Chef-dynamo Andrew Nutter is cooking up a storm in his grand old Victorian manor house on the fringes of Rochdale. Hes been here for nearly two decades, ever since Mum and Dad decided to invest in their son as a potential future for all the family and the boys done good. Over the years, hes pioneered his own brand of modern European cooking, drawing on international techniques and flavours (think mango, chilli, pineapple) which contribute to a real, one-off experience in this bastion of fine food.
A favourite of many of the region's diners, Nutter was the rightful winner of the MFDF Outstanding Achievement Award in 2012, and his ambition and talent, honed in French Michelin-starred restaurants and at the Savoy, shows little slacking off. Hes had a busy TV career to boot with appearances on Ready Steady Cook and his own Channel Five series, Utter Nutter - but the real reason for coming to Nutters is the food. Dishes could include Jerusalem artichoke soup with frazzled bacon and truffled chives followed by herb-crusted brill with cucumber spaghetti, lobster and mussel sauce or seabas with Lancashire cheese potato gnocchi. Desserts like caramelised lime tart with Grey Goose and ginger beer sorbet and lemon meringue panna cotta are a high point.
The Sunday lunch three-courser for £25 is a big draw, centrepiece of which is rib-eye of Limousine beef, closely followed by benchmark Yorkshire pid and a red wine jus come gravy that is savoury perfection.