What started with a few photos of home-cooked food during lockdown has grown into one of Ely’s most recognisable food-focused social media pages.
For Episode 18 of the Made In Ely podcast, we sat down with Matty Makes Munch — aka Matty — to talk about food, content creation, the changing face of Ely’s food scene, Foodie Fridays, supporting independent businesses and why sometimes the best thing a reviewer can do is not post a review.
And, unsurprisingly, we spent a lot of time talking about food.
From furlough to Matty Makes Munch
Matty is a chef, a passionate foodie and, in his own words, someone who “likes to mess around online”.
The story of Matty Makes Munch began during COVID, when Matty was furloughed from his job and started posting pictures of what he was cooking at home on his personal Instagram account.
He was living with his parents at the time, so the content was essentially: here’s what I’m cooking, and here’s what Mum’s eating today.
Eventually, his girlfriend – now his wife – suggested he set up a dedicated Instagram page.
So he did.
Five minutes on Canva produced a “silly logo”; his friends followed the new page, and Matty Makes Munch was born.
What happened next was less a carefully planned marketing strategy and more a case of seeing what happened and running with it.
The page grew.
The content evolved.
And Matty gradually became a familiar face within Ely’s growing food community.
From cooking at home to eating out
Initially, Matty’s content centred around cooking at home. Over time, that developed into visits to markets and food events, before increasingly becoming restaurant and food business reviews.
These days, Matty is often joined by his wife, who films him as they head out to discover what local businesses are serving.
It’s become something of a combination of date night, food adventure and local business promotion.
And that’s an important part of what Matty enjoys about it.
He genuinely likes discovering businesses that are doing something different and then telling people about them.
He’s also keen to emphasise that he isn’t the sort of influencer who turns up somewhere demanding free food in exchange for exposure.
If Matty and his wife visit somewhere independently, they’ll pay for their food. If they’re invited, they’ll make that clear.
It’s a relatively simple approach, but one that seems to have helped build genuine relationships with the businesses he features.
Getting comfortable in front of the camera
That doesn’t mean Matty is naturally comfortable being filmed.
In fact, he admits that being on camera can still make him incredibly self-conscious.
There’s something particularly strange about sitting in a restaurant, pointing a camera at yourself and talking about your food while everyone around you carries on with their evening.
His solution?
Find a quieter corner, get on with it and eventually just accept that people are looking.
As Matty puts it, you essentially have to “rip the plaster off”.
The irony is that the content he’s sometimes most reluctant to post is often the content that performs best.
It’s a feeling many small business owners and content creators will recognise: spending ages editing something, questioning whether it’s good enough, worrying about how you look or sound — and then finally pressing “post” and discovering that people actually love it.
A chef’s perspective
One thing that gives Matty’s content an interesting perspective is that he’s not just a foodie.
He’s a chef.
He’s been working in professional kitchens for around 14 years, having started as a kitchen porter and worked his way through a variety of kitchen and hospitality roles, including becoming a head chef.
That experience inevitably influences how he approaches food when he’s out reviewing.
But Matty doesn’t see it as an excuse to criticise.
Instead, he finds himself asking a different question:
“How can I replicate this where I am?”
He’ll notice flavours, techniques and ideas that he can take back into his own kitchen.
One example came after a visit to Malabarique Atelier in Ely, where he tried a mint chutney that really impressed him.
Rather than simply enjoying it, Matty found himself analysing it — what was in it, how it had been made and how he could recreate something similar.
He then tried to make his own version at work.
It didn’t quite go to plan.
But that’s the point.
For Matty, visiting restaurants isn’t about finding faults. It’s about finding inspiration.
Ely’s food scene is changing
One of the biggest themes running through our conversation was just how much Ely’s food scene has changed.
Matty moved to the area in 2022, having previously visited Ely without paying much attention to the food offering.
Now, he sees a town with a genuinely diverse food scene.
There is a mix of independent businesses and larger chains, a growing street food culture, cafés, restaurants and specialist food businesses – all sitting alongside one of Ely’s biggest attractions: its heritage.
And, of course, there’s the free parking.
It might not sound particularly exciting, but Matty argues that it’s a genuine advantage for Ely compared with somewhere like Cambridge.
The combination of food, tourism, the Cathedral, independent businesses and accessibility creates something that he believes people shouldn’t take for granted.
Perhaps most importantly, though, it’s the community that makes the difference.
Matty describes a food scene where businesses help each other rather than constantly competing against one another.
That collaborative spirit has become a major part of Ely’s identity.
Chains and independents can coexist
It’s easy to assume that the arrival of large chains is automatically bad news for independent businesses.
Matty admits that he initially felt that way too.
When he heard that Gail’s was coming to Ely, his first reaction was essentially: we don’t need another chain.
Then he went in.
And changed his mind.
The argument is that chains can bring people into the city centre who might otherwise not visit – and once they’re here, they may discover the smaller independent businesses around them.
There is also a practical reality behind the debate.
Some of Ely’s commercial premises are large, expensive or challenging historic buildings. For a first-time independent restaurant, taking on a property that needs tens of thousands of pounds of work before you can even open the doors simply isn’t realistic.
The result is that different types of businesses can end up serving different purposes within the same town.
And when they work together, the entire food scene benefits.
Foodie Fridays: more than just food
If there is one event that encapsulates Ely’s changing food culture, it’s Foodie Friday.
What started as something Matty happened upon almost by accident has become a regular fixture in his calendar.
And he isn’t alone.
Foodie Friday has grown significantly, attracting an increasingly diverse selection of food vendors, bakers and producers.
Matty particularly praises the way Ely Markets keeps things varied, giving vendors limited opportunities rather than allowing the same businesses to dominate every month.
That means there’s always something new to try.
One month you might find Will’s Bakes, another Jake’s Kitchen or Bets Piece of Cake. You can discover bao buns, Greek food, burgers, baked goods, international dishes and plenty of things you probably wouldn’t have tried otherwise.
And then there is the atmosphere.
Live music.
Food.
People.
Conversation.
And, occasionally, quite a lot of drinking.
As Matty puts it, it’s simply a vibe.
The ultimate Foodie Friday menu
Naturally, we couldn’t have Matty on a podcast about food without asking him what his perfect Foodie Friday would look like.
His answer?
A full three-course meal.
Starting with garlic bread and pizza from Gino’s Pizza.
Moving on to Man of Seoul’s fried chicken — particularly the barbecue gochujang.
And finishing with something from Jake’s Kitchen or Crumbelievable.
But Matty’s Foodie Friday food obsession doesn’t stop there.
He’s also become a fan of Uncle Paul’s Greek Food, particularly the Greek sausage box with salad, tzatziki and flatbread.
And then there was the idea that emerged during our conversation:
A Gino’s pizza base, Man of Seoul fried chicken and a Scotch egg, all combined into one enormous calzone-style creation.
Naturally, it needs a name.
And naturally, Matty has one:
The Matty Makes Munch Mess.
We’re not saying we’re going to make it happen…
But we’re also not saying we’re not.
Supporting food trucks
Food trucks are another huge part of Ely’s food scene, but Matty is keen to highlight the difficult reality behind the growing trend.
For every exciting new food truck that appears, others are disappearing.
The rising cost of ingredients, fuel, equipment and general operating costs makes running a mobile food business increasingly difficult.
And there is a particular problem with the quieter days.
Foodie Friday might be packed, but what happens on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday?
Unless a food truck has corporate bookings, pub events or other work lined up, there can be a lot of empty days.
That’s why Matty believes social media and local support are so important.
A good online presence can help a small food business reach new customers, build a following and ultimately generate the revenue it needs to survive.
Because behind every little cardboard box of food is considerably more work than most customers realise.
Preparation.
Planning.
Shopping.
Cooking.
Cleaning.
Equipment.
Travel.
And then doing it all again.
There’s a person behind the food
Perhaps the most important part of our conversation was actually about reviews.
Matty has deliberately chosen not to become a reviewer who tears businesses apart for entertainment.
If he visits somewhere and doesn’t enjoy the experience, his first instinct is to speak to the business directly.
He might tell them what he didn’t like.
He might explain why.
But he won’t automatically go online and publicly destroy them.
There’s a very simple reason for that:
These are people’s livelihoods.
A bad review of a huge corporation is one thing.
A negative video about a small independent food truck, café or restaurant can be devastating.
And you never really know what’s happening behind the scenes.
Perhaps the chef was off sick.
Perhaps a member of staff didn’t turn up.
Perhaps something went wrong in the kitchen.
Perhaps the business was simply having a bad day.
None of that necessarily excuses a poor experience, but it does provide context.
Matty remembers one occasion where he did post a negative review after feeling badly treated by a business.
Looking back, he regrets it.
The video has since been removed, and he apologised to the business.
It’s a lesson he’s taken forward:
If you don’t like something, talk to the person first.
“Let love win.”
That philosophy perhaps sums up Matty Makes Munch better than anything else.
Matty isn’t afraid to have opinions.
He’ll happily tell you what he loves, what he doesn’t like and what he thinks could be better.
But there’s a difference between having an opinion and trying to damage somebody’s business.
He’s particularly passionate about giving constructive feedback rather than simply generating outrage for clicks.
And when he talks about food businesses, there’s clearly a huge amount of respect for the people behind them.
As Matty puts it:
“Let love win.”
It’s a pretty good philosophy for a local community.
What about AI?
The conversation even took a brief detour into one of the more contentious topics in modern content creation: AI.
Matty is perfectly happy to use AI for fun.
He’s used it to create funny images and even experiment with car modifications.
What he doesn’t like is using AI to pretend that food looks different from reality.
If you’re selling a burger, he argues, show people your burger.
Don’t create a perfect AI-generated burger and use that to advertise something that looks completely different when it arrives.
The same applies to menus and promotional material.
AI has a place, but Matty’s view is that it shouldn’t replace authenticity.
And that fits rather neatly with everything else he talks about.
The reason people follow Matty Makes Munch isn’t because the content is perfectly polished.
It’s because it’s personal.
It’s real.
It’s local.
And it’s clearly made by someone who genuinely loves food.
And finally… the quickfire round
Of course, no Made In Ely podcast would be complete without a quickfire round.
Although, as usual, our “quickfire” round wasn’t particularly quick.
Best meal you’ve had in Ely?
Willow Grange’s full English breakfast.
Most underrated food spot?
The Almonery.
Guilty pleasure?
At home, a Tiger Bread sandwich with Dairylea and salted Hula Hoops.
And on a particularly bad day?
A KFC Mighty Bucket for One with hot wings.
Food trend you’d like to disappear?
Cookie pies.
And, perhaps surprisingly, misleading AI-generated food imagery.
Biggest food pet hate?
Food that’s physically impossible to eat.
If your burger requires structural engineering and a stick to hold it together, Matty isn’t interested.
For him, food should be enjoyable to eat – not an endurance challenge.
What’s next for Matty Makes Munch?
For now, Matty is continuing to do what he’s been doing since that original lockdown Instagram account: discovering food, meeting people and shouting about the businesses he thinks deserve attention.
His content is primarily on Instagram at @mattymakesmunch.
There’s also Ely Foodies, which Matty describes not as his page, but as a collaborative page for Ely’s food community.
Local businesses can tag the account in their posts, and Matty will share them, helping to promote what’s happening across the city’s food scene.
And perhaps, somewhere amongst those notebooks full of scribbled recipes, there’s a cookbook waiting to happen too.
Until then, we’ll just have to keep watching.
And eating.
Lots of eating.
Listen and watch Episode 18
Want to hear Matty tell these stories in his own words?
Listen to Episode 18 of the Made In Ely podcast, recorded here at Ely Work Collective, wherever you get your podcasts.
And if you’re involved in Ely’s food scene, make sure you’re following Matty Makes Munch and Ely Foodies on Instagram.
Because, as this episode makes very clear, Ely’s food scene isn’t just growing.
It’s becoming a community.
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