The chef behind a Lake District restaurant, which was awarded its third Michelin star last month, has said he would be open to returning to to Manchester, saying he'd make the move "in a heartbeat".
Simon Rogan took over The French restaurant at The Midland Hotel in 2013, leaving three years later to open the restaurant Fera at Claridge’s in London.
As well as L’Enclume in Cartmel, he now has restaurants all over the world, including Aulis in London, another Aulis in Hong Kong and Henrock, at Linthwaite House in the Lake District.
READ MORE: Lake District restaurant awarded three Michelin stars as other North West winners revealed
Speaking at the Northern Restaurant and Bar show, and reported by the Manchester Evening News, Mr Rogan said: "Well you’ve just got to look around, the development, the bars, the excitement around the place.
"I’ve always enjoyed my time here. Unfortunately it didn’t work out in the long run at The Midland, but that’s not to say we wouldn’t come back here in a heartbeat if the right proposition fell in our lap.
"I have been sworn to secrecy by [Rogan’s restaurant company MD] Sam Ward about what we may or may not be doing.
"We have lots of propositions going on all over the world at the moment, but Manchester is very much in our thoughts, and it’s something we’d really would love to come back to one day."
Mr Rogan added that now that L’Enclume has received its coveted third star, one of just eight others in the UK including Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck and Core by Clare Smyth, it could open the door for other restaurants in the region.
Moor Hall, outside Ormskirk, currently holds two stars, while The Barn at Moor Hall, its sister restaurant on the same site, was awarded its first in February.
"Anything’s possible,” he added. "It’s taken me 20 years, so keep going, keep patient, have perseverance and determination, and you will get there in the end. And the Lake District is having a bit of a renaissance at the moment.
"There are always more Michelin stars to earn, and always other places. The main focus at L’Enclume is keeping the standards up, keep at that level. And I have no qualms about that."
