Reviews

As SEXY as sports go you don't get much sexier than the glamorous, fast and furious world of super bikes.

But out on the touring circuit of this mesmerizing motor sport, how do you compliment the 100 mph thrills on the track with the top quality hospitality off it?

Martin Jones, Operations director of Northcote at the Rovers, is the man with the answer.

Martin, 32, oversees the trackside cheer for the Ducati tour of the British Super bike Championship after being awarded the £100,000 contract late last year.

As the Ducati riders hurtle around the bends at Silverstone, Donnington Park and Brands Hatch, Martin has up to 75 staff trackside creating Michelin star quality food in a mock-Italian brassiere setting for corporate guests.

Chefs, waiters, bar workers and a whole host of technicians, help create the continental marquee at circuits throughout the UK after being ferried around in eight Lorries.

Martin said attention to detail is meticulous.

An Italian cappuccino bar is installed, the kitchen is open plan, and 50 carbon fibre top tables - a material used in super bikes - have even been created at the request of Ducati's tour manager.

"We create a very sharp quality Italian restaurant, with a three course meal with coffee. It's Italian-influenced cuisine with our own Northcote ethos. We are recreating Michelin star food and hospitality. We don't just pitch up and throw a bit of food out".

And it is Northcote at the Rovers's tender at Ewood Park which remains the company’s priority.

Martin said: "Blackburn Rovers remains the most important thing that we have got, we have got a great relationship with the club, but outside the football season May to August we have the time to look for other opportunities."

A HAT-TRICK at Blackburn Rovers Football Club comes in the form of the men behind the catering excellence that has arrived at the Premiership club this season. Hotelier Craig Bancroft and chef-patron Nigel Haworth, co-owners of Northcote Manor, Langho, set their goal to win the five-year contract to cater at Ewood Park, home of Blackburn Rovers Football Club, and they chose as their executive head chef Simon Bower.

Craig is adamant that the contract was hard won. With other prestigious bidders in the offing.

This line-up in stadia catering is completely different for Simon. He was born in Athens and travelled extensively with his family, learning some catering in the Far East, before settling in the UK in 1984. He passed his City and Guilds examinations in catering at Southport College, before joining the renowned Northcote Manor, under the tutelage of Nigel Haworth.

He stayed at Northcote four-and-a-half years before moving to High Moor Inn, where he gained more experience and knowledge under the guidance of Jim Sines.

This qualified him for the head chef position at Royal Birkdale Golf Club and then senior sous-chef at Kilney Court Hotel, Standish.

He also spent some time at the Devonshire Arms, Bolton Abbey, before Nigel contacted him to go back to Northcote Manor to eventually become executive development chef, helping Nigel set up the kitchens at the Jennings-owned Campions Dining Rooms and Bar, at Salmesbury, where he stayed for two-and-a-half years. In all he has been with Northcote Manor for eight years.

At Ewood Park, the home of Northcote at the Rovers, the event catering company, the quality of the food is paramount, fresh produce is always used an Simon says he is very lucky to have a very good team to work with, including his right-hand man, sous chef Lee Canning.

Northcote at the Rovers can cater for any out-side event, be it large or small, with operations director Martin Jones making sure everything runs smoothly.

Simon's job entails the organisation and buying of first class produce and looking after staff. Most importantly, he creates menus for each event which are recreated by his team.

Simon says: "The standard I have set myself is very, very high and I want to be the best at what I do and, by hook or by crook, I will do it because I have the backing of Nigel and Craig and Martin Jones.”My motto is - To do the marathon and not the sprint".

Four-page special on a business that has achieved a Premier position

At Blackburn Rovers Football Club, Premiership status on the field has now been matched with a premership team off the field - Northcote at the Rovers has been awarded a five-year contract to cater at Ewood Park for all matchday and non-matchday hospitality.

Co-owners of the highly-renowned Northcote Manor, Craig Bancroft and Nigel Haworth who have been running The Manor now for 17 years laid the foundations for The Ewood Park contract two years ago when the decision was taken to use the Northcote Manor brand to start Northcote at the Rovers, an event catering company.

Ewood Park has now given Northcote at the Rovers its own home and the company an opprtunity to use this state-of-the-art stadium to offer the best in corporate hospitality and banqueting.

After joining the club on July 1, Northcote's first taste of catering for large numbers was on August 12 with a friendly match when Blackburn played Barcelona and the catering team fed up to 900 guests followed on Wednesday, August 22 with the first home game of the season - Manchester United, when Northcote catered for full capacity.

Northcote at the Rovers has invested in the region of £275k in the infrastructure of the venue and from the redesigned production kitchen and five satellite kitchens, the team will cater for 15 corporate boxes and 11 suites, which at full capacity, can seat 1,400 people. The investment will ensure efficient delivery of hospitality and catering to the highest standards.

Winning the five-year contract to cater at Ewood Park, home of Blackburn Rovers Football Club, may be the break hotelier Craig Bancroft and chef-patron Nigel Haworth, co-owners of Northcote Manor, Langho, Lancashire, need to secure another Michelin star.

The pair who have been running the Northcote for 16 years, believe the 14-bedroom hotel and 90-seat restaurant has gone as far as it can without further investment.

Haworth has held a Michelin star since 1995 and the hotel won independent Hotel of the Year Catey in 1999. But a cash injection is now necessary for any further success to be achieved.

The foundations for the Ewood park contract were laid two years ago when the pair decided to use the Northcote Manor brand to start Northcote at the Rovers, an event catering company.

Ewood park gives Northcote at the Rovers it's own home, and the company can use the venue to offer corporate hospitality.