Hotel Cateys award win reaffirms the Northern chef's star quality
Proving what we already knew - that the quality of cooking up North more than rivals what's happening south of the Peak District - Lisa Goodwin-Allen of Northcote in Langho has bagged an award for Hotel Chef of the Year.
As the only shortlisted chef from the North, and incidentally the only female, Lisa battled off competition from other esteemed chefs
The award from the prestigious Hotel Cateys saw Allen staving off fierce competition from a bevy of big players mostly from in and around London. The gong is dished out to an outstanding executive chef in charge of the food and beverage performance of a hotel with less than 250 covers in one sitting.
The Hotel Catey awards launched in 2007 as an offshoot of The Cateys, which have been described as The Oscars of the catering world. Designed to recognise the most successful hotels, hoteliers and hotel employees across the UK, The Hotel Cateys are considered an independent barometer of operational excellence in the hotel industry. Entrants are evaluated not only by key industry experts but crucially by their peers as well.
As the only shortlisted chef from the North, and incidentally the only female, Lisa battled off competition from other esteemed chefs including Aaron Patterson of Hambleton Hall in Rutland, George Blogg from Gravetye Manor in Sussex, Niall Keating of Whatley Manor in The Cotswolds and Tony Fleming at L'Oscar London.
With Allen at the wheel, Northcote retained its Michelin star this year having held onto it for more than 20 years - in continuation of the legacy set by her mentor and predecessor Nigel Haworth. The trophy cabinet at the hotel must be groaning under the weight of all the well deserved accolades they have stacked up over the years. The restaurant also boasts four AA Rosettes. Allen has even cooked for Prince Charles but we reckon her proudest moment to date must surely be the cool 17.5/20 review score from our Gordo when he visited in 2018.
If you want to see for yourself why everyone is singing Lisa Goodwin-Allen's praises, Northcote is taking bookings throughout the Christmas period and Lisa is hosting a Glorious Game event on December 5th with Ben Tish, culinary director of Norma in London.
