The winner of Chef of the Year at the Manchester Food and Drinks Awards has said she’s leaving acclaimed Ramsbottom restaurant Baratxuri to head off ‘on a new path’.
Rachel Stockley has been chef at the Basque-inspired restaurant since 2015, and beat the likes of Adam Reid from The French and Simon Martin, of Michelin-starred Mana, to the prize last year.
“In October 2015, I joined Baratxuri,” she said in a statement on Twitter.
“It was a brand new pintxo in the middle of a rural northern town I’d never step foot in. It has no menu and it was a concept the locals at first thought odd.
“And I was told by [co-owner Joe Botham] ‘This is yours to take as far as you can’. I’d found my dream. A small kitchen to immerse myself in and demonstrate my love for cooking. In the six years that followed, I could not have imagined the journey Baratxuri would take me on.
“It is with a heavy heart to say now my journey has come to an end, and it is time for me to find a new path.
“I have nothing but gratitude and respect for Joe and [co-owner] Fiona. 100% grafters. I thank them for giving me that opportunity to let me find my feet. Get to the core of Basque cooking and together grow into what we’ve become today.
“I’m so proud of the team I’ve worked with, the awards we worked hard to bring home and the levels of alcohol consumed at the many industry events!
“Each year we’ve taken on new challenges together and our greatest achievement of all. Probably surviving the last two years.
“Ramsbottom you will always have a place in my heart and especially to those regulars that I’ve come to regard as friends. I am convinced Levanter and Baratxuri have the most loyal customers and it is you guys that have kept us here until now.
“I look forward to joining you all for a cana and a pintxo on the other side.
“As for my future now, please do not watch this space. My plan is to take some time out to reflect and walk my dog Alma.
“The freedom to dream is what is in front of me now, with the pleasure of time and space.”
Owners Joe and Fiona Botham first opened tapas restaurant Levanter on Square Street in Ramsbottom in 2014, after starting as a street food pop-up in 2011. Baratxuri was then opened in 2015 next door on the adjacent Smithy Street, with the couple eventually knocking the two restaurants into one in 2017.
They then opened their Baratxuri grill at Escape To Freight Island in 2020.
Both Levanter and Baratxuri have received rave reviews from national critics ( and five stars from the MEN ), with Baratxuri also winning Best Restaurant at last year’s Manchester Food and Drink Awards.
Of Stockley’s departure, they said: “Thank you Rach for the last six years, for everything we’ve achieved together, your dedication, incredible work ethic, talent and belief in the beauty of Basque cookery. We wish you all the very best.”
Levanter head chef Yvonne Lumb will take over both kitchens for the time being.
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