No, we have never heard of Sea Buckthorn either but it was certainly one of the stars of Manchester House’s newest Head Chef Nathanial Tofan, or Nat to his friends, who was showing the assembled press and food critics a sample of what he can do since he was appointed Head Chef at Manchester House in Spinningfield’s last autumn.

The Sea Buckthorn was the basis of a delicious sweet served with a yogurt and lemon, fourth out of the five dishes that we were served to sample washed down with Nat’s matching wines.

It’s always an enjoyable experience at Manchester House, greeted by a glass of champagne,and taken to our table on the second floor, illuminated by four dimly lit orange lamps.

First up comes the millionaires sandwich elegantly presented in wafer format.For those who want to know more It is Pistachio sponge, winter truffle, foie gras and Sauternes jelly.

The accompanying wine was a Chateau picque Caillou 2015  This correspondent past on the raw beef but overlooking other tables, it looked exceedingly presentable on

a bed of coloured dried maize corns contained within individual taco shells served with a Puligny Montrachet E Sauzet 2015, which we didn’t pass on.

The main was Turbot, topped with sea vegetables dressed in a white Soy and Verjusa,The horseradish we have to say was magnificent.

And so the Sea Buckthorn.For those who don’t know, though a native of Central Asia, these orange berries can be seen growing on coastal regions include the sand dunes of Lancashire.besides its use in Nat’s wonderful sweet, it is said to be useful on the skin for burns, wounds, cuts, and any kind of skin damage.

Nat is no stranger to Manchester.Just twenty eight years old born and raised in Nottingham and working in
his family’s restaurant where he found his passion. .

He started work as an apprentice chef at a city centre restaurant, where he learnt the basics before working for David Lem at Vienna in Nottingham.

A year in Paris followed where he continued to build his culinary foundations.
In 2011 Nat moved back to Manchester and was a key part of the launch of
Australasia, Living Ventures’ high energy Pan Asian fine dining restaurant.

Following the success of Australasia in 2013 Nat joined Aiden Byrne at
Manchester House to work on his fine dining collaboration with Living Ventures.
Working alongside Aiden in the development kitchen for 6 months before
launching Manchester House, Nat was a key lieutenant to Aiden in the
Manchester House team.

After taking a short sabbatical in 2015 experience new cultures and flavours
whilst travelling in Europe and beyond, Nat was welcomed back to Manchester
House as Senior Sous Chef in 2016 and in September 2017 he was appointed
Head Chef.

We all at About Manchester wish him well.

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