Former Student’s TV Success
Lisa Allen & The Great British Menu
Former LMC student Lisa Allen is through to the second round in the Great British menu, after winning the North West heat at the beginning of April, beating Johnnie Mountain and Aiden Byrne.
Lisa is the only female chef on the show, and is competing to cook at a glittering banquet hosted by Prince Charles. Lisa studied catering at LMC, and whilst at College had a part time job with Nigel Haworth’s outside catering company. After completing her course, Lisa joined the Michelin starred Holbeck Ghyll in the Lake District in 2000. Speaking about this time, Lisa said “I think at that age it is quite daunting coming out of college because you don’t understand all the ins and outs of the kitchen. But it gave me a good understanding of what to expect in the real world, as well as good grafting, and it made me realise what kind of catering I wanted to go into.”
Lisa’s career continued to progress as she moved to the two Michelin starred Le Champignon Sauvage in Cheltenham as Commis Chef before moving to Northcote as Demi Chef de Partie. After four years at Northcote Lisa became Head Chef at the age of 23, making her one of the top female chefs in the country. In 2008 Lisa won the Best Chef of the Year at the Northern Hospitality Awards.
Speaking about her success Lisa says “It’s a little harder for a woman to succeed in this industry, but you’ve got to get out there and prove yourself, and once you’ve gone and done that you’ve just got to keep going.”
