Harley Young chats with Chris about his cheffing journey, Lock 84’s nods to Manchester and cooking with Vimto
Lock 84 is the all-day restaurant and bar inside four-star hotel The Reach at Piccadilly, which opened on Ducie Street last summer. With a preference for locally-sourced ingredients and chic, characterful design, it feels more like its independent Northern Quarter neighbours than it does an international hotel chain.
Running the show is Executive Chef, Chris Hall, who oversees the kitchen, formulating innovative, fresh ideas for a constantly evolving menu. I caught up with Chris to find out more about his cheffing journey, his favourite ingredients to cook with, and where he sees the restaurant a year from now.
Read on to find out more.
Tell us a bit about yourself. How did you get to where you are now?
I did an NVQ Level One at Manchester College and about six months into the course they put me on a work placement at The Lowry Hotel. The minute I stepped foot into a professional kitchen, I knew that this was for me.
It was a two-week placement, but I just ended up staying on every one of my days off, every weekend - every opportunity I got to go back and work, I did. I caught wind of one of the Commis Chefs leaving so I thought there might be an opportunity there. For weeks, months, I spent time firmly putting myself in that position until I was taken on.
I stayed there for five years and worked under three head chefs. My biggest mentor there was Andrew Green, who gave me my first ever opportunity to become Chef de Partie. After a few years at The Lowry, I moved to Evelyn’s before spending a bit of time travelling around Central America, down towards Cuba, and just managing to make the final flight from Mexico back to the UK before Covid hit.
I had a couple of roles to tide me over during Covid and, when lockdown restrictions started to ease, I was given the opportunity to take over Gorilla as Head Chef.
I was working long hours and never at home - I barely saw my girlfriend or the dog we have together - so I decided to take a step back for a bit and moved over to Station South in Levenshulme as a Sous Chef, working under Greg Lissaman - one of the nicest Head Chefs I've ever worked with in my life. Greg eventually left to spend more time with his family, so I took Station South over and was Head Chef there for two years.
I didn’t have any intention of leaving, but Andrew Green came knocking again and said “There’s an Exec Chef position available at this hotel. Are you interested?”
At first, I thought ‘No, I’m happy here. I’m alright.’ Normally, with hotels, you’ve got to conform. I thought it would be a case of ‘Here’s your recipe book, here’s your spec sheet,’ and so on, but when I looked into The Reach I realised it was something different.
When I spoke to the Head of Food & Drink, Nathaniel Farrell, he said “You can literally do whatever you want with the menu.”
Once as I’d had that first conversation with him on the phone I was 99% sold and, as soon as I stepped foot into the hotel I thought “Oh yeah, this is a bit of me, this,” and the rest was history.
Lock 84 pays homage to Manchester with its decor and nods to the area’s history. Can you explain a bit about this and perhaps how you tie Manchester’s heritage into your menus?
In every single department of the hotel and restaurant, there’s homage to the city. The name of the restaurant, Lock 84, is based around the lock just outside of it.
With full creative control over the menu and what we create here, it’s easy for me to tie in elements of the city - even down to using a local bread supplier or dairy supplier and so on. The ethos of the business is to try and use local suppliers as much as possible.
Being from Manchester myself, I use banks and banks of ingredients, recipes, and dish ideas to give a nod to the city we’re in. My favourite ingredient to use is Vimto. I was trying to put it in absolutely every single dish I can, but I actually got a complaint recently saying it's a very limited menu if you’re not a fan of Vimto, so I did reign it back in a bit! [laughs]
Vimto? That’s a new one! What about it makes it your favourite ingredient to use?
It works well in a balsamic because it's sweet and acidic at the same time, making it very versatile for salad dressings and for roasting things in. I also make a nice hoisin sauce with it and have braised red cabbage with it before. Anything that red wine goes in, really, can be substituted with Vimto.
The Vimto cheesecake and Vimto meringue is always a hit, too.
Do you have a favourite dish on the menu at the moment?
The menu changes so often so it's a tricky question, that one. But at the moment it's probably the peach and mozzarella salad - soon the peach will be changing to nectarines because the idea of the menu is that it's ever evolving. Seasonality ties into that but it’s also so we continue to offer a good price to the customer. If the price of asparagus suddenly shoots up 30%, we can flip the menu and substitute it for something else like green beans. It’s all about not passing those extravagant costs onto the customer and making every dish as good value for money as possible.
Another dish I’m enjoying at the moment is our baked fish dish, served on a bed of triple cooked chips with a pea and tahini mint dip puree - it’s our take on fish and chips. We don’t batter the fish, but season it with lemon oil and salt and roll it into a rose kind-of shape then bake it. It’s a lighter, healthier small plate version which gives you the option to order another plate of something different.
What makes working at Lock 84 so enjoyable for you? How is it different from other places you’ve worked?
I’ve been here for nearly six months now and can see myself growing already. I’ve already developed countless menus and found my niche. There’s lots of different avenues I can take and I can see more of a career here.
Where do you see yourself and Lock 84 a year from now?
We’re growing, we’re getting more popular, and the feedback from customers has been amazing. So carrying on that journey is our number one goal.
But we’re always adapting what we offer, like introducing our supper clubs - we have two more coming up this month. We use local suppliers and bring in guest chefs who will co-write the menu with me, or I’ll write the menu but we show off their talent, supplies and products and just offer a really great dinner service for the night. I can see those becoming a more frequent thing.
Turning the restaurant into more of a destination is the idea and, a year down the line, I can really see that being established. If we could establish ourselves as a destination restaurant that would be great because we have so much to offer - we’re not like any old hotel where you just get the same branded menu. We really do think differently.
I’m surrounded by a fantastic team; Nathaniel, Peter, my team below me - we’re all growing together in this. I don’t know where it’s going to go but I can see a great future for us all.
In terms of myself, I think having gone into this role - the sky is the limit for me. Five years from now, I see myself still at the hotel, still cooking, still being creative and coming up with new ideas. As long as that continues, I’ll be happy.
Still putting Vimto on the menu?
Still putting Vimto on the menu. Maybe a little sponsorship with Vimto? [laughs]
Lock 84 Restaurant & Bar, The Reach at Piccadilly, 7 Ducie St, Manchester M1 2JB
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