Fine dining can sometimes leave you feeling empty. For a chance to eat at the establishments with Michelin stars to their name you can fork out a hefty sum in exchange for bragging rights and a photo library full of food you can’t pronounce.
And in some cases, both your wallet and stomach are worse off. Your cheeks flush pink as you tot up the bill while simultaneously apologising for your grumbling stomach that feels short changed on account of the miniscule dishes you’ve been served.
You ask yourself: There were loads of them, so why do I still feel hungry…and so empty?’
I’ve been there. However, I’m glad to report that Skof, the Manchester restaurant that’s recently won the city another Michelin Star, is a world away from this rather dreary picture.
Situated inside an old textile building on Federation Street in the NOMA quarter, it only opened nine months ago but has already won over the Michelin Inspectors - and the rest of Manchester too.
It’s the first solo venture from chef Tom Barnes, who for many years was behind the stoves at Simon Rogan’s award-winning Cumbrian outposts, L’Enclume and Rogan & Co.
For context, L’Enclume is one of the best restaurants in the UK and while Tom worked here as executive chef it attained its third Michelin Star. He was steering the ship when Rogan & Co achieved its first too.
The Roux scholar and Great British Menu alumni has spent most of his culinary career in Michelin-starred restaurants working alongside some of the world’s very best chefs, so it was little surprise when he announced his plans to open his first restaurant in a city becoming well known as a dining destination.
Lots of chefs talk about making fine dining ‘accessible’, but fail to deliver. Barnes on the other hand has delivered on his promise to create an ‘unpretentious yet ambitious’ debut experience that makes both the initiated, and those making their first foray, feel welcome.
This was always the intention, but as I entered the former Edwardian drapery warehouse last week it quickly dawned on me that this is a chef at pains to do things differently, or at the very least make us all stop taking fine dining so seriously.
The Roux Scholar hailing from Barrow-in-Furness has spent years preparing for the moment, and as I make my way up the tiled slope into the restaurant - it’s beautiful by the way, lots of exposed brick, chunky steel columns and mesmerising lights that look like something akin to large coat buttons - there he is behind the pass, quietly sipping on a brew.
There’s nowhere for Tom Barnes to hide, but that’s entirely the point. The kitchen takes up a corner spot in the large open plan space and the pass is the first thing you see as you walk in.
Tom isn’t always sipping a brew I might add, but is carefully and calmly - this is no Kitchen Nightmares situation - leading his brigade.
As the meal progresses, it feels even more like a well-choreographed dance with chefs, waiting staff and a Maître d' all having their time to shine.
There’s an almost meditative quality to watching them at work, each one of them carefully focused on their specific task.
Whether that’s overseeing the grilled onion broth, keeping a steady hand with a pair of tweezers used to plant nasturtium leaves atop a selection of vegetables from Rogan’s farm in the Cartmel Valley, or keeping diners drinks topped up, there’s a relaxing and reassuring pace to this well-rehearsed sequence - you know you’re going to be well looked after.
It could easily feel a bit clinical, but this is a masterclass in Northern hospitality, and there’s nothing remotely fussy about it.
The name Skof itself is Edwardian slang for food, but as the chef has said previously, it’s also the sort of thing his dad would say to him when he was younger when growing up in Cumbria. His Northern roots mean a lot to him and are seamlessly woven into every aspect of the meal.
The price point is important here. Its two tasting menus are priced at either £120 for 12 courses or £165 for 15, but today we’re here for the four-course lunch, which comes in at just £50.
For a restaurant of this calibre that feels like quite a steal. There’s an extra dish to start as well to whet your appetite.
We’re midway through pursuing the drinks menu when three waiters approach the table. In unison they assume their positions and carefully pour a steaming onion broth into an ancient looking bowl that fits neatly between the palms.
It feels like the beginning of a ritual and we willingly sip the warming, earthy elixir in preparation for the main event.
Though a great deal of work and preparation goes into each dish there’s something very uncomplicated and down to earth about everything we're served up. First up is Herdwick Lamb served with Roscoff onions, stout and ewe’s milk.
Like the piping hot broth before, it feels almost medieval and ritualistic, and is very much about putting flavour front and centre.
The Herdwick is a breed of sheep native to the Lake District and its name is derived from the Old Norse ‘herdvyck’, meaning sheep pasture. Like many of Tom dishes, he’s made the most of the ingredients and producers that are on his doorstep - making sure to use the best of the bountiful North West larder.
Here, bitesize lamb croquettes poke out from beneath a shelf of creamy and indulgent yoghurt whey cooked in ewe’s milk that's a bit like a savoury custard topped with panko breadcrumbs. We plunge spoons in making sure to get as much of the rich filling onto the spoon as possible, each mouthful a beautiful balance of flavour and texture.
It is closely followed by ‘Vegetables from Our Farm’, a dish that utilises the freshest produce from Simon Rogan’s farm in Cartmel, as well as Cinderwood Market Garden in Nantwich.
Many of the vegetables, fruits and herbs grown in the valley are sent off to L’Enclume - and now Skof - to be made into purees, vinegars and syrups, while some will be dried too.
The collaboration between the Cumbrian farm and Cheshire garden is simple yet effective.
This assembly of vegetables with the softness of the tomatoes, firmer texture of the potatoes and crispy cavolo all nero gives the taste buds food for thought, while the delicate sauce poured tableside delivers a perfect pop of umami.
It is the main course of confit Sladesdown duck that wins the table over though. Gazing at our plates, it’s like admiring a mini Stonehenge.
Delicate chunks of duck breast with a crispy outer shell and topped with pickled onion assume their position at the centre of the plate, but also act as a barricade for the rich sauce made from the boiling down of the trimmings and bones.
Spheres of black cherry puree are dotted beyond and beautifully cut through the melt-in-the-mouth duck breast. The bouncy brioche laminated with Manchester honey, miso and seal salt glistens and slathered with whipped butter provides the perfect vehicle for mopping up what’s left of the sauce.
Dessert is far from an afterthought and where I personally think Tom’s Northern roots or penchant for comfort food shines best. Having previously tried the chef’s Tiramisu, which is a thoughtful homage to his late father, I’m excited to tuck into the baked rice pudding.
A comforting marriage of flavours, the tart poached Yorkshire rhubarb, and moreish tangy gingerbread and orange crumb convinces me this is potentially the poshest take on a school dinner pudding staple I'll ever sample.
The raw milk ice cream - the milk is sourced from Knutsford in Cheshire - offsets the dominant flavours of the fruit, softening the whole thing and rounding off one of the best lunches the city has to offer.
Is fine dining for everyone? Perhaps not. And when when our Michelin-worthy restaurants have been snubbed by the French tyre company before, Mancunians have quickly and defiantly put out into the ether that 'we do things differently here'.
While we certainly have a excellent and diverse crop of restaurants across Greater Manchester - from backstreet sandwich shops and clusters of knockout rice-and-three cafes, to neighbourhood bistros, we also do fine doing really well.
Not with all the pretentious pomp and ceremony, but as Skof shows, with a down to earth approach, where Northern hospitality and a flare for flavour and precision can be humbly shown off in all their glory.
