Lisa Goodwin-Allen

Lisa Goodwin-Allen is one of the most innovative and exciting UK chefs. She has been Executive Chef at one-Michelin-star Northcote in Lancashire since 2017, taking over aged 23. She is a regular on British TV, on shows such as Great British Menu and MasterChef: The Professionals.

The chef

Born in Lancashire, Goodwin-Allen became interested in cooking at school enjoying the opportunity to be creative and express herself. Her culinary career began at Lancaster & Morecambe College. After graduating, she worked in several prestigious restaurants, including the two Michelin-starred Le Champignon Sauvage in Gloucester.

After joining Northcote aged 20, Goodwin-Allen became Chef de Partie after a year, Junior Sous Chef the following year then at the age of 23 was named Head Chef, one of the youngest chefs to take on the role in a Michelin-starred kitchen at the time. Since then she has helped to maintain the restaurant’s Michelin star which it has held for over 20 years.

Her accolades include Hotel Chef of the Year at The Hotel Cateys in 2019, alongside being shortlisted for the AA Chef’s Chef of the Year 2019 and a finalist for The Roux Scholarship. In 2020, Goodwin-Allen was one of a handful of veteran judges to star on the Great British Menu Christmas Special, creating dishes for a unique banquet honoring the NHS and key workers who played a central role during the Coronavirus pandemic, where she got to serve her dish of rabbit and leek turnover to the then Prince Charles.

Restaurant

Northcote is a 26-room luxury hotel and Michelin-starred restaurant in Lancashire’s picturesque Ribble Valley. Goodwin-Allen leads the award-winning restaurant, crafting exquisite dishes that celebrate the bounty of Lancashire’s fresh, seasonal produce, delivered with warmth and expertise, as they describe it, “real northern hospitality.”

The room is comfortable, with modern décor and garden views that connect the dishes to the landscapes they originate from. Service is attentive and the room has a buzzy chatter, making dining there a relaxed affair. Like the surroundings, the plating is modern and sophisticated, with fun elements.

Several set menus are available at lunch and dinner, offering a maximum of five courses, alongside an à la carte at dinner. A vegetarian set menu is also available.

For large groups, there is the option of the chef’s table with room for 16, where diners can watch the dishes being prepared before they’re served, in an intimate environment that demands conviviality

Recipes and dishes

Goodwin-Allen is passionate about using seasonal and locally sourced ingredients to incorporate her Lancashire roots into her creative dishes. She is always looking for interesting ingredients and techniques, experimenting with dishes where the ingredients and their flavors shine through.

Northcote’s ethos is to use local suppliers. Goodwin-Allen believes many unsung heroes and new generations are developing new products she likes to discover and work with.

Her dishes might include some of the best ingredients the region and the wider British Isles have to offer, including chalk stream trout, native lobster, Lake District lamb, and seasonal British cheeses, presented in elegant ways in dishes that burst with flavor.

Lisa’s impressive culinary skills have landed her regular TV appearances. She can be seen on James Martin’s Saturday Morning, and has judged and mentored on MasterChef: The Professionals and Celebrity MasterChef. She is perhaps best known as one of the veteran judges on BBC1’s Great British Menu.