{"id":1562,"date":"2023-05-11T15:33:59","date_gmt":"2023-05-11T14:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/?p=1562"},"modified":"2023-05-13T21:02:11","modified_gmt":"2023-05-13T20:02:11","slug":"talking-business-secreto-scoff","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/2023\/05\/11\/talking-business-secreto-scoff\/","title":{"rendered":"Talking Business: Secreto Scoff"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica;font-size: 14px\"><strong>Our region is full of inspiring and thriving start-ups. In fact, Middlesbrough was\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/teesbusiness.co.uk\/2021\/03\/30\/middlesbrough-among-uks-best-towns-to-launch-a-business\/\">named one of the best places in the UK to launch a new business<\/a>.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica;font-size: 14px\"><strong><em>Talking Business<\/em><\/strong>\u00a0is our new feature that will shine a light on some of Teesside\u2019s fantastic local companies. We\u2019ll be celebrating the people and potential our little part of the world has to offer.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px\">Childhood pals turned business partners, Liam Barkes and Tom Dawson turned their passion for cooking into a thriving food business in Secreto Scoff, sprinkling a new and exciting offer into the Teesside food scene with three to four course set menus at their monthly pop-up events, as well as offering bespoke catering for private events.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica;font-size: 14px\">Starting out in Middlesbrough\u2019s Base Camp premises in the summer of 2021, the pair made the move to Norton-based Rounton Coffee at the beginning of this year. With both Liam and Tom working at local favourite Blackwell\u2019s Butchers situated at the opposite end of the high street, they decided that Norton was a natural fit for their start-up. Here, we catch up with Liam who tells us about Secreto\u2019s journey so far&#8230;<\/span><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/secretoscoff\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1565\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/files\/2023\/05\/TT-Contributor-Template.png\" alt=\"Seceto Scoff Logo\" width=\"245\" height=\"245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/files\/2023\/05\/TT-Contributor-Template.png 1200w, https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/files\/2023\/05\/TT-Contributor-Template-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/files\/2023\/05\/TT-Contributor-Template-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/files\/2023\/05\/TT-Contributor-Template-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/files\/2023\/05\/TT-Contributor-Template-768x768.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 245px) 85vw, 245px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica;font-size: 18px\"><strong>Can you tell us a bit about your journey so far?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica;font-size: 14px\">We started off by cooking a lot for each other and for friends as lockdown restrictions lifted in 2020, and then once everything started to reopen we continued doing so by hosting pop-up events at the multi purpose venue &#8216;Base Camp\u2019 in Middlesbrough. We have since relocated to Norton and currently operate a monthly series out of Rounton Coffee. We have also started to take some private catering bookings in 2023 and it\u2019s something we are looking to expand on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica;font-size: 18px\"><strong>Where did the idea for Secreto come from?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica;font-size: 14px\">A love of food and a good time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-size: 18px\"><strong><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\">Why did you choose Norton as the location? What do you love most about the area?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica;font-size: 14px\">We both have roots in the area and there is a great buzz about Norton at the moment with lots of great food and drink options so when the opportunity came up we knew it made sense.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica\"><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18px;font-family: helvetica\">Setting yourself apart in any business can be a challenge. What do you think makes Secreto unique?<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica;font-size: 14px\">When we started at Base Camp we had some turntables set-up and had a good friend playing records and sound tracking the night alongside our street-food style menu. Since then we have changed up to a more structured service with 3 or 4 course set menu\u2019s but still keep a fun and relaxed atmosphere with a lot of regular faces supporting our events. I think we\u2019re unique in the sense that we are able to put our stamp on whatever location we host events in.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18px;font-family: helvetica\">So, when\u2019s your next pop-up event? And how can we get booked up?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica;font-size: 14px\">Our next event is Friday 26th May and you can book through our Instagram which is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/secretoscoff\/\">@secretoscoff<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1583\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1583\" style=\"width: 814px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/secretoscoff\/\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-1583\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/files\/2023\/05\/Screenshot-2023-05-12-162550.png\" alt=\"Secreto food\" width=\"814\" height=\"274\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/files\/2023\/05\/Screenshot-2023-05-12-162550.png 814w, https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/files\/2023\/05\/Screenshot-2023-05-12-162550-300x101.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/files\/2023\/05\/Screenshot-2023-05-12-162550-768x259.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 984px) 61vw, (max-width: 1362px) 45vw, 600px\" \/><\/a><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-1583\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Image credit: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/focalstudio_\/\">@focalstudio_<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18px;font-family: helvetica\">Do you have any advice for aspiring chefs, or anyone thinking about starting out with their own business?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica;font-size: 14px\">Just go for it. If you are passionate about what you are doing then you can make it work. The people of the North-East specifically are very supportive of new local ventures and the feedback and love we have received from the start has motivated us whenever we run into difficulties.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18px;font-family: helvetica\">If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica;font-size: 14px\">Asian cuisine.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18px;font-family: helvetica\">We can only imagine you\u2019re the designated cooks at family get-togethers! What\u2019s your favourite recipe to feed a crowd?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica;font-size: 14px\">A roast is always a winner. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span style=\"font-size: 18px;font-family: helvetica\">What\u2019s your signature dish?<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica;font-size: 14px\">Slow cooked beef tacos.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: helvetica;font-size: 14px\">Follow <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/secretoscoff\/\">Secreto on Instagram<\/a> to find out about their next pop-up events, or give them a DM to enquire about private catering.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-1567\" src=\"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/files\/2023\/05\/TT-Contributor-Template-1.png\" alt=\"Narelle\" width=\"245\" height=\"245\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/files\/2023\/05\/TT-Contributor-Template-1.png 1200w, https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/files\/2023\/05\/TT-Contributor-Template-1-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/files\/2023\/05\/TT-Contributor-Template-1-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/files\/2023\/05\/TT-Contributor-Template-1-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/files\/2023\/05\/TT-Contributor-Template-1-768x768.png 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 245px) 85vw, 245px\" \/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Our region is full of inspiring and thriving start-ups. In fact, Middlesbrough was\u00a0named one of the best places in the UK to launch a new business. Talking Business\u00a0is our new feature that will shine a light on some of Teesside\u2019s fantastic local companies. We\u2019ll be celebrating the people and potential our little part of the &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/2023\/05\/11\/talking-business-secreto-scoff\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Talking Business: Secreto Scoff&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25096,"featured_media":1576,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false},"categories":[62,5],"tags":[121,120,118,117,86,119],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/files\/2023\/05\/Blog-Images.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1562"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25096"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1562"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1590,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1562\/revisions\/1590"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1576"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.tees.ac.uk\/talkingteesside\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}