231027 Collection Digital Cover 1 - Flipbook - Page 50
CRAIG BANCROFT
Managing Director
Northcote
“Once these big names started to get involved,
others wanted to follow suit, and it just grew.”
Since arriving at Northcote in 1983 as General Manager, Craig has
clocked up a list of awards as long as his arm, demonstrating his
excellence in both hospitality and wine. These are skills that he brings,
not only to the day-to-day running of the establishment, but also to
Obsession, where an ever-changing menu means that his wine-pairings
must be amended on a nightly basis for a period of over two weeks.
“But this is what we’ve been doing for 39 years,” he laughs, pointing out
that the Northcote’s tasting menu is changed four times a year and the
lunch menu, every six weeks. “I’m not saying it’s without its challenges,
but we all come together and make it work. Over the course of Obsession,
we never repeat a wine – so we’re talking about over 120 wines –
but that’s just what we do.”
Northcote, having formerly been a private house, “wasn’t really anything”
when Craig arrived in 1983. “It had four bedrooms and a dining room
of about 40, plus a small private dining room of 12–14.” By the time Lisa
arrived in 2001, the number of rooms had grown to 14 (there are now
26), and the restaurant and private dining room had both expanded,
to seat 60 and 30, respectively.
Obsession was the brainchild of Nigel Haworth, who co-founded
Northcote with Craig, before stepping back to concentrate on his
own projects in 2017. Returning from a food festival in Monterrey,
at which he’d been invited to cook, he was fired up by the idea
of producing something similar at Northcote.
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It was a massive undertaking, not least because of Northcote’s relatively
remote position – in fact, says Craig, one of their best customers was
so concerned about the team losing money on it that he bought the entire
lunch event, for 80 guests.
“To be honest, it continued to be a financial risk for many years,”
admits Craig. “We just wanted to keep doing it, so we expanded
to five nights the following few years, and then seven, before doing
ten for our tenth anniversary and fifteen for our fifteenth.”
After this, the team started to add one night per year but have since
settled on the sweet spot of 17 nights, which allows them to incorporate
three weekends.
Despite the financial risk, it was evident early on the project had
momentum – within two years of its inception, Heston Blumenthal
was one of the guest chefs, which was, Craig says, “‘ground-breaking.
Once these big names started to get involved, others wanted to
follow suit, and it just grew.” By 2012, a purpose-built kitchen had
been added to the property, designed with Obsession – and the
space it requires – in mind.
Although guests come from all over the country -– and even some from
overseas – to attend Obsession, it should be noted, says Craig “that we
are a 26-bedroom property, and during Obsession, many of those
bedrooms are occupied by the chefs, to whom we strive to give the best
possible guest experience. So actually, Obsession has been genuinely
grown by the people who live within 25 miles of the property.”
