WHEN it comes to Michelin stars, Manchester is the Leo DiCaprio of the UK dining scene.
All trumpets, no Oscar/Michelin star. Some think it an outrage, others couldn't give a monkeys, but much like Leo we know it's coming - we just don't know when.
The mystery Michelin-starred chef and restaurant are said to be 'looking to dip their toes into Northern waters'
Still, it seems some in Manchester aren't willing to wait for an inspector to pin that la-di-da-star on the city's lapel.
Confidential has received word from inside the B.Eat Street camp (Food Fights, Up In Your Grill) that they're currently in negotiations with a mystery Michelin-starred chef to open a 'pop-up restaurant' in Manchester.
Details are currently being thrashed out, but Confidential has learnt that the temporary restaurant could seat 60 to 70 people around a 'huge chef's table with open kitchen' in the Great Northern on Deansgate.
The mystery Michelin-starred chef and restaurant - who are 'looking to dip their toes into Northern waters' - will host evening tables for two to three weeks, six days a week, in early-2015 following the New Year's Eve Food Fight event in Great Northern.
Food Fight, Great Northern
The idea was borne of Noma's ten-day pop-up at Claridge's in London
Organisers are remaining tight-lipped about the chef, even the type of cuisine, but one insider told Confidential that they've been in discussions with a number of Michelin-starred chefs in recent weeks and look set to nail one down in the next few days.
The menu will likely feature a fixed-price taster menu (well, what else?). There's no word on the price as yet... but we'd bring a second wallet.
Confidential is told that the idea was borne of Copenhagen's two-star Noma restaurant (four-time winner of 'Best Restaurant In The World') undertaking a ten-day pop-up at London's famed Claridge's hotel back in 2012.
Luxury London department store Harrod's recently launched a similar operation in September with five Michelin-starred chefs each invited to headline a monthly pop-up restaurant at the store over the course of five months.
The news of Manchester's own potential Michelin-starred pop-up comes as the B.Eat Street collective and bosses at the Great Northern seek to agree a two-year lease extension on the previously empty unit at Great Northern following the success of Food Fight MCR (which has now opened on both Friday and Saturday nights to deal with festive demand).
According to our insider, preliminary plans are already in place to host more food, arts and cultural events and exhibitions at the Grade II listed former Great Northern Railways goods warehouse come next year.
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