Liverpool certainly doesn’t lack community spirit and collectiveness, and with the arrival of a brand new restaurant led by the city’s leading chefs, it proves that it’s not lacking in the catering industry either. The restaurant Barnacle is now taking bookings and set to open from December 1 and is led by some of Liverpool’s big culinary names including The Art School’s Paul Askew, owner of Bone and Block and Kelp, Harry Marquart and local kitchen stars, Kieran Gill and Jake Lewis.
The chefs have all worked under Paul’s tutelage during their careers and are uniting for the first time with the launch of Barnacle, which aims to tell share the incredible story of the region’s food provenance through its menu. Together they will set out to explore Liverpool’s storied and celebrated past right up to the present through ingredients and ideas which have found their way here over the decades.
Based in Duke Street Market’s mezzanine, Barnacle will feature contemporary cooking in an intimate Scouse brasserie and a bar with over 30 different gins with a focus on rums, ports and cognacs, a wondrous wine list and brilliant locally brewed beers. The culinary hideaway will focus on fresh, organic and free-range dishes; locally matched food and drink inspired by the port and its global history will be brought to life in dynamic meat, fish and vegan menus inspired by the markets and seasons.
Working with some of Merseyside’s finest local artisans, farmers and producers and telling the story of their origin from field to plate is key to the collective’s ethos at Barnacle. Dishes for the launch menu include Knowsley game terrine, walnut, date, endive, rapeseed; Peter Jones’ winter squash, Mrs. Kirkham’s, granola, tarragon; sea trout, mussels, Swiss chard, seaweed, turnip; Ormskirk hispi, Smithy’s mushrooms, bulgar wheat, shallots; ‘Liverpool Tart’ lemon, treacle, Billington’s Sugar, creme fraiche, clementine and Maghull carrot cake, cream cheese, pecan.
Paul Askew, Chef Patron and owner of The Art School and The Art School Cellars, who is also celebrating his 40th anniversary in the culinary world, said: “My dad was Captain Barnacle Bill Askew and he sailed the world on the Blue Star lines – it was his travels which inspired me when I was young for our project now. I think of barnacles on the hulls of the great ships which once sailed to and from Liverpool and brought beef from Argentina, apples from upstate New York, lamb from New Zealand and wines from France – all of this knowledge ended up back here in Liverpool.
“We are aiming to tell the story of the city’s food and cultural odyssey through its maritime history which has shaped it into the glorious place we know today. Myself, Harry, Kieran and Jake have worked locally and travelled the world and are bringing all of our experience into our new restaurant.”
Harry Marquart said: “I’m so proud of Barnacle. Liverpool has an incredible feeling right now and watching the revival of old buildings is testament to the times when shipping brought the city all kinds of food discoveries. Paul has been a figurehead for the city’s hospitality sector for years we are blessed to be working with him again. We share the same beliefs in food – quality, locally sourced ingredients and their sustainability are the foundation of Barnacle.”
As well as opening for bookings, Barnacle will also offer special menus for both Christmas Eve (£70 per person) and New Year’s Eve (£85 per person). The Christmas menu will feature dishes from the opening menu and new plates including salt aged duck, sprouts, pecans, cabbage and ‘A Christmas down under’ Pavlova. The New Year’s Eve menu consists of seven courses including Jerusalem artichoke, ketchup, hash brown, baby gem; Red Poll beef, langoustine, Growing Fields roscoff; and chocolate, Morton’s double cream, chestnut, Wirral raw milk butter.
You can now book your table for Barnacle here.
Barnacle, Duke Street Market, 46 Duke Street, L1 5AS