Rising Star CRITCHLEY DAVE

Head Chef Of Lu Ban Kitchen

Liverpool’s restaurant of the year award winner, Dave Critchley has made a huge impact in the hospitality sector within a relatively short period of time. Specialising in Chinese culinary arts, in 2020 Dave was granted the honour of becoming the first ever international apprentice of Mr Zhengxi Wu, one of China’s highest level master chefs. Since then, he has led large restaurants in Manchester and Liverpool, competed on BBC’s Great British Menu and launched his first book, Cherry Blossom which reflects on his experience of opening his current restaurant, Lu Ban.

When working on new dishes, what is your development process?

My development process is a little different from other chefs, and is more inspired by Apple or Nike for example … I start by asking myself a specific set of questions

I start by asking myself a specific set of questions … what would the consumer (in this case our guests) need or want to see on the menu?

… what would the consumer (in this case our guests) need or want to see on the menu? What is selling well currently on the market or in the industry? What isn’t selling so well on my current menu? What is in season? What product can I obtain locally? From here I can then start working on a really great dish with the products at my disposal. The guest has to come first, they are the people who will be buying the dish ultimately!

How did you get involved with the International Academy of Chinese Culinary Arts?

The international academy of Chinese culinary arts is an incredible project which I’ve been part of for 3 years now and came about through my trip to China and subsequent studies. I am tasked with showcasing real Chinese cuisine in the UK and driving forwards the learning and understanding of Chinese cuisine and its culture to people outside of China. It’s a huge honour.

What inspired you to create Lu Ban Kitchen?

Lu Ban Kitchen was a concept that was born of necessity! We had only been open 3 months at Lu Ban restaurant when the pandemic hit and we were forced to close our doors. Lu Ban Kitchen provided cook at home kits which we paired with live cook-alongs through the lockdown, teaching people how to cook real Chinese food whilst socialising (virtually). It proved incredibly popular, we had 300 people online once for a charity cook along event!

What is the WellFed Box and what are your future ambitions for it?

The WellFed box was another project born in lockdown. The Lu Ban team worked tirelessly throughout lockdown supporting over 100 local families with fresh food boxes each week. We also helped feed local children through school holidays with 5000 healthy packed lunches and at Christmas time, delivered Christmas dinner to over 700 families who were struggling with the effects of the pandemic. The WellFed box was set up to assist low income families during these times and help tackle food poverty with an exciting, healthy and educational cook at home family meal box! The WellFed project still continues now and I hope will continue doing the work it was intended to do until it is no longer required.

Would you recommend others to follow in your path and if so, what advice would you give them?

I’ve had a fantastic career with some incredible opportunities including travelling out to

China and learning from some incredible people. I would recommend the industry to anyone. The skillset you learn in this industry is wide and incredibly varied and genuinely sets a person up for life, especially those with aspirations of running their own business.

How have you honed your skills over the years?

I have been in the industry since the age of 15 when I got a job washing dishes and doing basic food preparation at my local pub. I learnt everything watching the other chefs and workers there and teaching myself new techniques. A few years later after having fallen in love with the kitchen life, I studied on the job to obtain all my qualifications with a college that would visit and assess me in work.

How would you like to see the industry change in the future?

The industry is in a tricky place right now. The pandemic,

Brexit, the Ukraine conflict and now the cost of living crisis have all had devastating effects on staffing, price and availability of products, overheads and revenue. We need to see the industry given the help it needs to recover from the last few years. I’d love to see more people interested in food and nutrition from an earlier age and encourage new people into the industry. The industry I feel has become a much nicer, more pleasant place to work over recent years and that needs to continue.

How would you describe your cooking style?

My cooking style is quite niche I suppose! It’s modern Chinese in the style I witnessed during my time in Tianjin and what I’m learning under the mentorship of Master Wu. I bring those influences and marry them with the 20 years of Liverpudlian and Northern British food in my repertoire.

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