As the accolades stack up, Absolutely Cheshire heads to acclaimed chef Andrew Sheridan’s Liverpool restaurant to see why it’s struck a chord with diners
Figure of Eight
Dining at 8 by Andrew Sheridan is an experience like no other. It’s just you and 15 other lucky diners, able to watch the chef at work as you are served a hosting of stunning tasting dishes, all accompanied by a cool soundtrack. It’s almost like going to a dinner party, just one with an award-winning chef doing the cooking.
A concept originally launched in Birmingham, Liverpool became the new home for 8 earlier this year and it hasn’t looked back. At the time of writing, news came in of nominations The British Restaurant Awards for Best New Restaurant in 2023, Best Culinary Experience in 2023, Best Luxury Restaurant 2023, Restaurant of the Year 2023, and Best Restaurant in Liverpool. The winners will be announced just as this magazine hits the shelves.
Looking at how Andrew reached these culinary heights, the number 8 is as good a place to start. “It’s the year I began cooking professionally – 2008,” he smiles about the name. “Since then, I have used the number 8 as inspiration for some of the dishes I’ve created.”
How much earlier did he first get a taste for cooking? “I’d love to say that my mum taught me to cook but, in fact, she was a terrible cook!” he laughs. “I first became interested in cooking when I started my first job in a pub. It was only the local pub, and the food was basic, but I really enjoyed that working environment. Even at a basic level, I wanted to be serving the best fish and chips, or best Sunday lunch. There wasn’t any express desire to become a chef. However, I quickly got a taste for it and decided that it could be a good career.”
A stint at ABode Chester really saw his cooking go up a notch. “I look back at the time fondly,” he says. “It was my first ‘proper’ kitchen job. I started off working in the bistro, but I showed promise, and I was rapidly promoted to work in its fine dining restaurant. I was young and my appetite to learn saw me progress quickly. It was great to work under head chef Stuart Collins, who’d previously worked alongside Gordon Ramsay. Stuart was a great mentor. He now has his own restaurant in Whitchurch, Shropshire. I am forever grateful for what I learned from working with him.
“At the time it was fashionable for there to be lots of elements on a plate. I remember one dish having 12 or 13 elements. Even at the time I knew it was too many, that some elements didn’t add anything to the dish,” he says. “So, I guess one of the most important things I learned was to keep things simple, and as time has gone on, I have reduced the number of elements on a plate, letting the individual ingredients shine.”
Next on the menu was Sosban on the Isle of Anglesey. “Becoming head chef at Sosban was a really good time for me,” Andrew reflects. “It was a chance for me to develop my cooking style, grow in confidence, and start turning out the food I had always wanted. My food style became nostalgic – evocative of childhood memories – and this seemed to really strike a chord with diners. I spent two years there, helping to transform Sosban into a destination restaurant in Llanelli, so it’s a time in my career I am very proud of.”
It was during his time at Sosban that TV came calling. “I got the call from BBC producers inviting me to take part in the Great British Menu,” Andrew explains. “I appeared in two consecutive series in 2018 and 2019, by which time I was head chef at the Stargazy Inn in Cornwall. I represented Wales having grown up there. During my first appearance I lost out to Chris Harrod – I put too many elements on the plate, and that’s what let me down. It was incredible to be judged by Paul Ainsworth – he’s a chef I respect immensely so to receive positive feedback from him was next level. Second time round, I was more precise and confident – and I was Welsh champion.”
The hype around Andrew was justifiably building, and meeting Sam and Emma Morgan enabled him to take his food to the next level. “They are an incredibly important part of my story,” he says on the two. “When I joined them as partner of Open Restaurant Group in 2020, I moved up to Birmingham where they gave me creative control of the operations there. I have maintained this position since and I appreciate the flexibility and respect they give me. We share the same vision for hospitality, that it should be experiential, unique, focusing on the best food and drink.”
It was here that he launched 8 at the Craft Dining Rooms. “When I launched 8 I wanted to continue the theme of offering dining as a complete sensory experience. For me, it’s never just been about the food, but about the experience right from when the customer enters the restaurant to the moment they leave – that includes everything from the atmosphere and feel of the place, to the music we play, and the drinks we serve.”
It proved a hit, so why move the concept to Liverpool? “I loved my time in Birmingham and the restaurant scene is thriving there; in some ways it’s saturated by fine dining options (the city has five Michelin stars). While I was in Birmingham, I was still travelling ‘home’ to the north west every week to see my family so when the opportunity to transfer 8 to Liverpool came up, it was one I couldn’t turn down. It was also a fantastic opportunity to offer Liverpool something it doesn’t have – a unique chef’s table dining experience, and that’s very exciting.”
Which is how Absolutely finds itself sitting alongside 15 others marvelling at the culinary creations before us. “I have designed a menu – 12 dishes in all – to showcase these ingredients,” Andrew says later. “My favourite dish at the moment is a beef dish we have on the menu at 8. I created it as a homage to a roast beef dinner. It comprises beef short rib topped with N25 caviar and truffle – just delicious. For me it’s about sourcing brilliant produce and treating it with respect, designing flavour combinations which are both surprising and nostalgic. I work with some fantastic producers, including Oliver Woolnough and the guys down at Meat Matters Ltd in Wales where we get our lamb and beef from. The quality of the meat is consistently incredible.”
With more awards recognition and rave reviews, expect 8 to be in demand. “To hold three AA Rosettes and be listed in the Michelin Guide is wonderful but, for me, that’s not the most important thing. Cooking the food I love, that I am proud of, and having happy customers every night is what it’s all about.” You best get in quick.
