New head chef arrives at one of Manchester’s best-known restaurants

Rebecca Richardson

A new head chef has been appointed at one of Manchester’s best-known restaurants.

Rebecca Richardson is to take charge of the kitchen at Mr Cooper’s at the Midland Hotel.

Rebecca and her team will focus on using the best of British produce to create new menus for the brasserie.

Rebecca, who is originally from the Longsight area of Manchester, comes to the two AA Rosette Mr Cooper’s from the Marriott Hotel & Country Club in Worsley.

Mr Coopers

Her new a la carte menu launches this week and includes starters such as:

• Slow cooked pork belly, celeriac slaw & black pudding apple puree

• Truffled wild mushrooms, grilled garlic rosemary bread and soft hen’s egg.

The mains offer a wide range of dishes, really utilising the restaurant’s in-house butcher, where the team prepare every cut of meat served in the restaurant. Dishes include:

• Cumbrian lamb rump, English minted peas with squash fondant potato

• Braised beef cheek, spring greens with bone marrow crumb

• Minted pea risotto with smoked garlic and crispy onions.

Desserts include:

• Chocolate peanut butter cheesecake crunchy honeycomb with vanilla ice cream

• Slow cooked pineapple with coconut crumble with grass ice cream

• The Allotment ‘where it all began’; Chocolate soil, choc cherry kirsch mouse, marzipan carrots, strawberry sorbet, baby toffee apples and micro basil mint

In addition to the a la carte menu, Rebecca has also created a pre-theatre set menu, with two courses.

She said: “The Midland Hotel is such an iconic destination and I’ve always been a fan of Mr Cooper’s.

“When the opportunity presented itself, I jumped at the chance to join the team and have spent a lot of time working on these menus, ensuring they remain true to what Mr Cooper’s is all about, while offering customers the best in British produce and flavours. We’re really looking forward to launching these menus and building on them going forwards.”

Jens Hallman, general manager at The Midland Hotel said: “I’ve known Rebecca for some time and have always been a fan of her food and creativity.

“I’m delighted with her appointment as head chef at Mr Cooper’s, and believe she will bring both flair and real quality to our menus and help to re-establish the restaurant within Manchester’s food and drink scene.”

The name Mr Cooper has historical significance. Mr Cooper was a well-known gentleman who once owned a house and garden on the site of the hotel in 1819.

He was a passionate horticulturist and intrigued by the science and art of cultivating flowers, fruits, vegetables and ornamental plants.

Mr Cooper’s restaurant has won multiple gastronomic awards including Best Hotel Restaurant – Central Manchester’ at the Eat Drink Sleep Awards 2017 and Bookatable’s ‘Best Restaurant in Manchester’.

The Midland Hotel has been an iconic presence in Manchester since 1903.

The hotel changed hands last year in a deal worth £115m.

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