Liverpool chef Paul Askew is keen to offer Grand National visitors a "proper Rolls Royce job" at his Aintree restaurant this year.
The renowned chef patron of much-loved The Art School Restaurant continues to make his mark on the city, with the high end venue one of Liverpool's leading fine dining restaurants. The swanky spot uses locally sourced food and globally-sourced beverages as part of efforts to create a unique experience for diners, all against the beautiful backdrop of its Sugnall Street venue.
The restaurant's luxurious main dining room offers a range of seasonal menus, which celebrate the best of the region's artisanal producers and vineyards. The Art School's reputation has seen it set up shop at the prestigious Aintree Racecourse.
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The famed local chef originally partnered up with The Jockey Club in 2020, before the ramifications of the coronavirus pandemic saw major events - including the Grand National - cancelled. The annual racing extravaganza made its triumphant return in 2022, with The Art School at Aintree on hand to wine and dine the masses.
This year, the restaurant will open its doors to ticket holders once more, with Paul and The Art School team's plans well underway to ensure the experience is a wholly positive one.
Speaking to the ECHO about their plans, Paul, 57, said: "The planning for this year started the minute we finished last year - we've literally been planning all the way through. The theme this year is Red Rum's 50th anniversary [of his first Grand National success].
"We've designed a new afternoon tea - which is the final furlong, as we call it here at The Art School at Aintree - and we use a rum and pineapple cake, with Liverpool Lost Dock rum, so it's a red rum cake that's taking centre stage at our afternoon tea. The jockey club have launched a newly refurbished Red Rum bar this year too, so it's all on theme."
The menu features a range of decadent dining options, with dishes including cold-smoked fillet of chalk stream trout, roast breast of Cumbrian salt-aged duck and confit leg bonbon, fillet of black Angus beef and slow-braised ox cheek with wild garlic persillade, sweet treats, afternoon tea, and more.
The Art School at Aintree is a special edition venue, specifically open for the Grand National Festival - but Paul believes this could change. He said: "It's just open for the National but the Jockey Club often talk about how we could utilise it at other events. It's still a bit crazy out there [after covid] but as we move on, we'll start working on other things.
"I just wish we could get all the costs under control - we've gone from one extreme to the other, the demand is there again and people are keen to get out and about, but the costs are keeping them away."
Plans are currently underway, with the venue setting up ahead of the big weekend. It's a hectic time, but the chef is delighted to be in the thick of it. Paul, from Wirral, continued: "It's all happening - equipment, crockery, glassware; it's all started arriving. The furniture has gone in, too.
"We also have additional kitchen equipment that needs to be installed too for our tasting menu, then we start with the food from Monday onwards. We love doing it; it's a labour of love. It's never a chore, it's always about doing something lovely for people. We love the adrenaline and running around, looking after people.
"We've redeveloped some of the treats on arrival. We have an ice sculpture on arrival that's covered in seafood, there's some wonderful champagnes and wines; it'll be a wonderful way to start the day. We think of food as edible art."
There's a number of other changes ticket holders can expect to see. Paul explained a memorial garden has been erected at the front of the restaurant in tribute to Rose Paterson, who became the Jockey Club Racecourses' first female chairman after succeeding the fourth Baron Daresbury in 2014, before her tragic death in 2020.
Paul said: "She was absolutely adored - we were lucky enough to cook for her on a few occasions. I still have a handwritten letter off her that I treasure because she was such a lovely lady."
Of the impact the Grand National Festival has on the city, Paul, who will be celebrating his birthday on the final day of the festival, said: "It's a huge excitement, the city comes alive when it's Grand National time. For us, having just done the first year after waiting so long after covid - they nearly cancelled it in 2022, too - we were right down to the wire, so we were so delighted to be there.
"This year, it feels like we've got some momentum. I love it, I think the atmosphere is second to none - the excitement has only grown."
Explaining the attention to detail that goes into creating the menu for such a hotly anticipated event, Paul added: "We take a lot of time to match up each dish with a fine wine, it's not just your Echo Falls I can tell you, it's a proper Rolls Royce job, this one. Then, straight from that, we're straight into Eurovision - there's no rest for the wicked."
The Grand National 2023 is taking place from Thursday, April 13 until Saturday, April 15. It is held at Aintree racecourse. ECHO reporters will be at Aintree over the course of the festival to keep you updated on all the latest news from the event.
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