Nigel Haworth

NIGEL HAWORTH was born in Accrington in 1958 and he returned to his native Lancashire to take up the role of head chef at Northcote, near Blackburn, in 1984. Over the ensuing 30 years, he has driven it forward to success, being awarded a Michelin star in 1995 and maintaining it ever since.

Haworth trained as a chef at Accrington and Rossendale College, just a few miles from where he is now based, where he clearly remembers preparing a lemon meringue pie for his tutor Mrs Smithies. Following jobs at the Royal Berkshire Hotel in Ascot and the Grosvenor House Hotel in London, he moved, in 1978, to Switzerland, to refine his cooking and patisserie skills.  

Upon his return to the UK, he was so disillusioned with catering standards in Lancashire, that he took up the post of lecturer at his old college. He was only there for 18 months, however, before the call to Northcote came.

More recently, Haworth has become something of a celebrity chef, after making a winning appearance on Great British Menu in 2009. In 2012, he returned to act as a mentor to the chefs in the North East region. On the show, he became known for his Lancashire hotpot, which was chosen as the winning main course for a banquet hosted by Prince Charles for servicemen and women returning from Afghanistan. Nevertheless, he modestly admits that in comparison to his wife’s hotpot, his own pales into insignificance. His signature meal at Northcote – black pudding and pink trout – still has an element of the north in it though. His food philosophy is a simple one – food with roots. Flavours and textures are at the heart of everything.

Alongside running Northcote, Haworth co-owns a catering company and is joint managing director of Ribble Valley Inns, along with Craig Bancroft, which includes the Clog and Billycock at Pleasington and the Three Fishes at Mitton, which has just been named The Good Pub Guide 2014 Lancashire with Greater Manchester and Merseyside Dining Pub of the Year.