Graduate opens Burmese restaurant – first outside London

Myinzu Theint will open Café Mandalay with her partner in Huddersfield town centre

A CHEMICAL engineering graduate from the University of Huddersfield is opening her own restaurant in the town centre and it will be the only one of its kind specialising in contemporary Burmese cuisine outside of London.

23-year-old Myinzu Theint, who was born in Burma – now Myanmar – and whose family came to live in London when she was a teenager, is opening Café Mandalay with her partner Ben Popplewell.

The pair met in Huddersfield and had spoken about their dream of running a restaurant on many occasions, but didn’t think it would happen quite so soon after graduating.  But once they had spotted premises available in the perfect location they knew it was too good an opportunity to miss.

Café Mandalay is based only a short distance from the University on Kings Street near the Kingsgate Shopping Centre.  Their 40-seater restaurant is going to have a light and airy atmosphere with a modern look containing deliberately mismatched tables and chairs, a style which the pair are sure will suit a wide range of clientele.

The menu will list dishes in Burmese with an English translation, such as chicken noodle soup and braised pork shoulder.

Myinzu is aware that many will not have come across Burmese food and explains, that given Myanmar’s geographic location, it is a direct mix between Chinese and Thai cuisine, “if you like those you will most certainly be a lover of Burmese food,” she adds.  

Myinzu will be the restaurant’s manager and in charge of front of house while Ben, a fully-trained Chef, will be running Café Mandalay’s kitchen.

Since leaving London to study Chemical Engineering in Huddersfield, Myinzu has grown to really love the area for its diversity and this played a major part in choosing the restaurant’s location.

She also praises the University for its efforts to create the most diverse student experience possible, both for the students from the UK and its international student population.

The University hosts regular events on campus to give students a platform to showcase the many different cultures and countries the students come from, such as International Week and the International Food and Culture Festival which has grown year on year since its conception five years ago.

Owning and running a business is a huge commitment, but Myinzu is confident on taking on such a big project and attributes this to the degree studied at the University of Huddersfield.

“As my professor, Grant Campbell, always used to say, university isn’t about making you become specialised in one subject, it’s about teaching you the skills to get access to a wider range of knowledge based on what you learn in university,” she said.

“Because the University’s Chemical Engineering degree programme included a management module, it gave me the transferable skills needed to be confident at taking on a managerial position,” she added.

The pair know over the next few months their biggest challenge is going to be raising awareness of the restaurant.  They are very optimistic though and hope to be able to take on a number of part-time staff front of house and an apprentice chef during the first year of trading.