Adding Zest to cafe experience

6:16pm Wednesday 14th May 2008

TOP chef and a wellknown Bolton businessman are pooling their talents on a new dining and delicatessen venture.

Bury car dealer and businessman Richard Cort and chef Mike Harrison, who also writes for The Bolton News, are opening Zest, at a premises on the junction of Chorley Old Road and Stapleton Avenue in Doffcocker.

The three-storey building, currently home to the Julie's Balloons business, will be transformed into a deli and coffee shop with a business function room and cookery school - all branded as Zest.

The building was previously a Co-op and a Jehovah's Witnesses hall.

Zest should be open for business by November.

Mr Cort said: "This venture is the realisation of a longheld dream."

Mr Harrison said: "It is an unusual concept but we believe that having everything under one roof means we can not only use and sell the best local produce, but also allow people to share in our cookery skills and have a great dining experience."

Bolton solicitors KBL arranged the sale of the property.

Debbie Roberts, a spokesperson for the firm, said: "We know from experience that Mike's cooking talents are firstclass and Richard is a longstanding client, so we were particularly happy to act for him in the purchase of the building."

Mr Harrison has forged a strong reputation in the food industry since he trained at Bolton College alongside Paul Heathcote 26 years ago. He has worked at top restaurants in the UK and the US, and he also ran his own Bolton town centre restaurant.

He now has a company called Chef To Go, which offers cordon bleu catering at home.

He has become a regular guest on regional TV and is a leading light of the annual Bolton Food and Drink Festival.

Mr Cort has done business in the Bolton and Bury areas for 28 years and runs a car dealership in Manchester Road, Bury.