Craig Bancroft

CRAIG BANCROFT is director of wines at Northcote, where he works alongside chef patron Nigel Haworth. He began his career as a kitchen porter in London’s Kensington Close Hotel, before taking part in the Trusthouse Forte International Management training programme, where he spent six months as chef of Grosvenor House Hotel, followed by another six months in the two Michelin star Plaza Athénée in Paris. Bancroft stayed in management, working in a number of other hotels, including The Westbury and The Strand Palace, both in London, before ending up as general manager at Northcote in 1983, aged just 23-years-old. In 1987, his dedication was rewarded when he won The Caterer and Hotelkeeper Acorn Award.

Over the years at Northcote, Bancroft has worked closely with Haworth, developing his passion for pairing interesting wines with seasonal British cuisine. In 1996, they became the first manager-chef duo to collect their Michelin star together. Bancroft has spent the last 29 years developing Northcote’s award-winning wine cellar – now home to an impressive 400-plus bins from around the world.

Parallel to the success of Northcote, Bancroft entered The Academy of Food and Wine Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2013, he won both the Association of Portuguese Wine Importers (APWI) Special Award, which had only been presented three times over the past 25 years, and the AA England Wine Award 2013-2014. Most recently, Bancroft was named Imbibe Hotel Personality of The Year 2014.