Chef at ‘Britain’s best restaurant’ reveals why she listens to customer criticism, where SHE likes to eat out – and how she makes Michelin-starred chips

Michelin-starred Northcote restaurant in Lancashire has been rated the best in Britain by Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best Restaurants awards.

I paid the restaurant a visit (full review to come) to see if it lived up to the hype. And while there it is discovered that chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen makes possibly the tastiest chips you will ever eat.

They are pillowy soft on the inside and crispy on the outside. They even impressed my hard-to-impress French partner.

What’s the secret? Lisa was kind enough to reveal some of the steps she’s taking to achieve this when I spoke to her about her remarkable success.

The first step? Quite a spit.

Lisa said, “First of all, we’re getting the right potato.

‘You need a chipping potato [Maris Piper and King Edward potatoes, for example] and then we boil them in salted water and then fluff them like a roast potato.

‘That means you put them in a pan or colander and shake them so that they become fluffy on the outside.

Lisa Goodwin-Allen is head chef at Northcote restaurant in Lancashire, rated Britain’s best by Tripadvisor’s Travellers’ Choice Best of the Best Restaurants awards

“And then we freeze them – and we cook them from frozen.

“And what happens is the inside becomes very fluffy because it breaks down a little bit, and when we bake them the outside becomes very crispy.”

If you want to try them at Northcote, you can order the aged tenderloin (£55), which comes with triple-cooked chips.

Or follow in our footsteps and order chicken and fries for your child – and eat the leftovers.

The success of the restaurant is of course not only due to the quality of the fries.

Lisa believes it comes from a desire to evolve and keep learning.

She says, “I think you have to keep evolving. Make sure your team continues to develop. Continue to develop yourself to encourage people in your area. To want to do better, learn more and achieve more.

‘I like to learn new things.’

Northcote’s triple cooked chips, which are ‘pillow soft’ on the inside and crispy on the outside

Northcote lies on the doorstep of the Forest of Bowland National Landscape, east of Preston

Many chefs will have noticed that Lisa hasn’t made ‘yelling at people’ her modus operandi.

She confirms: ‘We are not a flashy kitchen. We are very controlled and organized.”

Lisa will also take careful note of customer feedback – and use it to improve.

She reveals: “We will always receive constructive feedback as it allows us to get better and improve. We will always take it with us. Some customers have valid points, so we always look at them and respond to them.’

Most agree: it sounds like a recipe for success.

When Lisa isn’t busy preparing award-winning food and studying customer reactions, you might find her dining out at one of her favorite restaurants.

Northcote is on the doorstep of the Forest of Bowland National Landscape, east of Preston, and Lisa names the Inn at Whitewell and The Parkers Arms as two local restaurants she enjoys dining at.

Her favorite Michelin-starred restaurants include London’s Sabor (“simple but delicious food”), Core by Clare Smyth (“pure brilliance”), Da Terra, run by Rafael Cagali, and The Ledbury, where chef Brett Graham ‘does great things’.

At home, Lisa says she enjoys cooking “traditional things” for her husband and son, like pizza and lasagna, but “the protein will change to venison or chicken.”

“Good old, simple food,” says Lisa.

I suspect this is probably the best simple food they will ever eat.

Visit www.northcote.com.