Simon Rogan’s critically lauded L’Enclume has been given its third Michelin star, with Moor Hall’s sister restaurant The Barn at Moor Hall grabbing its first.
In a great day for northern restaurants, it means that L’Enclume is the only restaurant in the UK to be promoted to the coveted three stars this year.
“It would be hard to find a restaurant more immersed in the region in which it’s located than L'Enclume and the Lake District,” the guide said.
“It earned its first Michelin Star in 2005 and its second in 2013 – and is currently celebrating its 20th year. In that time, it has never stood still, establishing its own farm, showcasing the region's finest ingredients and following a strong sustainable ethos.
“An enormous amount of time and creativity goes into every superbly crafted, stimulating dish, which makes eating at this highly accomplished restaurant a truly memorable experience.”
It makes the restaurant the eighth three-star restaurant in the UK.
Rogan also relaunched The French restaurant at the Midland Hotel in Manchester in 2013, before handing it over to Adam Reid in 2016.
It comes alongside news that the sister restaurant of two Michelin star Moor Hall has been awarded its first Michelin star.
The Barn at Moor Hall, in Aughton, is in the grounds of Moor Hall, and run by chef Nathan Cornwell.
Tweeting the result, Michelin said that the ‘informal’ spot received the accolade for its ‘imaginative, flavour-packed dishes which use seasonal produce from the grounds’.
Moor Hall’s Mark Birchall tweeted congratulations following the announcement.
“Congratulations to @thebarnMH for winning their first Michelin star! I’m extremely proud of @NathanCornwell1 and the whole team,” he wrote.
The restaurant opened in 2017, the second restaurant at the site of the Grade II listed manor house outside Ormskirk.
Recent menus have included the likes of squab pigeon with confit leg parcel, quince puree and chutney sauce, and Aynhoe Estate Venison with confit parsnips, chanterelles and red cabbage.
Since then, it’s been lauded with praise from national critics.
Grace Dent in The Guardian said she was planning a return visit just five minutes after first arriving.
The accolades cement the north as becoming increasingly pivotal in the UK restaurant industry.
Other northern additions to the Guide include chef Ben Queen-Fryer's Dog and Gun Inn in Skelton, Cumbria.
Speaking to the Manchester Evening News, Thom Hetherington, CEO of the Northern Restaurant and Bar show, said: “It’s hard to emphasise quite what an achievement L’Enclume’s three stars are. Only eleven restaurants have ever been awarded three stars in the entire 49 year history of the UK Michelin Guide, and none have ever been outside of London and the South East.
"For me Simon and his team have been operating at the highest level for more than four years now, and I couldn’t be more thrilled that it’s finally been recognised in this way.
"And let’s not forget The Barn Hall at Moor Hall also picked up a star, to sit alongside the two stars for Moor Hall Itself, and that Cumbria already had more Michelin stars than any other county but with L’Enclume’s third and The Dog and Duck at Skelton picking up a new star it now has 10.
"It is truly a world class gastronomic destination, but the depth and breadth of talent right across the North, from Lancashire to Yorkshire, Northumbria to Cheshire is currently at an all-time high."
He went on: "The Michelin awards come off the back of a year when the National Restaurant Awards have declared four of the top five UK restaurants are in the North, and the Top 50 Gastropubs list put four of the top five gastropubs in the North.
"Levelling up may not have happened across the board, but it’s certainly happening in terms of food and drink. All of this success has been achieved in the teeth of the pandemic, but I honestly think the hospitality in the region will only hit greater heights from here.”
Mana in Manchester retains its single star, awarded in 2019, while hot-tipped Where The Light Gets In in Stockport sadly misses out once again.
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