Some locals have had trouble comprehending the use of a different product
Cardinal Rule, in the Northern Quarter, has divided opinion with the use of a Southern American staple(Image: Cardinal Rule/Instagram: @cardinalrule_mcr)
An American fried chicken spot in Manchester has gone viral online with a post which has divided the opinion of diners.
Cardinal Rule, which is based in the Northern Monk Refectory on Tariff Street in the Northern Quarter, first opened up last year and is led by couple Dustin Durrance and Gabrielle Owermohle.
The pair, who originally hail from Virginia, moved to the city and opened up their American-inspired street food concept as a pop-up at the end of 2023. Alongside its fried chicken, the restaurant has become known as the ‘UK’s only American biscuit shop’.
A recent video shared on TikTok, which has garnered close to 2 million views in just two days alone, has seen UK diners get confused by the concept of a biscuit which many have compared to more like a scone.
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Cardinal Rule’s latest video has gone viral with close to two million views on TikTok in just two days(Image: Cardinal Rule/Instagram: @cardinalrule_mcr)
In the video, Dustin and Gabrielle spoke about moving to Manchester and how ‘the love of biscuits is a really big part of Southern cuisine’, and that they couldn’t have imagined relocating abroad without having biscuits on a regular basis.
Showing the process of making their cult sandwiches, which feature their own fried chicken in-between a ‘fluffy, buttery biscuit’, the concept seemed to take some by surprise. “They’re scones though, right?,” one follower asked.
Another said: “They are scones, not biscuits. Biscuits you dunk in tea – not eat with chicken.” One other commented: “Are they like an English Scone?”
Others in the comments section were happy to clear up confusion on behalf of Cardinal Rule owners, who said they were ‘used to it by now’. One person commented: “Wish people would educate themselves in the difference between American biscuits and English scones before commenting.”
Another said: “As a previous member of the biscuits = scones crowd, I have to say they are very, very different just from texture alone. A good biscuit is light, flaky and has a savoury taste. Scones are denser, crumble more like a cake and have a sweeter profile. One is for your dinner, the other for your afternoon tea.”
Cardinal Rule’s sandwiches are made with ‘fluffy, buttery’ American biscuits, which are more savoury and lighter than scones(Image: Cardinal Rule/Instagram: @cardinalrule_mcr)
A staple of the Southern US, often warmed with gravy and also available on the menu of Popeyes in the UK, one of the first early references to the biscuit comes in the 1500s as part of rations for sailors in the Royal Navy. They were further popularised with a mention in 1881 book, What Mrs. Fisher Knows About Old Southern Cooking, which was written by Abby Fisher and is hailed as one of the first cookbooks to be written by a Black woman.
“The number one feedback we get is that people are like ‘it’s not what I expected at all’,” Gabrielle said in the video.
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Dustin added: “Everyday we serve people who’ve never had a biscuit before. We’re trying to spread the word of biscuits.
“We lure them in with the fried chicken and then we get them to try their first biscuit. We’re just converting people to biscuits one bite at a time.”
Cardinal Rule is on 10 Tariff Street, Northern Monk Refectory, Northern Quarter, M1 2FF.