Happy Birthday, Eighth Day!

Manchester’s legendary co-op marks its fortieth birthday, reports Georgia Tsakiri.

One of Manchester’s gems, the Eighth Day Cooperative, celebrated its 40th birthday in September and threw a grand party for its members and friends. The famous vegetarian health food shop and café has proudly occupied the corner of Oxford Road and Sidney Street for almost 38 years, serving the community of Manchester with high quality vegetarian, vegan, cruelty-free and fairly traded goods.

The success of this local Co-op is a result of hard-working and dedicated people; it is a democratically run, worker-controlled business which strives to “…promote the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of the community, especially those who participate in the cooperative, whether they are employees, customers or suppliers” (see its ethics policy).

The Eighth Day Co-op originally opened as a craft exchange and alternative centre, with the motto “On the seventh day God rested, on the eighth day He (She or It) created something better” (see here). It later turned into a more conventional shop, and in 2001 it changed from a clothes shop to a wholefood shop with clothes, in order to fulfil the growing interest in vegetarianism.

Current staff member Erika Van Steensburg gave us a little insight of what it’s like working in the Eighth Day Café:

1. How long have you been working at the Eighth Day Café, and what is your role?

I’ve worked at the Eighth Day Café since August 2009; I am also a member of the Café. Members’ responsibilities include the daily running of the Café, including shifts such as: Front and Counter, preparing salads and taking short orders, general food preparation, cooking of main meals, baking cakes and washing dishes. My extra duties are that I am part of the Personnel Team and the Environmental Team.

2. What does working at a Co-op like this mean to you?

Working for the Eighth Day Café means that I get to work in a place where all members work together to create a workplace that is ethical, enjoyable and fair.

3. What are your three favourite things about the Eighth Day Café?

My three favourite things about the Café are: 1. I enjoy going to work every day because I love the people that I work with; 2. I get to use my own creativity in cooking and baking which helps the work stay fresh and enjoyable; and 3. It’s nice to be able to provide a healthy, ethical food option to the public (especially seeing that it is one of the only non “fast food” places in the area).

4. And finally… which dish would you recommend to your customers?

I would recommend the Red Dragon Pie to our customers, which is a vegan and gluten free dish. This is a slightly spicy aduki bean and vegetable dish topped with a mustardy sweet potato mash and served with beetroot ketchup. It’s healthy and delicious. I’d follow it with a slice of our Vegan Cheese Cake which is a citrusy, light, tasty treat, free from artificial sugars and gluten!

Mmmm, that sounds delicious indeed… Thank you Erika! For more information, please visit http://www.eighth-day.co.uk/.