Top Chefs Reveal Taste for World Cuisine

Local food isn’t all Chorley cakes and black pudding.  And this Chinese New Year you can experience some of the best cuisine from the Orient as well as food from around the globe. Lancashire’s diverse culinary mapis inspired by chefs and cooks inventing a fusion of the global tastes of home with ingredients from Lancashire.

We’re a county brimming with a vast array of alternative cuisines that mean pakoras happily sit alongside butter pie and egg fried rice is studded with brown shrimps from Morecambe Bay.

So, where do some of our leading Lancashire chefs go to immerse their taste buds in these flavours from around the world?

Lisa Goodwin-Allen, executive head chef at Northcote in Langho

Lancashire-lass, Morecambe-born Lisa Goodwin-Allen took over the reins of Michelin-starred Northcote in December 2017. Lisa is a mum and when she does have time to treat herself to a night out likes nothing more than a Chinese just 10 mins drive from Northcote.

Lisa Recommends: 

Yu & You, Copster Green
“Victor Yu, the chef, is a master of Chinese cuisine. It’s very tasty food and it’s enjoyable for all the family to go and eat at in a great atmosphere. It’s been proven as they’ve been named The Best Chinese in the North at the British Chinese Food Awards.  It’s incredibly high quality and really tasty food. It’s a place I love to visit.”
Shajan, Blackburn
“The Shajan is a bit more relaxed and is great for Chinese and curries. If you really want a curry, this is absolutely the place you go to. I like places that are more relaxing and have different food to the style I’m used to cooking at Northcote. They have such fantastic flavour combinations. Again, it’s a great place for all of the family.”

Steve Smith, chef patron from Freemasons at Wiswell 

Number 1 Pub in the Good Food Guide, No. 4 in the Top 50 Gastropubs, and a Sunday Times Top 100 Restaurant, 2018 is turning out to be Lancashire chef Steven Smith’s year. When he’s not cooking great British pub food, Steve is also a big fan of Yu & You and loves a curry with chef friends.  

Steven recommends: 

Bukhara, Blackburn
“Something of a hidden gem, Bukhara is a venue myself and all the chefs like to go to for a meet up. The food is authentic, fresh and given that it doesn’t serve alcohol, that gives you an indication of how good the food tastes because we go back time and time again!”

Yu & You, Copster Green

I’m a big fan of Yu & You and have been going for many years. The menu is fantastic, the main issue is trying to decide what to have! The atmosphere is always inviting, and it always feels like a real treat to dine there

Chris Bury, head chef at The Cartford Innin Little Eccleston

Chris was born and raised on the Fylde coast, where he learned to cook from a young age and later trained to be a chef. Chris’s career has since seen him work at several prestigious venues including Claridge’s and

Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck. In 2015, Chris returned to Lancashire, as head chef at The Cartford Inn. When he has time off he loves exploring the Fylde and Blackpool, where he grew up

Chris recommends:  

Boonnak Thai, Blackpool
“I travelled around Asia when I was 18 and Boonnak has the most authentic food outside of Asia I have tried. I am so lucky to have it on my doorstep. A lot of Asian restaurants fall into catering for the English palate but Boonnak has stuck true to its origins. The raw papaya salad has so much chilli fire, saltiness and crunch it takes me straight back to Asia whenever I eat it.”

Anatolia, St Annes 
“It’s a Turkish restaurant that I love and there is one dish that I can’t get away from – grilled lamb ribs and herbs on the open coals. Beautiful fatty ribs that make you gnaw all the meat off right down to the bone.”

Pulci Pizza, Poulton le Fylde
“A small independently run pizza/pasta place with a small menu, great atmosphere and no hassle dining. It’s perfect for when a chef just wants to enjoy a night out without analysing someone else’s cooking, I can go there to fully relax, switch off and have a social time with friends.”
Also recommended by Oli Martin from Hipping Hall in Cowan Bridge, for its fine ingredients and welcoming atmosphere.

Oli Martin, head chef at Hipping Hall in Cowan Bridge, near Kirkby Lonsdale

Oli has worked at the likes of Northcote, Blackburn and the Gilpin Hotel, as well as in France and as far afield as Sydney. A native of Lytham he’s a fan of sourced from the doorstep high end Lancashire cuisine as well as chips & gravy.

Oli recommends:  

Bangkok Thai, Lytham
“They serve excellent proper Thai dishes that haven’t been toned down too much for the British palette. Basic décor but that’s not what it’s about, it’s all about the food.”

Olive Tree, Preston
“They have a huge menu with loads of choice for everyone. Great for family gatherings, with super tasty, well sourced Greek ingredients served in a traditional format.”

Further recommendations include

Brizola Bar and Grill, Clitheroe

This small Greek restaurant in the centre of Clitheroe is famed for its relaxed Mediterranean atmosphere and show-stopping Sunday roast to share. Check it out online and you’ll discover it appears at the top of the ranks for Clitheroe restaurants, which is a town renowned for great eating places.