Great British Menu winner returns to home town to launch debut restaurant

Great British Menu winner, chef Dan McGeorge, is to open his debut restaurant in Liverpool this spring.

Dan, who won the 2021 TV competition, is behind Vetch, located at 29A Hope Street, which is currently being transformed into a 26-cover fine dining restaurant.

Once open, it will serve up a relaxed seasonally inspired five-course lunch and a seven-course dinner, with both tasting menus showcasing modern British cooking interspersed with Nordic and Asian flavour influences.

Liverpudlian Dan’s route to the kitchen is unconventional, in that he started out studying for a law degree, before deciding it wasn’t for him and changing tack completely to train as a chef.

On graduating he worked in several high profile kitchens, with stints alongside the likes of Simon Rimmer, Sam Moody at the one Michelin starred, three rosetted Bath Priory, and Ben Mounsey at the three rosetted Lawns Restaurant, Thornton Hall Hotel, before making the move to the Lakes in September 2017 as head chef at the then two AA rosetted Rothay Manor.

Dan left Rothay in October 2023, having previously secured a third AA rosette in January 2019 along the way.

In 2020 he joined the likes of Marcus Wareing, Jason Atherton, and Marco Pierre White as he was presented with an Acorn Award. He added a Michelin Plate to his accolades in January 2021, which he followed by being crowned ‘Champion of Champions’ in BBC Two’s Great British Menu programme.

In June 2022, Dan was presented with the Restaurant Chef Award by The Craft Guild of Chefs.

Since then he’s relocated to his native Liverpool, taken some time out with his young family, and then got stuck into searching for the right venue to realise his dream of opening his debut restaurant.

Vetch takes its name from a wild member of the pea family often found growing abundantly in hedgerows, meadows, and the edges of woodland.

Since finding the property in March, Dan and partner Georgia have been busily preparing to open later this spring.

Operating over two floors the restaurant has been sympathetically renovated to blend seamlessly with the period Georgian listed building in which it sits, in the vibrant heart of the city.

Dan’s cooking style focuses on using the very best seasonal produce available, taking what is at its best and cooking it in the most sympathetic way to showcase the potential of every element of the produce he uses.

Taste, texture and balance are the fundamental ingredients in his cooking. Fascinated by Nordic and Asian flavour combinations, Dan uses these influences to add unique depth of flavour and texture to his dishes, creating interesting combinations and adding complexity to what he cooks.

Vetch’s five-course lunch tasting menu is served three days a week, Thursday to Saturday at 1pm, priced at £85 per person with matched drinks pairings also available.

The seven-course dinner tasting menu is served four days a week, Wednesday to Saturday from 6pm, priced at £105 per person with matched drinks pairings also available.

Dan McGeorge said: “It was a big decision leaving Rothay, but it was the right one to make.

“Georgia and I wanted to move back to Liverpool and realise our joint ambition to open a restaurant.

“We’ve been fortunate enough to find an amazing location right in the middle of the city at 29A Hope Street.”

He added: “We’re busy recruiting staff at the moment and then we’ll spend time working with our team to hit the ground running. Hopefully opening the doors in early May.

“We can’t wait to welcome guests through the door to enjoy what will hopefully be a great addition to Liverpool’s emerging dining scene.”