Due to open next month, Milk Jam is the brainchild of Manchester baking trio Claire Kelsey, Charlotte O’Toole and Nicky Griffiths. 

Kelsey is an ice cream entrepreneur who runs Comfort Emporium; Griffiths runs Lushbrownies in the city; and O’Toole was supplying Harvey Nichols in Manchester with products from her company, Bakeorama.

O’Toole, who describes herself as a cake artist, took over the counter at the Manchester store in February, but is now focussing on her own projects. She made her name in the bakery Home Sweet Home, based in the city’s Northern Quarter. 

Kelsey says the three are creating something new for Manchester, with a menu of puddings that will combine their collective dessert expertise.

Milk Jam came to Kelsey as an idea while visiting traditional milk bars in America – it is a thick pouring sauce made from condensed milk.

Milk Jam is going to be “playful and fun”, according to Kelsey, who added:  “We’re not going for hipster filament bulbs or throwing sprinkles and sweets at everything.”

Instead, the menu is more likely to include things like beer ice cream, and pork scratchings made from mini cinnamon toasts. There’s also talk of birthday cake gelato with ‘unicorn poo’ (crumbled sponge cake).

The décor, Kelsey said, is set to be “vivid and very pop art inspired”.

Of the longevity of the plan she said: “It’s not a pop-up, but we’re fairly sure we’re going for a short lease, so it can be a place for us to test our ideas and get the formula right.”