Simon Rogan, the three-star chef-patron of L’Enclume in the Lake District, has been named Chef of the Year at the annual Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards. Rogan earned his third Michelin star for the celebrated restaurant earlier this year.
Stockport’s Where The Light Get In was another winner for the North West, scooping the Sustainability Award for chef Sam Buckley’s dedication to local produce and low intervention ingredients.
Juliane Caillouette-Noble, managing director of The Sustainable Restaurant Association, which judged the award, said: “Chef-patron Sam Buckley exemplifies the fantastic steps many restaurants are taking not only to source and serve the finest ingredients with minimal impact on the environment, but he is also going a big step further by bringing together farmers, their customers and the wider community to find solutions to some of the most serious issues in our food system.”
L’Enclume is the first restaurant in the north to have ever been awarded the coveted three Michelin stars, which it did earlier this year. It also hit headlines last month after it raised the cost of its tasting menu to £250, citing the cost of living crisis.
The award for Restaurant of the Year went to Ynyshir, the country house hotel restaurant run by chef Gareth Ward, and which also won the award for Best Restaurant in Wales too. Lancashire two-star restaurant Moor Hall dropped to second place in the rankings this year, after being top for two years running, though it won the award for Best Restaurant in England.
Meanwhile, the legendary Ruth Rodgers, chef and owner at the revered River Cafe, won this year’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
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