Chef collaborations are more prominent than ever, and the world’s best cooks are certainly proving that four hands are better than two.
Among the latest to jump on the four-hands dinner train that’s currently speeding through the restaurant world are Mark Birchall of Lancashire, England’s three-Michelin-starred Moor Hall and Jean-Philippe Blondet of the also-three-Michelin-starred Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester.
Joining forces on September 9 at the London restaurant, the one-night-only dinner marks a rare chance to taste chef Birchall’s food in the British capital, for a cool £485 (approx $650) per person. Adding to the star appeal – and presumably the cost, too – Ducasse himself will oversee the proceedings on the night.
Located about 200 miles north of the capital, in a patch of countryside somewhere between Liverpool and Preston that no one would call the country’s prettiest, Moor Hall has quietly been building its reputation for just shy of a decade. Launched by Birchall in 2017, two years after proprietors Andy and Tracey Bell took over the Grade II* listed site, the restaurant’s ascent has been steady but confidently consistent.
Six months after opening, Moor Hall got its first Michelin star. A second came in 2019. In 2025, the crown was completed, with that third Michelin star awarded in the February ceremony, making the restaurant one of just ten in the UK to hold the maximum number.
“We started out eight years ago with an outrageous ambition to create a world-class dining destination in the north of England … The journey to three stars has been one of commitment, determination, and passion, not only from myself, but my amazing team. This is a dream come true,” Birchall told the guide at the time.
Although a born-and-bred Lancashire man, Birchall trained at some of Europe’s best restaurants, including the Roca brothers’ El Celler de Can Roca in Girona Italy and, a little closer to home, Simon Rogan’s L’Enclume.
Back on home soil, he gives ingredient provenance the highest priority. As much as possible is harvested daily from the onsite organic gardens, and what can’t be grown in-house is sourced from the West Lancashire region. All fish is from the UK. It’s a valiant and notoriously tricky carved path by Birchall, but one that has garnered recognition: in 2022, Michelin handed him a Green star.
And now, on the back of these accolades, the north travels south to the big smoke and the kitchens of one of its grandest hotels. “I’ve admired Mark’s work for a long time,” says chef Blondet, who has run the kitchens of Alain Ducasse at The Dorchester since 2016. “When Moor Hall received its third Michelin star, it felt like the perfect moment to bring our two kitchens together. It’s a rare opportunity to connect our worlds.”
While Birchall enjoys the freedom of countryside positioning and Blondet navigates inner-city dynamics, the respect for ingredients is aligned. “We come from different culinary backgrounds – mine is very much shaped by French technique and the philosophy of seasonality, and Mark’s by a deep relationship with British produce and his surroundings,” Blondet says. “But what we share is a commitment to seasonality, clarity of flavor and respect for the ingredient.”
The resulting six-course menu is not, then, a duet. Unlike many four-hands dinners, where chefs work collaboratively on new dishes, this evening will be a showcase of the two restaurants’ signatures, with the chefs taking responsibility for alternating courses.
Birchall will plate up his East Coast langoustine with fermented Tarleton tomatoes, smoked bone marrow and tangy rosehip; Blondet will bring his hand-dived scallop with rich buerre blanc and a healthy dollop of caviar to the table. Banks blackberries, muscavado, woodruff and oxalis will represent Moor Hall on the dessert course; Alain Ducasse is represented in the form of chocolate with whisky and buckwheat.
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“We’re not trying to blend styles, but instead we’re allowing each dish to reflect both in harmony. Each course is a conversation between our restaurants,” Blondet adds.
Book here: sevenrooms.com
