A chef from Rochdale has become the youngest person ever to win a Michelin star in Scotland.
Sam Yorke, aged 25, was awarded a highly coveted Michelin star alongside fellow head chef Tomás Gormley, 28, for their Edinburgh restaurant Heron this week.
Originally hailing from Rochdale, Sam trained at the Edinburgh New Town Cooking School before working at the much applauded (now closed) Castle Terrace, where he graduated from commis to sous chef in less than two years under the guidance of chef Dominic Jack.
Sam was also recently named in Code’s 30 under 30 class for 2023/24 as one of the most exciting young chefs in the UK.
Since opening in 2021, Heron offers farm-to-table fine dining with an a-la-carte menu and two tasting menus that change every few weeks.
ADVERTISEMENT
Yorke and Gormley met when they were both working at Seasons (now closed), which was included in the Michelin Guide. / Image: Supplied
Hasselback ratte potato, potato crisps, creme fraiche, trout roe and caviar, oyster and creme fraiche sauce, green dill oil. / Image: Heron
The duo’s restaurant showcases the best of Scotland’s seasonal produce: including organic fruit and vegetables from The Free Company, wild fish and seafood from Belhaven Lobsters, and game and heritage breed meat from MacDuff Butchers from the Lothians and Scottish Borders.
The pair first joined forces as head chefs with a pop-up at-home fine dining experience, Bad Seeds, during Covid which was a sell-out each week.
ADVERTISEMENT
Yorke and Gormley met when they were both working at Seasons (now closed), which was included in the Michelin Guide.
Tomás also has an impressive background, working across some of the country’s best loved restaurants including (the now closed) Le Roi Fou, two-star Andrew Fairlie at Gleneagles and 21212, when it held its Michelin star.
Tomás and Sam offer an a la carte and tasting menu championing the best of each season, with dishes on their most recent tasting menu including hand-dived Orkney scallops marinated in garum and topped with blood orange and radish; Hopetoun Estate venison, beetroot, grape and rhubarb, almond and tarragon.
Speaking on their win, Rochdale lad Sam commented: “To say that I’m delighted would be an understatement. It means a great deal to be recognised by such a prestigious organisation for our work at Heron.
“It’s a real testament to the unwavering focus and dedication of the entire team, without whom we wouldn’t be where we are today.”
Tomás added: “If you had asked me two years ago, when Sam and I sat down to start planning our pop-up Bad Seeds, I would never have imagined this happening.
ADVERTISEMENT
“This is a huge achievement for everyone, and I am so grateful that we get to go on this journey with them.”
This now means that Leith has the highest concentration of Michelin-star restaurants per square metre outside of London, making it a foodie capital for the UK.
Manchester, meanwhile, was snubbed at this year’s Michelin awards with no new stars awarded to its restaurants. Simon Martin’s Mana retained its one-star rating, whilst Where The Light Gets In – which received a Green Star last year – was overlooked for further awards in 2023.
Manchester’s European pasta and dumplings restaurant The Sparrows in Green Quarter, meanwhile, was awarded a Bib Gourmand by Michelin last week in recognition of its good food and modest prices.
Inside Portfolio, the UK’s first ‘champagne boutique’ and bar in Manchester
Daisy Jackson
A brand-new ‘champagne boutique’ is opening in Manchester this week, boasting more than 250 different champagnes to our city.
Portfolio will be a new bar and ‘immersive wine experience’, which will have one of the largest and most diverse champagne collections in the UK.
Mancs will be able to order champagne by the glass from just £12.50, along with plenty of accessible bottles.
To kick things off, Portfolio will open with a bar food offering that includes Welsh charcuterie, British cheeses and accoutrements, created by co-founder Julian Pizer, formerly of Another Hand and the Edinburgh Castle.
But later down the line, there’ll be a fun, relaxed tasting menu, ranging from a few bites to a full dining experience, obviously paired with the best champagne list in the country.
Inside Portfolio, you’ll be greeted by a striking champagne wall of 100 different bottles, plus a wall of photos from the team’s trips to Champagne in France.
Every drink will be served in exclusive Lehmann glassware imported from Reims, with more than 10 different glass styles and a strict no flutes policy.
There’ll be an open chef’s pass and sommelier station with bar seating, plus a working champagne cellar that will function as a private dining room and event space.
Portfolio champagne boutique opens in Manchester. Credit: The Manc Group
Julian Pizer has created Portfolio with Cameron Foster, founder of Duex Six which specialises in providing exclusive grower champagnes to the UK.
They’ll be joined by Wayne Baxendale as food and beverage director, who has more than 30 years of global wine experience including from Michelin starred restaurants, and Nikolai Kuklenko as general manager, who previously held a role as Head Sommelier at Mana.
Portfolio will be a wine boutique packed with rare grower bottles and vintage prestige cuvées and hopes to ‘strip away the snobbery and make champagne accessible’.
As well as well known names, guests will be able to enjoy rare and highly sought-after cuvées, including Jacques Selosse, Ulysse Collin, Jérôme Prévost, Cédric Bouchard, Larmandier Bernier and Egly Ouriet.
There will also be vintage prestige cuvées from Cristal, Philipponnat, Pommery, Jacquesson, Pierre Peters and Bollinger, some dating back to the 1990s.
As Cameron Foster explains: “We want to strip back the snobbery of Champagne and make it a wine for everyone, whether that’s a quick glass after work, a special celebration, or discovering grower champagne for the first time.”
Portfolio will open on 9 December at 67 Bridge Street, Manchester, with the full restaurant experience launching in February 2026.
Popular American fast food franchise Shake Shack is coming to Manchester
Danny Jones
Greater Manchester is getting another big global franchise as Shake Shack is finally set to make its Northern debut.
With so many good burger joints and a million and one great places to grab a good portion of chips in town alone, they’ll have to hit the ground running to fight off the competition.
The well-known transatlantic multinational is nothing short of massive in the States, vying with the likes of In-N-Out Burger, Five Guys, Carl’s Jr. – also eyeing up multiple UK sites over the next few years – Whataburger and Wendy’s, just to name a rather large handful. Oh yeah, and Maccies, of course.
Yanks will debate until the cows come home (pardon the pun) about which is best, and many believe Shake Shack is right up there, so Manchester foodies have every right to be excited. Consider this a belated Thanksgiving contribution.
The New York-founded company already has multiple locations on this side of the pond, such as several in London, which is where we first sampled it for ourselves.
Other venues include Birmingham, Cambridge, Oxford and Cardiff, as well as one inside Gatwick Airport; as for the brand’s first Manchester branch, Shake Shack UK no. 18 will be coming to the borough of Trafford and one of the biggest shopping destinations in the region.
But what sets this burger and milkshake-driven brand apart from the others?
Well, for starters, you could argue they’re not even most famous for their patties, buns or shakes; the first time we ever heard about Shake Shack was regarding their fries – specifically, the crinkle-cut shape and that very American-style cheese sauce.
They have long proved divisive among the masses, but those who love them go NUTS for the stuff, and you’ll find all manner of fakeaway recipes online of people trying to make their best imitation of the side and sauce, specifically.
Put it this way, Colonel’s gravy on KFC chicken is what cheese sauce is on Shake Shack fries. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but fans will stan this scran to no end.
Case and point:
My first time at Shake Shack 👌🏼💚 The cheese fries might be my new hyper fixation 🍟 pic.twitter.com/3HVwAgxRtD
Honestly, you’ll find countless examples of this kind of post on social media…
Richard Franks, Business Director at Shake Shack UK, said: “Manchester’s a city that does things proper; it’s full of heart, graft and great taste. We’re so pumped to be growing Shake Shack across the UK, and to be opening our first Northern Shack at Trafford Centre. We can’t wait to be a part of this city.”
The major mall and North West tourist attraction’s Centre Director, Simon Layton, added: “We’re really excited to welcome Shake Shack’s first Northern restaurant to the Trafford Centre.
“We know our visitors are going to love getting their hands on those iconic ShackBurgers and crinkle-cut fries. It’s a huge moment for the North – and we can’t wait for everyone to experience it with us in 2026.”
Opening in place of the Costa in the Great Hall, the opening of Shake Shack Manchester at the Trafford Centre is scheduled for next March. Exciting times.
Georgina Pellant -
29th March 2023 
