THE HALL WITH IT ALL Passion, drive and dedication have driven Moor Hall forward with super chef Mark Birchall at the helm
L
ooking back three years ago and things have changed for chef patron Mark Birchall. Back then Moor Hall - a
beautiful Grade II listed gentry house that business partners Andy and Tracey Bell bought - was just a dream. The building was theirs but there was a lot of work to do. “It took us a few years to renovate the
building and there were times we didn’t feel we were getting anywhere,” admitted Mark, who lives nearby with wife, Jennifer and four-yearold son, James. “In fact, sometimes, it felt like we were going backwards. “But we knew it was worth it. We knew what we were aiming for.” Fast forward to now and the talented chef - former executive chef at the internationally renowned two Michelin star L’Enclume in Cartmel - is enjoying success far beyond what you might expect of a restaurant that’s been trading less than a year. Within six months of opening, Moor Hall was awarded a Michelin star - an accolade some chefs spend entire careers striving to achieve. It also doubled Lancashire’s number of Michelin star restaurants.
Moor Hall was recognised in The Estrella
Mark’s menus showcase his own
Damm National Restaurant Awards, too. It was
style of modern British cuisine. He uses
named number one in Lancashire and placed
produce grown on the five acre site as
70 in the UK. The Good Food Guide included
well as putting local producers firmly in
them in their Top 50 UK Restaurants. Moor
the spotlight - from vegetable growers
Hall, which was also named Lancashire Life’s
to farmers. Even the plates his food is
Restaurant of the Year 2017, was the only
served on are made in nearby Parbold.
new opening outside of London to make the prestigious guide. Mark also opened The Barn, a casual dining restaurant next to Moor Hall, late last year
Mark, who was born in Chorley and trained at Runshaw College, is a proud member of Taste Lancashire and loves to celebrate his local roots. “I want to use the best produce and
with further plans to open a dairy, butchers,
suppliers,” said Mark. “I’m so lucky that
charcuterie and brewery.
I have so many right on my doorstep who
“It has been a big start for us,’ said Mark,
are the best. I’m proud to be back home in
a former recipient of the prestigious Roux
Lancashire and giving it a second restaurant
Scholarship. “Obviously, we’re really pleased
with a Michelin star. We’ve got Northcote in
with how it’s gone. Now we 100 per cent want to
the Ribble Valley and now hopefully we’re
push on. You don’t want to ever feel like you’re
shining a light on this side of Lancashire.
not doing your best. You’ll get bored and your team will get bored and that’s no good. “I want to refine what we’re doing. We do
“Taste Lancashire is a great things to be a part of. They have a huge reach across the county but it’s also about
want another Michelin star and four rosettes
visitors coming here. Their website would
and a higher score in the Good Food Guide.
be the first place people will look.
Obviously we will always try and make today
“It’s great for us to be associated with
better than yesterday. I have a great core team
them and, as Lancastrians, it makes us
and fantastic support - We do want to have
very proud to have that connection.”
perfect scores all round”