A popular Cheshire restaurant, featured in the Michelin and Good Food guides, is "proud" to be celebrating its fifth birthday.
Next Door, based in Frodsham - which is a 40 minute drive from Liverpool - has built a reputation for being one of Cheshire's top rated fine dining establishments. First opened in 2017, the restaurant is based in a picturesque market town that was once home to A List celebrities Daniel Craig and Gary Barlow.
Next Door is the product of a marriage between a chef and a sommelier, Richard and Vicki Nuttall. It is housed in a 17th century timber frame cottage that was once home to Vicki's great grandfather's, grandfather's and then father's butchers' shop. The shop, H E Coward, is still in the family and continues to thrive - based just a few doors down, it provides the restaurant with its meat.
READ MORE: Restaurant 'abandons' reputation for major changes due to cost of living crisis
The first few years of business for any restaurant are often highly challenging, but despite facing a global pandemic and the current cost-of-living crisis, Next Door continues to go from strength to strength. It has been listed in the prestigious Michelin and Good Food guides, as well as becoming the second highest rated fine dining restaurant in Cheshire, according to TripAdvisor.
Restaurant manager and sommelier Vicki has more than 15 years' experience in hospitality, food and wine retail, including working for the prestigious Michael Caines Restaurant Group. Reflecting on the milestone, she said: "We are extremely proud to reach this landmark, despite what has been a challenging few years to say the least. Our thanks have to go to our amazing team and to our loyal customers, who create the unique atmosphere that we have become known for.
"My family has a long history in the food industry in Frodsham, and we are always conscious that many of our diners are our neighbours. We put absolutely everything into making each experience as special as possible – from providing first class service to finding the perfect wine for every dish."
The restaurant used the pandemic well, making a number of improvements to the interior, and with head chef Richard and some of his team gaining experience at the family butcher. This helped the restaurant to build on its 'nose to tail' philosophy, aiming to use every part of the animal in food preparation and letting nothing go to waste.
Having gained experience at some of the country's best rated restaurants, including London's Petrus (now Marcus Wareing at the Berkley) and The Savoy, as well as spells in France and the Caribbean, Richard now leads the kitchen at Next Door. Explaining his approach, he said: "The vast majority of the produce used comes from suppliers based as near as possible to Frodsham, which enables the restaurant to produce sustainable, fresh and seasonal food. We put together a new lunch menu every week, and new dinner and tasting menus every month to ensure that we can showcase ingredients at their best.
"Opening Next Door has been a dream come true for both of us, and we're extremely proud of everything that the team has achieved so far. Here's to the next five years." For more information about Next Door, click here.
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