Northcote: Michelin-starred restaurant appoints new head chef - ex Gleneagles and Sat Bains chef joins the Lisa Goodwin-Allen team

Liam, who has previously held the role of chef de partie at the two Michelin star Restaurant Andrew Fairlie at The Gleneagles Hotel in Scotland, will be working under ‘Chef of the Year’, Lisa Goodwin-Allen.

Liam will be working closely with Lisa to head up the current kitchen at Northcote, which has retained its Michelin star for 26 consecutive years.

So who is Liam Rogers?

Warrington-born chef Liam has worked in restaurants his entire life; his father had a restaurant in his local village and he spent six years working there as a teenager.

Now, with more than 10 years of restaurant experience, Liam is passionate about fine dining and really getting under the skin of a region and the ingredients it produces.

Previously to his role at The Gleneagles Hotel, where he also started his fine dining career in 2015, he held the position of junior sous chef at two-Michelin starred Restaurant Sat Bains in Nottingham, and was also a MasterChef Professionals 2021 finalist, impressing judges with his flavour combinations, before returning to Gleneagles.

Style

Liam’s cooking style is minimalist, flavour driven and ingredient-led, and he draws inspiration from places he has been.

He said: “Lisa is ultimately what attracted me to the role at Northcote. She is renowned for her fantastic training culture and is incredibly passionate about developing people and helping to create a path for their successful careers, this is something that’s really important to me.

“Lisa is an amazing person and she’s a great chef and I loved watching her on Great British Menu. She judged me on MasterChef too and she gave me good feedback which really stood out. She gave me points on things to work on which helped me get to next level.

"The kitchen at Northcote is really impressive, I’m excited to be able to put everything I’ve learnt in my career so far into a head chef role and working with the great chefs within the team.

“I’m also looking forward to exploring the region, I grew up 20 minutes down the road but I haven’t spent much time in the Ribble Valley. The area produces some fantastic ingredients so I’ve got lots of trips planned to meet local suppliers, farmers and growers when I start at the end of January. I’m passionate about sourcing sustainably and am keen to demonstrate that. I just can’t wait to get started.”

What does Lisa think?

Lisa Goodwin-Allen, executive chef, said: “Liam is a highly motivated individual with the drive and ambition to learn all skills required to succeed, which I spotted when he was on MasterChef, he stood out to me as someone who was very creative, focused and calm, which is the type of chef that I want in my kitchen.

"Liam is also passionate about nurturing the team, as am I, so I am confident we will work well together. I’m very excited for him to join my team and seeing what the future has in store for Northcote.”

Seven days a week

The Lango venue will be returning to a seven-day operation from Monday, April 3.

Speaking about the return to a seven-day operation, Craig Bancroft, managing director at Northcote commented: “We personally, and the industry as a whole, have faced a very challenging time with recruitment following lockdown, so I’m delighted to be able to say that we have a full team which allows us to return to opening Northcote every day of the week. We can now start to offer more of our two night experiences.”