The chefs of Obsession 2016

Tom was just twenty-six when he opened Restaurant Story; five months later he was the proud owner of a Michelin star. He’s now one of the most exciting chefs in the UK, creating inventive tasting menus that make use of home-brewed vinegars, fermented vegetables and hard to find herbs. His cuisine is clearly influenced by his time at Noma in Copenhagen and Per Se in New York – two of the best restaurants in the world – but his dedication to provenance, the history of British food and playful presentation turns his dishes into something completely new.

As the first female chef outside of France to gain three Michelin stars (which she has held since 1993), Annie is a legend amongst her peers. Her Florence-based restaurant Enoteca Pinchiorri is hallowed ground as far as gourmands are concerned – the highest levels of elegance and luxury and some of the most exquisite food on the planet means a dinner here is a lifetime experience that will be remembered for years to come. She’ll be bringing this same level of cooking to Northcote for some very lucky diners.

Self-taught chef Aktar is a born and bred Brummie and one of the most exciting things to happen to modern Indian cuisine in the UK. His restaurant Lasan – which he opened when he was twenty-two – takes traditional preconceptions of Indian dishes and turns them on their head. Aktar’s questioning, experimental approach to food means he doesn’t stick to the rules followed by other chefs, and his personal interest in how ingredients are grown and reared means he won’t settle for anything other than the very best.

With Angelo representing Puglia and Marco bringing the flavours of Tuscany to Lancashire, this pair of Michelin-starred chefs are working together to create a night of incredible Italian cuisine. Angelo’s cooking makes the most of the incredible seafood found on Italy’s south coast, served in homage to traditional Puglian style but with modern, playful flair that brings it into the 21st century. Marco, on the other hand, is a pioneer of the new Tuscan food movement, taking the best ingredients from the region and turning them into incredible dishes that make diners view the local cuisine in a whole new way.

After reaching the upper echelons of classical French cookery during her training in Paris, Lanshu returned to her native Taiwan to open Le Moût, a restaurant which combines local, seasonal dishes with European techniques and cooking methods. The restaurant itself looks like it’s been moved brick-by-brick from a Parisian square, but the food served is truly unique and presented with an incredible attention to detail.

Being trusted with the keys to the kitchen at Cliveden House is one of the best affirmations of talent a chef could want, and André has been at the helm for several years. The food is exactly what you’d expect from a restaurant situated in one of the UK’s most famous manor houses; indulgent, luxurious and opulent, but by no means stuffy – André takes classical dishes and adds his own personal twists to create food that’s new and inventive.

Hideaki has held three Michelin stars for six years now, and a meal at his Osaka-based restaurant Kashiwaya is like no other. As a master of ryotei – a type of Japanese cuisine traditionally reserved for the upper elite of society – his menus commemorate the memory of his first tea ceremony and change monthly, tightly following the seasons. His vibrantly coloured dishes come bursting with flavour and manage to combine textures in incredibly sophisticated ways.

Peter is one of the most innovative chefs in South Africa and is head chef at The Greenhouse at The Cellars-Hohenort, voted the best place to eat in the country. Having earned his stripes in the US and the UK, he eventually returned to Cape Town to take South Africa’s cuisine to a whole new level. Visually striking dishes of traditional stews, native beef and locally caught seafood, combined with the cooking techniques he learnt in his youth, make Peter’s cuisine some of the best in Africa.

Two-Michelin-starred Arnaud runs The Greenhouse in Mayfair, combining his time spent learning how to cook in France with his passion for Asian flavours and the very best of British produce. He is a big fan of playing around with traditional flavour combinations, pairing lamb with seaweed, lobster with peanuts and langoustines with sake. His presentation is immaculate, and with his sights set firmly on a third star, Arnaud’s menus achieve the very best in modern cooking.

Peruvian food is certainly having its moment in the spotlight, as British diners discover how eclectic, fresh and full of flavour it can be. One of the people responsible for this is Robert Ortiz, the first Peruvian chef to win a Michelin star. His restaurant Lima is at the forefront of modern Amazonian cuisine, where he serves up the national dish ceviche alongside more exotic dishes that make the most of the country’s indigenous ingredients.

Combining traditional Mexican food with flavours of Asia and the Mediterranean, Diego is part of a new movement in Mexico wanting to put the country’s cuisine on the world stage. Forget fajitas, tacos and chilli con carne; this is real, regional Mexican cooking the likes of which the UK has never seen. His restaurant, Corazón de Tierra, produces its own olive oil, honey, vegetables and herbs, and there is often a whole lamb or pig slowly roasting over an open fire.

Poland might not be the first place you think of when seeking out Michelin-starred cuisine, but Wojciech is the only chef in the country to hold one. His restaurant Atelier Amaro, which he opened in 2011, is a temple of modern, avant-garde cuisine that makes the most of wild ingredients found throughout the Polish countryside. Wojciech is an avid forager and hunter, using produce rarely seen outside the country, and utilises modern, state-of-the-art cooking techniques to create truly unique plates of food.

The penultimate night at Northcote sees the restaurant’s own executive head chef Lisa team up with Chantelle, who runs the kitchen at Marcus Wareing’s Tredwell’s. Lisa was just twenty-three when she was handed the reins by Nigel Haworth, and her admirable work ethos, respect for produce and unfaultable culinary skill has made her one of the most respected chefs in the industry.

Chantelle was originally a lawyer until she became a finalist in the Gordon Ramsay’s Chef Search competition in 2004, earning her a place in Marcus Wareing’s Savoy Grill. She has been working for the same company ever since, working her way up through the company and winning all sorts of awards.