Northcote’s Obsession festival has officially come to a close and a whopping amount of money has been raised for charity.
A total of 18 distinguished chefs, holding 21 Michelin stars between them, visited the Langho restaurant.
In total £110,000 was raised and the funds will be split between three charities. £76,000 has been allocated to Hospitality Action, which helps those in the hospitality industry.
£20,000 will go towards DEBRA, a skin charity, and £14,000 will be given to Eye Nepal, a small charity dedicated to enhancing the life opportunities of the poorest children in rural districts of Nepal.
Executive chef at Northcote, Lisa Goodwin-Allen, said: “I’m often asked how we manage to keep the energy levels high during Obsession, but when you’re working with chefs of this calibre, every night is different, with different teams and personalities, it flies by and it’s honestly a real privilege to be part of something so special.
"That’s not to forget the huge team effort it takes to pull together a festival that runs on 17 consecutive nights.
"I’d like to thank each and every member of staff at Northcote. We have an incredible team that helps to make Obsession the success it is, not just this year but every year.
“As always, we’ve managed to raise a phenomenal amount for a charity that’s very dear to my heart, Hospitality Action, along with two other very special charities that do so much to support people both here in the UK and internationally.
"Again, I would like to say thank you to the extraordinary line up of chefs who made the journey to Northcote to help us to give back to these very worthy causes.”
Over 17 consecutive nights they cooked up original fine dining menus, featuring 105 inspiring dishes for more than 1,750 guests, many of whom revisited on multiple days throughout the festival. Some even went the whole hog and dined on all 17 nights.
The event was a complete sell-out thanks to the line-up, which included gastronomic heavyweights Gareth Ward, Sarah Hayward, Adam Handling, James Knappett, Tom Barnes and chef Aktar Islam, who was just awarded two Michelin stars for his Birmingham restaurant, Opheem.
Praising Northcote and Lisa, the celebrity chef praised Northcote and executive chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen at the Michelin reveal ceremony, which took place earlier this year.
He said: “Seeing young talent coming through, achieving their goals and chasing their dreams gives me the most pleasure.
"I was at Northcote Obsession this year and there was a young man on the front of house only 16 years old who wants to become the next great maître d'.
“In the kitchen they have three young apprentices, and that is the future, that is what I’m going to miss most.”
For the first time ever, Lisa’s Obsession menu will be available post event, for visitors to Northcote to enjoy from now until April, extending the celebrations way beyond the culinary festival itself and giving many more diners a taste of what’s on offer at this exclusive gastronomical event.
Scottish mackerel, with caviar, roast veal sweetbread and squab pigeon are some items on the menu.
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