Top Manchester restaurant continues winning form as Michelin Guide results near
September is proving to be a great month for Adam Reid at The French. The team have only just put down their glasses of sparkling English wine after placing sixth in the new Top 100 Restaurants guide, adding to their thirteenth place in The Good Food Guide’s annual Top 50 – the only Manchester city centre establishment to be included on the list.
Now, chef patron Adam Reid has firmly secured The French’s place as one of the finest dining establishment in the UK by receiving a prestigious four AA Rosettes – making them one of only six restaurants in Britain to achieve the new status.
The criteria for four Rosettes states ‘not only should all technical skills be exemplary, but there should also be daring ideas, and they must work. There is no room for disappointment. Flavours should be accurate and vibrant.’
This definitely reflects Reid’s style that matches top class ingredients with refined cooking and careful presentation, all anchored by his northern roots. His current nine course menu features dishes such as ‘Tea and Toast’ with dripping and tongue, as well as an ‘easy peeler’ with white chocolate and sea buckthorn, which uses a similar sugar blowing technique to his signature Golden Empire dessert which made his name on Great British Menu in 2016.
“To be awarded a fourth rosette after just eighteen months since opening is amazing,” Adam said on receiving the award, “it is all down to the hard work and dedication of the team in both the kitchen and service. Creating our own identity and personality has been our main aim and to see these accolades arriving on the back of that makes us very proud.”
Adam Reid took over the fine dining restaurant at The Midland Hotel in October 2016 after the departure of his multi-Michelin star winning mentor, Simon Rogan. The restaurant was renamed ‘Adam Reid at The French’ which reopened in February 2017 after the Grade II listed dining room underwent a refurbishment in line with Reid’s more relaxed style which included background music from his own personal playlist.
The news was even better for Mark Birchall, chef patron of Moor Hall in Aughton, which was one of only three new five AA Rosette winners to be revealed during the ceremony at London’s Grosvenor House Hotel.
The restaurant with rooms, which won one Michelin star within six months of opening, is now one of only seventeen restaurants in the UK to hold the maximum five AA rosettes. Moor Hall also placed second in Confidentials' Top 100 Restaurants in the North West - marginally losing out to Rogan's L'Enclume in Cumbria.
“The award acknowledges the magnificent culinary skills and standards delivered by Mark and the team, who have worked tirelessly to create delicate and inspired dishes for you to enjoy,” said a statement by Moor Hall's owners. “The restaurant received four AA rosettes just four months after achieving its third in September 2017, therefore it is a huge accomplishment for the team to receive a fifth rosette only one year later.”
Adam Reid at The French has also been shortlisted in four categories in the upcoming Manchester Food and Drink Awards. So, the question on everybody's lips: could it finally be worthy of regaining a Michelin star for Manchester? Something last achieved in 1974.
We won’t have to wait long to find out, as the UK Michelin Guide results 2019 will be announced on October 1st.
