Michelin-starred Northcote restaurant in Lancashire has been rated the best in the UK by Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best Restaurants awards.
I visited the restaurant (full review coming soon) to see if it lived up to expectations. And while he was there, he discovered that head chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen makes possibly the best fries he’s ever eaten.
They are pillow-soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. They even impressed my French partner, who is hard to impress.
What is the secret? Lisa was kind enough to divulge some of the steps she takes to achieve them when I spoke with her about her remarkable success.
The first step? A decent potato.
Lisa said: ‘To start with, we have the right potato.
‘You need a chopped potato (Maris Piper and King Edward potatoes, for example) and then we cook them in salted water and then fluff them as if they were roast potatoes.
‘That involves putting them in a pan or strainer and shaking them so they are fluffy on the outside.
Lisa Goodwin-Allen is head chef at Northcote restaurant in Lancashire, rated the best in the UK by Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best Restaurants awards.
‘And then we freeze them and cook them frozen.
“And what happens is the inside becomes very spongy, because it breaks down, and when we fry them, the outside becomes very crispy.”
If you want to try them at Northcote, you can order the aged filet of beef (£55), which comes with triple-cooked chips.
Or follow our lead and order chicken and chips for your child and eat the leftovers.
Of course, the restaurant’s success is not only due to the quality of the fries.
Lisa believes it comes from a desire to evolve and continue learning.
She says, ‘I think you have to keep evolving. Keep your team evolving. Keep evolving to be able to boost the people within your environment. Wanting to do better, learn more and achieve more.
“I love learning new things.”
Northcote’s triple-cooked crisps, which are “pillow-soft” on the inside and crispy on the outside
Northcote lies on the threshold of the Forest of Bowland National Landscape, east of Preston.
Many chefs will have noticed that Lisa has not included “yelling at people” as part of her modus operandi.
She confirms it: ‘We are not a kitchen that shouts. “We are very controlled and organized.”
Lisa will also take note of customer feedback and use it to improve.
She reveals, “We will always accept constructive feedback because that is how we can improve and improve.” We will always take it into account. “Some customers have valid points, so we always look at them and always respond to them.”
Most would agree: it sounds like a recipe for success.
When Lisa isn’t preparing award-winning food and studying customer reviews, you might find her eating at one of her favorite restaurants.
Northcote stands on the threshold of the Bowland Forest National Landscapeeast of Preston, and Lisa names Inn at Whitewell and The Parkers Arms as two local restaurants she loves to eat at.
Meanwhile, her favorite Michelin-starred restaurants include Taste of London (‘simple but delicious food’), Core by Clare Smyth (‘pure brilliance’), Da Terra, run by Rafael Cagali, and The Ledbury, where head chef Brett Graham is “doing amazing things.”
At home, Lisa says she likes to cook “traditional things” for her husband and son, like pizza and lasagna, but she will “swap out the protein for venison or chicken.”
“Good, humble food,” says Lisa.
I suspect it’s probably the best humble food you’ll ever eat.
Visit www.northcote.com.