Obsession, Northcote

I had heard of the Obsession culinary excellence event at the luxury 5 star Northcote hotel situated in between Clitheroe and Blackburn many times over the years but had never experienced it until now. If you want to experience a top quality meal cooked to perfection in beautiful surroundings shared with like minded people you would be hard pressed to find anything more superlative than this.

This year's event showcases a diversity of chefs from around the globe from Italy, Spain, Denmark, Portugal, Sweden, Denmark and of course the UK. Lisa Goodwin-Allen opened up the first night of this year's event. Fittingly Lisa is the executive chef at Northcote. The hotel has kept its Michelin star for more than two decades and the 5 course meal that Lisa presented lived up to the expectation. Named Restaurant Chef of the Year by the Craft Guild of Chefs, Lisa has also appeared on BBC's Great British Menu TV series.

As Lisa explained to me:
"We tend to go through the main ingredients of the menu with classic flavours that people can relate to and then I put my spin and creativity on top of that. We look at the ingredients and think how we can make this something special."

The evening starts off with Louis Roederer, Brut Premier NV Champagne and Canapés giving you the chance to get to know your fellow diners for the night. If this was a statement of intent I could not think of a better introduction.

There are two screens in the restaurant that show the live cooking in the kitchen where things appeared to be extremely well organised. If Lisa and her team were not under enough pressure already she had the eyes of myself and fellow diners watching the preparations.

Each course of the meal is accompanied by a different wine as the Sommelier gives you a brief resume about the wine and where it has come from - it almost felt like he had been to the vineyard to purchase the bottle himself!

The starter of West Coast Crab served with Orchard Apple and Horseradish complimented each other along with the Portuguese wine.

Ox served with aged sour cream, cucumber pickle and dill all melted in the mouth and if I had to choose my favourite part of the meal, this would be it. The Scarlet Prawn with black and white Garlic with Parmesan had a taste and flavour that was second to none.

Naturally the Yorkshire Duck tasted perfect as it was from Yorkshire! When I've eaten duck before it has been tough because it had been over cooked but Lisa and her team served the dish with smoked bacon, turnip and parsley, it changed my mind completely about eating duck.

Blood Orange Jaffa looked like a work of art when presented - I wanted to frame it, never mind eat it! Served in an edible dome this very sweet dessert was complimented by a very sweet Californian wine.

Freshly ground Colombian Hulla and El Salvador coffee or tea served with Petit Fours rounded off a dining experience that was second to none.

Northcote itself is one of Lancashire's finest hotels with 26 individually styled, highly luxurious bedrooms with many rooms featuring a private balcony or garden terrace. Rooms are either in the Northcote Manor House or the Garden Lodge. The latter has rooms that are fit for a king.

At this level you can expect your own sitting room that comes complete with settee, a table and chairs, fridge with complimentary water and a proper bottle of milk, a coffee machine, board games and a large flat screen TV. The room information even lists Leeds/Bradford airport for transport connections - they obviously know their market.

The large bedroom has a super king bed with hypo-allergenic pillows, a DVD player and yet another large TV. The bathroom was even bigger than most people's living room and with under-floor heating it felt you were in a palace.

Waking up in the morning to see the view over the Ribble Valley from the balcony was nearly as good as some of the views in Yorkshire! I tried to see if I could see Pendle Hill but sadly it was not visible.

Breakfast is cooked to order in the restaurant and like everything else at Northcote it was top class.

The whole experience was totally unique combining superb service, food cooked by the best chefs and eaten in sumptuous surroundings. You will not be disappointed.

Obsession runs until Sunday 3 February
Northcote, Northcote Road, Langho, Blackburn BB6 8BE
Telephone 01254 240555
www.northcote.com