OBSESSION 18 AT NORTHCOTE by Carl Housbey
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OBSESSION 18 AT NORTHCOTE by Carl Housbey
One of the highlights on the Gastro Grazer calendar each year is attending the Obsession food festival held at Northcote in Langho near Blackburn . The festival started in 2001 and just keeps on getting bigger and bigger , so for 2018 this meant there were 18 nights of culinary excellence , involving 21 world class chefs with 17 Michelin Stars between them .
I would like to be able to say that I was there for all 18 nights , but even someone that eats out as much as me would find that a major challenge , especially when you consider that each night consisted of a five-course meal with matched wines , followed by a few cocktails in the bar afterwards for anyone that had the stamina , and not forgetting that the evening started with several delicious canapés and copious amounts of crisply chilled Louis Roederer Champagne ; I can guarantee that none of the guests went home hungry or thirsty .
This year ’ s Chefs were from all around the UK as well as Austria , Hong Kong , Japan , Mexico , Russia , and Australia so there was quite a variety of cuisines to choose from . I managed nine of the nights and thoroughly enjoyed every one of them , but I have to say that we can be extremely proud of our local Chefs Gary Usher and Lisa Goodwin-Allen as they really cooked their socks off , and in my opinion were amongst the very best of the whole festival .
Standout dishes from Gary ’ s night were the Lamb Fat Hispi Cabbage that tasted absolutely fabulous , followed by the most tender Chargrilled Octopus , and a dessert of Dark Chocolate Tart with Honeycomb so light it nearly floated away . Whilst Lisa wowed our palates with some Hand Cut Aged Venison , Blood Orange , and Capers , before completely blowing our minds with an English Onion served French Style , and then she finished us off with a Warm Bramley Apple Pie that was so good it defies explanation .
I would say the most unusual night was the Three Amigos from Mexico , as this was the first time I had eaten Grasshoppers , and Ant Larvae , both of which were surprisingly delicious with a definite citrusy flavour . Their Octopus Mosaic dish was also outstanding , and it was easy to see why they are rated amongst the Top 50 Chefs in the world .
Many people have asked me what my favourite night was , and it ’ s a question I can ’ t easily answer , as every night was very special for its own particular reasons , and I feel very privileged to have been served amazing food from such renowned Chefs , including Jason Atherton , George Blogg , Tommy Banks , and Nigel Haworth to name just a few .
The only thing I can say for certain is that we can expect many more amazing nights of Obsession in the coming years , and I will be at as many of them as I can possibly manage .
This just leaves me enough space to say thank you to Allen Markey for the use of his mouth-watering photographs , and huge congratulations to all the guests at Northcote who helped Craig Bancroft raise £ 65,000 for Hospitality Action .
Tickets for Obsession 19 will go on sale in November , so set a reminder in your diary if you don ’ t want to miss out . In the meantime , why not book yourself a table and experience Lisa Goodwin-Allen ’ s outstanding food first hand by clicking on www . northcote . com or calling 01254 240555
To see what else I get up to , why not follow me on Twitter @ carlhousbey
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