Aiden Byrne to open new restaurant at the Wirral's Hillbark Hotel

Aiden Byrne, chef-proprietor of the Church Green in Lymm, Cheshire, is to open a second restaurant in the North this summer.

 

The chef has entered a partnership with the Hillbark hotel in Frankby, Wirral, and will open an eponymous fine-dining restaurant at the 18-bedroom boutique hotel and wedding venue at end of July.

 

The food operation at the hotel was previously overseen by Michael Riemenschneider, the former executive chef of the Contessa Hotels group, who left after a fall-out with owner Craig Baker and has set up his own restaurant in Cheshire.

 

Aiden Byrne at the Hillbark Hotel will seat 36 diners and also include a private dining room for up to 15 guests. It will be open from Monday to Friday for lunch and dinner serving the chef's signature modern British cuisine with a focus on seasonality and local produce. He has been named Food Ambassador of the Year for the Wirral area, which he says has given him the "opportunity to meet some fantastic local producers".

 

Byrne will divide his time between his two ventures, with head chef Stewart Warner overseeing the kitchen at the new restaurant and Byrne's brother, Louis, heading up the Church Green.

 

Byrne, who previously worked at Danesfield House in Marlow, Buckinghamshire, and the Dorchester's Grill restaurant in London, told Caterer the new venture presented the perfect opportunity for him.

 

"I'd been looking to expand for sometime but the previous restaurant, the White House, fell through as refurbishment costs were too high," he said.

 

"We are very comfortable at the Church Green and it was always going to be a stepping stone for me to open further restaurants. At the Hillbark Hotel I want to do what I do best and create a fine-dining restaurant with the aim of four AA Rosettes and a Michelin star in the near future."

 

Dorchester head chef leaving to run own pub >>

 

Recipes by Aiden Byrne >>

 

Swiss chef Michael Riemenschneider goes solo with new Cheshire restaurant >>

 

By Kerstin Kühn

 

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