Paul Askew, Chef Patron at Liverpool's prestigious The Art School restaurant on Sugnall St, is a food pioneer.
Loved and well known throughout the city of Liverpool and his Wirral home, Paul is also one of the country's most popular chefs. Having just celebrated the end of his 40th anniversary in the food and drink industry, Paul’s newest venture, Barnacle, is already fast approaching its first birthday at the end of November.
Nestled up on the Duke Street Market mezzanine, Paul has worked alongside Bone and Block’s Harry Marquart to create an intimate Scouse brassiere. Having recently spoken to Paul at The Art School, I was taken by how warm and funny he is.
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So incredibly passionate about Liverpool's culinary offerings, Paul told me he doesn’t mind who brings the city its first Michelin Star, just so long as Liverpool’s on the map. The private dining room in The Art School is named after Paul’s late mother whom he nicknamed Moriarty after her love for Sherlock Holmes.
The room is filled with things she loved and the trinkets she acquired on their family travels around the world. Barnacle is named after Paul's father, who he called Captain Barnacle Bill. Paul's father was not just a sea captain, but also Paul's inspiration, and the reason Paul’s so well travelled.
It’s clear that family is at the heart of everything Paul does and during our conversation, I couldn’t help but wonder what it must be like to be Paul's son, Harry, who’s worked for his dad in various roles since he was 15. So, when I was offered the opportunity to speak to Harry, I jumped at the chance.
What was it like growing up with such a popular chef as your dad?
It was a fascinating and fun time for me. I was born in 2000 and The London Carriage Works opened in 2002. So, it's always been a part of my life. The hotel was the first ownership my dad had of any venue, so he could really put his own mark on it.
I’m technically an only child, but in those days I certainly felt like I had another sibling - there was so much going on all the time. I’d often go in the hotel and to his work. He worked long hours. I used to wait up to try and see him, even on school nights.
Sundays were our day together. That’s when he used to take me to rugby training. He actually coached the team from when I was about seven, until I was 16. He used to play rugby too, so rugby was always something we shared together and bonded over.
How old were you when you started working with your dad?
I started working as a Kitchen Porter at The Art School when I was 16 – my dad launched that in 2014. I’d work on a Saturday night and was probably a terrible KP, but I needed to be thrown in at the deep end to learn.
He never wrapped me in cotton wool or gave me any special treatment, but he also never forced any of the culinary stuff on to me. He always left it open to me. Just to work and figure things out myself until I could find what I’m genuinely interested in.
I’ve been very lucky to have had the opportunity to see what it's like being a chef both in the restaurant and outside of work, and running a hospitality business with so many moving parts.
You chose not to be a chef, as you prefer other parts of the industry...
I’m an operations manager now, but I’ve worked in every area of the business, except the cooking. I started out as a waiter and progressed through the front of house team to private dining.
The Moriarty room is named after my grandma, and I loved that. There are toys and trinkets in there that I remember from my childhood.
How does working together effect your relationship?
Lots of different ways. In the past three years it's been a massive learning curve for the both of us. But I think working together as well as living together he treats me less like a son and more like a friend sometimes.
In work he’s very careful how that comes across to the rest of the team. I wouldn’t want it any other way. It brought us a lot closer and it allows us to be very matter of fact when we're talking to each other. We both tend to get to the point very quickly. But we get on very well together, both in and out of work. We socialise together very well, his title of 'chef' has stuck so I always call him that.
In 2001 dad re-mortgaged our house and took a massive gamble. But look, all his hard work has created something truly amazing, that we can all enjoy and sit and talk about today. I really admire my dad for that.
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