Aiden Byrne starring at Wirral Food and Drink Festival on August 30 and 31

Aug 5 2009 Birkenhead News

SCOUSE chef Aiden Byrne is set to be one of the star dishes on the menu of this year’s Wirral Food and Drink Festival.

The culinary king who appeared on the Great British Menu will be demonstrating at this year’s gastronomic spectacular being held again at Claremont Farm in Bebington.

Aiden became the youngest person to win a Michelin star and head chef at the Dorchester Hotel in London, so he’s guaranteed to give you more than a few tips on how to create a tasty bite or two for your dinner table.

Aiden returned from London to open Church Green in Lymm to great acclaim.

It was at home economics classes at Roughwood School in Kirkby that Aiden discovered his flair for cookery; where his apple crumbles and lamb stews would effortlessly earn him top marks week after week.

Aiden went to catering college in Huyton before getting a job at the Royal Garden Hotel in the capital.

But he was in for a shock: “It was horrible,” he says. “I used to get bullied because I was a scouser. I was locked in the fridge overnight, that sort of thing.

“It shattered my world.”

But after a short spell back at home, his passion for cooking was reignited by a job at the Chester Grosvenor Hotel, before he headed to Adlards in Norwich and then the Dorchester.

Of his ethos, Aiden says: “I use predominantly British produce. It celebrates how far British food has come over the last 15 years.”

He still loves what he does: “I’ve been doing this for 17 years now and I jump out of bed and run to work every day.

“It gives me a real sense of belonging to something.”