Three Michelin starred chef Simon Rogan mulls potential restaurant project in Manchester

Three Michelin-starred chef Simon Rogan has hinted at opening a Manchester restaurant

During an interview at the Northern Restaurant and Bar Show, Simon Rogan of three Michelin-starred L'Enclume said that he’d return to Manchester ‘in a heartbeat’. 

According to Square Meal, he said, “I’ve always enjoyed my time here. Unfortunately, it didn’t work out in the long run at The Midland but that’s not to say we wouldn’t come back here.”

Simon had a three-year stint at The French at The Midland Hotel starting in 2013, but he left part-way through his five-year contract, wanting to concentrate his efforts on his own restaurant L'Enclume which had received its second Michelin star in 2012.

In 2022, L'Enclume received its 3rd Michelin star, making it one of only 8 restaurants in the UK to hold three stars and one of only three three-star restaurants outside of London. Along with that L'Enclume was awarded a green Michelin star in 2021.

In recent years Manchester has transformed itself into a food hub, the opening of restaurants like Mana and Where the Light Gets In. The latter of which is actually headed by Sam Buckley who used to work at L'enclume. Suggesting the City is ready for a Simon Rogan restaurant to be set up. 

Simon said, according to the Manchester Evening News, "We have lots of propositions going on all over the world at the moment, but Manchester is very much in our thoughts, and it’s something we’d really would love to come back to one day.”

However, he also said, “I have been sworn to secrecy by [Rogan’s restaurant company Managing Director] Sam Ward about what we may or may not be doing."