Meet the Chef: Lisa Goodwin-Allen

MEET THE CHEF

Head chef of Michelin-starred Northcote at just 23, Lisa Goodwin-Allen was determined to let the best quality and freshest seasonal produce do her bidding. Now the Lancashire country hotel’s executive chef and a familiar face on TV, Lisa talks to Dream Escape about provenance, pressure and plans for the future.

You’ve been heading up the Northcote kitchen in Langho since you were 23 and now oversee menus at The Stafford London too. How do you continue to be innovative and keep ideas fresh?

I’m very hands-on and I love being creative. I like taking traditional things and stamping my DNA on them. Creating a dish that doesn’t look like an apple pie, but it tastes like an apple pie: that's really exciting to me. I also want to be able to taste everything that’s on the plate.

I know the provenance of each ingredient is very important to you. For example, your beef comes from Cumbrian fell farmers who support biodiverse pastures; duck, from Yorkshire family run butchers, is outdoors-reared, grass- fed and free-range; and asparagus is planted and picked by hand in nearby Nelson then taken in baskets to the packhouse and sorted while still fresh. How closely do you work with your suppliers?

Very closely. Where it’s been grown or reared is just as important to us as how we cook it. Respecting the land, sourcing seasonally, locally and ethically, minimising waste and ensuring produce is grown and reared in a responsible manner is the Lancashire way. We ask our suppliers, ‘What have you got that’s good for us at the minute?’ It makes for a diverse menu. You’ll think of an idea and a week later it’s completely different.

We take our staff out to visit our farms too. We have a Mercedes – I call it the Vengabus – and I stick them all in the back of it and off we go. They get to see how they’re grown and it gives them so much more enthusiasm and respect.

You have a zero-waste policy, don’t you? Tell us how this works in practice.

It’s a big philosophy here at Northcote. It makes you think outside the box. Sirloin steaks arrive whole on the bone. We use the bones for stocks and consommé then the fat is rendered and used to cook other things in. When we made little beef tacos we took out half of the fat, then smoked it, froze it and grated it back over for more flavour. All the meat trimmings went into a meatball for our lunch menu. With a herb like tarragon we may use the top herb for a pesto then the stalks could be put into oil then heated at 60 degrees for eight hours. It penetrates them into the oil to produce this lovely tarragon oil which we can make a mayonnaise from.

Slow Cooked Cacklebean Egg, Aged Sour Cream, Artichoke, Flakes

I love the fact you serve such an inventive Michelinstarred menu that still manages to retain a homely tilt. Are your dishes inspired by your upbringing in Morecambe on the Lancashire coast?

I like to take traditional dishes and classic flavours and put a modern spin on them. Food conjures amazing memories, whether it’s tasting something that you remember from childhood, or something you ate with your grandparents. I think food just comes with this amazing history.

Lisa Goodwin-Allen

Food conjures amazing memories, whether it’s tasting something that you remember from childhood, or something you ate with your grandparents. I think food just comes with this amazing history.

Native Lobster, Mango, Honey Yoghurt, Lime Pickle, Red Curry

Every January Northcote hosts Obsession, a hugely prestigious celebration of food that sees 20 world-class chefs descend on the hotel to cook their own feasts for diners over 17 nights. Can you explain what Dream Escape guests might expect from the experience? Do the chefs just sweep into your kitchen with everything and everyone they need?

We work closely with all of the chefs in advance with regards to menus and ordering. UK chefs tend to bring some of their brigade to assist and we support with Northcote team, so it’s a real mixture. The chefs coming from overseas trust the process and allow us to order everything. They tend to only bring one or two assistants and the Northcote team delivers the rest.

It must be so much fun to be part of but have there ever been any mishaps? You don’t need to name names!

For sure, our trickiest moment was when we had two chefs coming over for Obsession from the Far East. Unfortunately one of the chefs had to travel home as soon as they arrived in the country and then the other chef couldn't understand the recipes. We ended up recreating the dishes ourselves and the night was a success but it was definitely a squeaky-bum moment!

Northcote

When you became head chef at Northcote 19 years ago it had already held a Michelin star since 1996. It’s an amazing achievement retaining that star year after year. How much pressure does it place on you?

It keeps you on your toes. But at the front of everyone’s head is the fact that we’re cooking for customers. People want to see the quality of the food and the footprint of the chef in that food. That’s the most important thing.

You’ve won quite a few accolades, including being a winning chef on Great British Menu and winning Craft Guild Of Chefs’ Restaurant of the Year. But you’ve clocked up a pretty impressive TV career too, including as a judge on Masterchef: The Professionals and Great British Menu and appearances on James Martin’s Saturday Morning. What’s more nerveracking: filming for TV or unveiling a new menu at Northcote?

To be honest, both are equally as nerve-racking at the pressure points. On TV, undoubtedly, I want to do my best. When we launch a new menu in the restaurant, the nerves are different but the adrenaline is still there, [plus] the responsibility to make sure I please the guests, my team, and the amazing producers who support me with their produce.

Tell me about future plans for Northcote.

We’re going to be building a brand new, contemporary style, sustainable restaurant on the lawn, which will have stunning views of the Ribble Valley. It will include a chef's table and be a stand-alone operation for hotel residents as well as non-hotel guests. The main restaurant as it is now will then be modernised into a high-quality brasserie. There’ll be more offerings here but we’ll keep that family hub that we want people to come into, like a home.

Contact the team at Dream Escape

Sue Morris, Head of Marketing

“Dream Escape can offer the very best of private culinary experiences. From the chef’s table to private dining and cookery masterclasses with Michelin-starred chefs to foraging, we have it covered. Get in touch with us to start planning your epicurean exploration.”

⬥ sue@dreamescape.co.uk