Restaurant Fraiche | 1* Michelin

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Chef
Marc Wilkinson
Marc Wilkinson’s intimate and sophisticated little
restaurant, in the conservation village of Oxton,
comes highly recommended. It is the first on
Merseyside to be awarded three AA rosettes, as
well as being named a rising star by Michelin.
Here, modern cooking techniques are used to
create a light, contemporary French cuisine
which takes diners on thrilling adventures in
taste, texture and temperature.
Three skillfully composed, fixed-price tasting menus are the guide to subtle and
complex dishes that surprise and delight.
Only the best ingredients satisfy this chef-patron, who is as attentive to the
creation of a beautiful eating environment as he is to the creation of beautiful
food. Soft lighting bathes the warm sandy tones of the soigné interior, with its
sensual suede chairs, specially commissioned artwork and fine tableware. Or you
can dine al fresco to the soothing sound of a water sculpture. Art, architecture
and design are important interests for this many layered man, but food is his
raison d’être.
He devours the latest books, especially those on the science of food (often
reviewing them for the catering press), and carries out his own action-research in
great restaurants like El Bulli (returning with menus for guests to browse).
Unassuming, immensely hardworking and gently humorous, Marc Wilkinson is
lauded at every turn, for the dazzling quality of his cooking and the delicious
originality of his food.
“We try to be different at Fraiche. We try. It’s very difficult to be original about
everything, but we try to have our own touch, our own twist to things. The
highlight of cooking for me is when you create a new dish. Take our Shot of
Pesto. It’s so good – one of my best amuse bouche! You take pesto and
deconstruct it: put all the ingredients in front of you – or just picture them in
your head – and then reconstruct them in a different format.
What I am doing is a basil and lemon powder, with fresh parmesan shavings, and
pine nuts with extra virgin oil dust. Close your eyes and you’ve got pesto there.
But it’s so fresh! – because the basil isn’t cooked. It’s raw in the powder so, when
it hits, you get that floral depth which I love.
Of course, sometimes, you arrive at things by accident – like using rice as part of
my seasoning for fish. It happened when I was making puffed rice. That’s where
you blow wild rice at 200º C until it puffs, a bit like popcorn. I just started
experimenting, and found that if I crushed it, and mixed in liquorice, sea salt and
orange-powder, I got an interesting crust on the skin of the fish.
At the moment, I’m working on creating extracts, which I like a lot. I began by
cooking a classic version, then using modern techniques I should be able to
capture a pure flavour with out the stewed effect taking place or over cooked
taste – but it will taste quite different. In my head I know what I want to create,

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