Roast Cod with a Warm Sea Urchin Salad

Marc Wilkinson's Roast Cod with a Warm Sea Urchin Salad.

(He's the owner of Liverpool's Michelin star rated Fraiche)

Recipe.... 

Marc Wilkinson: A Fraiche approach to food

Feb 10 2009 by Emma Pinch, Liverpool Daily Post

Emma Pinch talks to Marc Wilkinson about his journey from fish fingers to Michelin success

FOR four years, Marc Wilkinson’s tiny, 20-cover restaurant, tucked away in Oxton, has been a bit of a buried gem, at least as far as the rest of the country was concerned.

But, since Fraiche was awarded a Michelin star, the owner/patron has faced an avalanche of interest.

All kinds of people are managing to find their way to his small corner of the Wirral.

From London foodies – ringing up worriedly to ask whether their expensive cars will be OK parked outside – to fellow chefs and critics.

"It’s amazing the difference an accolade makes," says Marc, sounding a touch bemused. "It’s been a mad house. The phones haven’t stopped ringing.

"We’re into the end of May at the moment for booking a weekend table. When we won three rosettes, we had a little bit of a surge, but it was nothing like winning the Michelin star.

"We’ve got people in the trade coming, food bloggers and critics as well, unfortunately, they make their way here and there’s no escape.

"It’s been a hard struggle to get recognised, especially with it being in Merseyside, trying to shake off the stigma for our dining. But it’s my home, so I stuck with it."

Huyton-born Wilkinson grew up on a diet of fish fingers and baked beans. When he got a job, aged 16, at a hotel kitchen, he had no idea what the scampi or fillet steak he was preparing was like. But when he tasted restaurant food he became hooked on cooking.

He went on to work 16-hour days at the Michelin-starred Winteringham House, then Midsummer House in Cambridge and in Canada, before setting up a successful restaurant in Essex.

But, when it came to opening a restaurant he calls his "baby", he came back to Merseyside.