Mel Meets.....Church Inn Head Chef Graeme Noden

The Church Inn has a menu that changes every month as well as their a la carte. Someone had to find out which genius kept coming up with these dishes, so Mel had a chat with Head Chef Graeme Noden.

Hi Graeme, how long have you been cooking? Since I was a young fresh eared pup straight outta school so that'd be 22 years - am I that old?!

Tell me about your current menu! The menu is created to cater for most tastes, we like to take recipes from around the world and add our own little twist so expect to see dishes inspired from Thailand, Italy, France even the odd shrimp on the barbie. I'm also a big fan of classics so lamb hotpot, beef Rossini or lobster Thermidor have been known to matinee sometimes. As long as the ethos is freshly prepared and in season you could find anything on our menu. We pride ourselves on diversity!

What's your most popular dish on the menu? Without a doubt the two most popular are the King Prawns Penang and the Chicken Satay. These two dishes have crept into British food culture in recent years, not unlike tikka massala did back in the day.

What's the tastiest meal you've ever had? There's been many tasty meals I had from simple sourdough open flamed ovens at Honest Crust in Altrincham to fresh shellfish from San Carlo. However a memorable meal if I had to chose was at Manchester House; the man Aiden Byrnes knows how to cook.

Where is your favourite restaurant? Cicchetti in Manchester. I love the small plates at separate times, sharing with good company and great wines. They really have hit it right there, it's why they're so successful, brilliant business model.

Would you ever go on Masterchef or go down the celebrity chef route? It's not for me - I never got into cooking for fame or fortune, I'm a simple man who had a dream to cook, I'm lucky I found a career which I love and never fails to entertain me.



What do you think of the Michelin stars - is this the ultimate goal? Nope!

Ha! Who does the cooking at home? I'm rarely at home so unfortunately there's a lot of lonely pots and pans at home waiting to be loved.

Have you any guilty pleasures when it comes to eating bad food? Solita - they are a nightmare! The burgers are just so so good, but I need to watch my waistline as the years are creeping up on me and I'm not as fast as I used to be.

10 years from now, where will you be? Hopefully on a hot beach sipping on mojitos with Kate Beckinsale, but I think I might have to go down the celebrity route for that dream, here's wishing....

Any tips for budding wannabe chefs? Don't be fooled by the glamour of television. It's hard work, long long hours, lots of sweat and tears but it's all worth it. There isn't a job out there that'd give you more enjoyment pride and fulfilment and to also read White Heat (Marco Pierre White and kitchen confidential - Antony Bourdain) two inspirational reads about working in kitchens.

If you could work for any chef, who would it be? There's a lot of chefs/peers that I look up to and follow their careers. Nico Ladenis from 90s London was the chef I admired most but then there's also Marco Pierre White, Pierre Koffmann of La Tante Claire, Jean Christophe Novelli and Raymond Blanc to name a few. The chef I admire most at the moment is Tom Aiken an insanely talented chef.

Finally, what would be the one dish you�d have as a last meal? It's got to be those Solita burgers again; damn they'll be the death of me!

Nice, let�s go now! Good to see you Graeme, will let you get back to your busy kitchen!

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Posted: Thursday 21st July 2016
ID: 9867 - 1732