2 Michelin Star Chefs: Mark Birchall, Chef Patron, Moor Hall Restaurant with Rooms

Mark Birchall is the chef patron of two Michelin-starred, Moor Hall Restaurant with Rooms in Lancashire

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2011 Roux scholar Mark Birchall has worked at some of the best restaurants in the UK including Northcote and L'Enclume. Within two years of joining owners Andy and Tracey Bell to oversee the food offering at Moor Hall, the restaurant had earned a flurry of awards including two Michelin stars and five AA Rosettes.

Biography

Mark was born in Chorley, Lancashire and trained at Runshaw College. He started his career at The Walnut Tree in Abergavenny, Wales with Franco Taruschio, before taking on roles at Northcote and Haighton Manor.

In 2006, Mark joined Simon Rogan at L’Enclume as a sous-chef. He was promoted to the position of head chef in 2008 and won the Roux Scholarship in 2011.

In 2014, he was named group executive chef of Northern Operations for the Umbel Restaurant Group - overseeing the group's offering across its Cartmel, Cumbria and Manchester sites. 

Never one to curtail his ambition, Mark left the group in 2015 to open his own restaurant, which he did two years later.

Moor Hall Restaurant with Rooms

Moor Hall is a grade II* listed gentry house from the sixteenth century, located in Aughton, near Ormskirk in West Lancashire. Mark joined forces with business partners Andy and Tracy Bell to renovate the property into Moor Hall Restaurant with Rooms, which opened in March 2017.

The 50-cover restaurant has tables that seat up to six guests. Their private dining room, ‘The Argonne Room’ also seats up to 14.

The final conversion to the property, The Barn, is a casual dining space with a bar, which opened in October 2017.

Moor Hall also has a kitchen garden, a cheese room serving cheeses handmade by local farmers and a wine cellar in which to store their 350-bin wine list.  

In 2017, just six months after opening, Moor Hall received its first Michelin star in the Michelin Guide UK 2018. In 2018, it received five AA rosettes and a second star in the Michelin Guide UK 2019.

Food Style

Mark’s modern British cuisine showcases the best of local produce, wherever possible grown on site in their kitchen garden. Guests can choose between a four-course menu and an eight-course menu, with dishes such as Holstein Friesian, barbecued celeriac, mustard and shallot; Sladesdown duck with blackcurrant, sweetcorn, beetroot ragu and whey;
Apples & pears with woodruff, birch sap and apple marigold.

In an interview with The Staff Canteen  just after opening the restaurant, Mark explained his thoughts on how he delivers value for money with his offering.

“Paying 95 quid to eat a meal is a lot of money," he said.

“Whether it’s in the quality of the ingredients, the extra touches, making people feel special – plus there’s nothing more important than feeling relaxed. All of these things add to the experience."

Accolades

On the same year it received a second Michelin star, Moor Hall was named Best Breakthrough at the GQ Food & Drink Awards and earned four Rosettes.

The following year, it and was then awarded a fifth Rosette, before being crowned best restaurant by the UK in the Estrella Damm National Restaurant Awards 2019.

It kept hold of the title in 2020 as the awards didn't run due to the pandemic, then secured the top spot for a second time in 2021.

Videos of Mark Birchall: