In the Kitchen with Head Chef Liam Rogers, Northcote

Yes, I did, there was never another career path for me - being a Chef was always my dream. I’ve worked in restaurants my entire life: my father had a restaurant in our local village so I’ve grown up surrounded by cooking and delicious food.

I’d describe my cooking style as minimalist fine dining, I often only use 3 or 4 ingredients when cooking so as not to overcomplicate my dishes. I take inspiration from the fantastic Chefs that I’ve previously worked with, such as the talented Andrew Fairlie, and my cooking style is an amalgamation of my years of training and the chefs I’ve been lucky enough to work with and for.

Utilising seasonal produce is very important - I always aim to use ingredients in their season, as this is when they’re at their best, visually, flavour-wise, and of course, fresh is always best. Also, if you use ingredients in their prime then you need to use fewer of them, making the dishes more resourceful and sustainable, not to mention more creative when you only have certain ingredients to play with.

I would always recommend using seasonal produce by shopping at your local greengrocers or farm shop, rather than in the supermarket. It’s also essential to shop locally when it comes to meat and fish to ensure you’re getting the freshest ingredients and cooking seasonally. You’ll not only be supporting your local businesses, you’ll be buying the absolute best-tasting food for your dishes!

My favourite spring ingredient is wild garlic - there’s an abundance of it growing across the road from Northcote, alongside the streams, and I love using it in my dishes. I like to create simple recipes like wild garlic emulsions or a wild garlic veloute, served with beef.

I would have to say that my favourite BBQ dish is probably prime rib or steak. There’s nothing better than a juicy BBQ steak, served with wild garlic chimichurri sauce and Jersey Royal new potatoes cooked on the embers!

If you want to discover The North at your own pace, our curated Sensory Indulgence break is the perfect source of inspiration - or plan your own using our PoB Breaks interactive map.