in the edible offal.

Seen as a poor man’s grub of yesteryear, it fell out of favour over the past few decades causing most people to shudder at the mere mention of it.

But it is back on the menu once again as Britain’s traditional dishes become trendy once more,

The Tripe and Sandwich Shop in Melbourne Street, Stalybridge, is one of two in the borough, the other one being on Hyde market.

Owner Stephen Baxter, 52, said: "Since my wife Karen and I took over the shop 20 years ago, the amount of tripe we’ve sold has undoubtedly dipped as older members of the community have passed away.

"Around 20 years ago, we would be selling around 100lbs of tripe each day while today we sell around a quarter of that.

"But there has certainly been a resurgence in interest recently — and we are selling more now than we were doing.

"We seem to be getting a lot of people coming into the shop who are convalescing and are advised to get tripe by their doctors.

"I think it is quite sad that we are the last tripe shop in Manchester."

Great-grandmother Renee Nutall from Stalybridge said: "I just like tripe, I love it, me, I really do. I’ve been eating it for many years.

"I’ll have it with tomatoes, bread and butter or vinegar, and I’ll have it whenever I can.

"My husband doesn’t like it, so it’s something I enjoy on my own.

"The younger ones don’t like it and my daughters won’t have it anywhere near them."

Julie Humphreys, of Dukinfield, added: "Tripe now is like sausage and mash — they are all making a comeback.

"They’re all being made trendy again by posh restaurants down south."