Northcote celebrates 15 years of culinary magic with Obsession

Michelin-starred restaurant and country-house hotel Northcote celebrates its 30th anniversary together with the 15th year of its annual gastronomic event, Obsession.

Bigger and better than any of its predecessors, Obsession 15 will see chef patron Nigel Haworth and a galaxy of Michelin stars descend on Northcote in January, for a series of showstopping dinners that will showcase local produce with truly global flavour. Taking place across both the restaurant and the luxurious Louis Roederer Rooms, the line up – featuring 25 chefs and 27 Michelin stars – brings together both national and international talent. This year Nigel will be joined by some of the greatest names in gastronomy. Nigel said: “This year I decided it would be great to go global and get chefs from all over the world yet keep it regional. So each chef is cooking a dish using fantastic local ingredients from the North West.”

Northcote’s nearest neighbour will be Glynn Purnell, originally hailing from Solihull, who will join forces with Shaun Rankin and Kenny Atkinson for a special evening to celebrate the very best of British. American-born Ken Hom OBE will fly the flag for Chinese cuisine, Japanese Tsuyoshi Murakami will be attending from Brazil, and Kolkata-native Gaggan Anand, India’s most celebrated chef, will join the event from Bangkok, where his eponymous restaurant is known for successfully bridging the culinary divide between East and West. The Cinnamon Club’s Vivek Singh will also have input on this front as one of the most respected modern Indian chefs in the UK, famed for marrying Indian spices and flavours with Western techniques. Also, dazzling diners will be Klaus Erfort from Germany, Jacob Jan Boerma from Holland and Italian brothers Enrico and Roberto Cerea, all of whom have three Michelin stars each!

“When we first started this food festival 15 years ago we played it safe,” explained Nigel. “Now we have chefs from all over the world coming to Northcote to cook cutting-edge food. Obsession 15 has a very special line-up and there is a real atmosphere of excitement surrounding it. We can’t wait for it to begin!” Perfectly timed following a stunning, year-long refurbishment that’s seen the addition of a cookery school, a new wing with further guestrooms and a new-look restaurant, Obsession 15 is a unique homage to the finest food and wine the region has to offer. Tickets are priced at £115 and include a five-course menu along with all the theatre of the Michelin-starred kitchen shown on screens and the chance to chat with chefs afterwards, diners are treated to a rare glimpse behind-the-scenes, too. Tickets to the gourmet evenings – running from Friday, January 23 to Saturday, February 7, for 15 consecutive days – are released today, and can be purchased by calling 01254 244 503.