Not only was Lisa Allen the first female chef to win the regional heats but also to win a course in the history of Great British Menu. In 2010, Lisa cooked her, 'Levens Hall Wild Rabbit & Leek Turnover, Piccalilli' for Prince Charles at the Banquet in celebration of the National Trust.Born in Lancashire in 1981, Lisa very quickly realised that food was her passion in life as she excelled at Home Economics in school. In her pursuit of excellence Lisa attended Lancaster and Morecombe College to study catering and upon graduation she secured her first position in an established kitchen; she joined the Michelin starred Holbeck Ghyll in the Lake District as a Commis Chef in 2000. Lisa recalls of her first experiences in the real world:“I think at that age it is quite daunting coming out of college because you don’t understand all the ins and outs of the kitchen. But it gave me a good understanding of what to expect in the real world, as well as a good grafting, and made me realise what kind of catering I wanted to go into.”Over the next two years Lisa honed her culinary skills as she moved onto the remarkable two Michelin starred Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham to learn from David Everitt-Matthias and his team, again as a Commis Chef. Lisa’s ambition to be the best at what she does continued and it was here that she realised that in order to succeed in the industry she would have to go above and beyond her male counterparts.“It’s a little harder for a woman to succeed in this industry, but you’ve got to get out there and prove yourself, and once you’ve gone and done that you’ve just got to keep on going.”Wanting to return to her roots and having developed a strong working relationship with Nigel Haworth, of the famous Northcote, through her part-time job for his outside catering company during her college years, it felt right for Lisa to take up a position at his Michelin starred restaurant as a Demi Chef de Partie. Under the pupilage of Chef Patron Nigel, Lisa, after only four years and at the tender age of 23, was promoted to Head Chef becoming one of the youngest females to hold this position at such a high calibre restaurant, and in doing so joined a very small club of female chefs at the helm of a Michelin starred restaurants. Northcote has successfully retained the star ever since.Lisa and Northcote’s passion for local produce and regional cooking has led her to win such as accolades as Best Chef Of The Year at the 2008 Northern Hospitality Awards, a title that she modestly accepted as “fortunate”. She has reiterated this philosophy by arranging stages for her team and through her own impressive showings in major competitions, such as Young Chef Young Waiter and the Roux Scholarship. Not content with all of this, she has got involved in her community by assisting in cookery demonstrations at local schools in a bid to encourage young, talented individuals to enter the industry.With Northcote’s eyes firmly set on a second Michelin star and with Lisa having reached the finals of the hugely coveted BBC2’s Great British Menu for 2010, Lisa Allen is well and truly on the path to becoming one of the most respected chefs currently plying her trade.
She is originally from Ireland and prior to her role at MSK spent many years working in restaurant kitchens for acclaimed chefs such as John Burton Race, Alan Murchison and Tom Aiken.Vicky is a pastry chef by trade and has used her knowledge of the kitchen environment to help her to demonstrate new and innovative products to chefs eager for fresh concepts and methods.Molecular Gastronomy is a fascinating subject and is as practical as it is innovative. Vicky has development methods and techniques that can be used by all.
Will worked for over a decade in Michelin - starred establishments before taking on the challenge of opening La Bécasse. He began his career at Homewood Park Hotel, Bath, where he was employed by renowned Chef, Gary Jones (now Raymond Blanc’s Executive Chef at Le Manoir aux Quat Saisons.) Gary and Andy Hamer inspired Will to develop his talent and focus on excellence from a young age. After three years at Homewood Park, Will spent over three years at Gravetye Manor Hotel, West Sussex, under Chef de Cuisine, Mark Raffan. Here, Will was taught, along with many other things, the importance of using produce from your doorstep. In 2004, Will met Alan Murchison and went to work at L’ortolan Restaurant, Berkshire. Will was one of the original team that opened L’ortolan under Alan Murchison as the business proprietor. He has worked for Alan for over 8 (happy!) years now. In early 2007, Alan Murchison bought Hibiscus Restaurant in Ludlow, the foodie Capital of Great Britain and re-opened the restaurant as La Bécasse in July 2007.
star. Following other ventures, he finally settled at the St Enodoc Hotel in Rock, Cornwall where his fine dining Restaurant Nathan Outlaw now holds 2 Michelin stars. Alongside this is The Seafood & Grill where his team of chefs cook under Nathan’s guidance. In both settings, Nathan is proud to champion local fish, meat and produce cooked simply to showcase the flavours.The Staff Canteen team are taking a different approach to keeping our website independent and delivering content free from commercial influence. Our Editorial team have a critical role to play in informing and supporting our audience in a balanced way. We would never put up a paywall and restrict access – The Staff Canteen is open to all and we want to keep bringing you the content you want; more from younger chefs, more on mental health, more tips and industry knowledge, more recipes and more videos. We need your support right now, more than ever, to keep The Staff Canteen active. Without your financial contributions this would not be possible.
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