How Manchester restaurant Skof won a Michelin Star in less than a year
When chef Tom Barnes opens the doors of his Skof restaurant in Manchester tonight, it will be with the added sparkle of Michelin Star approval. Tom and his team have scooped what is considered to be the most prestigious gastronomic award going in gaining a Michelin Star this week - and doing it at the first possible opportunity.
For Skof has only been open for nine months, inside an old textile building on Federation Street in the city centre. But it was enough time to win the notoriously tricky approval of the Michelin inspectors.
So just how did Skof do it? Claiming the top honour at all, let alone after less than a year, is a feat few chefs can ever dream of achieving.
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Ask the humble genius at the heart of Skof, and he will tell you it's down to his team. And Tom even admits to the MEN he was worried before opening back in May last year that "no one would come".
He needn't have worried - as soon as bookings opened tables were swiftly booked out for weeks in advance. And it's remained one of the toughest places in town to get a reservation ever since.
He tells the MEN: "I was really worried at the beginning, would people want to come? It was a big risk to leave my old job to do this, but my team have done such a brilliant job. They're such nice people and that's what people always comment on, it's fun, it's friendly here.
"No one should feel out of place coming in here and no one does. A lot of it comes down to the service, the staff, the people, they take a real interest in the guests, everyone really cares about what they do. We want to give people a great time."
The "old job" Tom left was as chef at, arguably, the best restaurant in the country - Simon Rogan's L'Enclume in Cartmel, Cumbria.
Having presided over a kitchen bestowed with Three Michelin Stars, it was no wonder that before Skof even opened its doors expectations were high of what Tom could achieve here in Manchester. You could say he had the recipe for Michelin success from the off.
Although Tom says he never took anything for granted. He says: "It's a tough one, when you take a massive step you have doubts in your mind, will people enjoy it? But the amount of peple who reached out to me, in the industry as well as the people of Manchester, that was a brilliant sign.
"When the bookings got released it sold out really quickly and that was amazing as well. We have had bookings solidly ever since.
"It feels like a whirlwind the last nine months, people have been so welcoming."
Tom, 36, from Barrow-in-Furness, set out from the off with a mission to remove some of the "pretentiousness" around fine dining. As he told the MEN before launching last year, there were to be "no conventions, no dress codes - just great food and great vibes in a casual and beautiful space, much like the city we've chosen as our home."
But the menu, from the off, has been unashamedly fine dining, with tasting menus priced at either £120 for 12 courses or £165 for 15, or a smaller four course lunch menu for £50.
In a city where many have moaned that there "isn't an appetite" for these kind of prices, Tom has roundly defied those critics. Why does he think that is?
He says: "I don't know if part of it is the fully open kitchen, people can see how many staff it takes to do this, they can see how hard people are working here. I know it's not for everyone these prices.
"Manchester is such a great city, there's such an amazing variety of restaurants, and they're all brilliant in their own way so I'm just pleased I can add my own little thing into the scene."
He adds: "I'm not super philosophical, I just want to give people a good time. Some chefs are really deep about things, but I get the best ingredients we can and we cook them to the best of our ability, that's what this is about."
He admits the Michelin Guide Awards Ceremony on Monday night was "a bit of a blur" as soon as his name was announced on stage as the recipient of a new Michelin Star.
He says: "It was brilliant, it was nice being round everyone in the industry, it was really supportive. But it was all a bit of a blur to me from when they read it out, and no I wasn't drinking either!"
Skof won huge cheers in the grand setting of Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow on Monday night, and the ripples were soon felt in Manchester, where fans and foodies were quick to send their congratulations to Tom and his team too.
Among the congratulations were from Manchester's other Michelin Star chef, Simon Martin, who has retained the honour for a sixth consecutive year.
He said: "Really hope this convinces even more high level operators to open in Manchester, which in my completely unbiased opinion (of course), is the most exciting city in the country right now. Absolutely over the moon."
Also sending congratulations was Tom's former boss Simon Rogan, who wrote on social media: "Not only did we retain our stars, but we also celebrated a star for Tom and his great team at Skof Manchester many of whom we know and who have been part of our team in Cartmel.
"Watching all the talented individuals within our small group of restaurants flourish and grow fills me with pride. It shows that with the right encouragement, dreams really do come true—and they still do for me, even after so many years."
Tom says: "Simon is my partner on this, and he was buzzing for us. He's been a massive support to me, I couldn't have done it without him, I wouldn't have had the confidence. He believes in me and supported me, this place would never have happened without him."
Tom has spent his entire professional career working alongside the world's best chefs. Aged 18 he began working at the two-Michelin-starred Vineyard at Stockcross under chef John Campbell.
Following this, he picked up more experience as part of the brigade in lauded restaurants including The Square under Phil Howard and Geranium in Copenhagen under the renowned Rasmus Kofoed.
Before Skof he spent ten years working with Simon Rogan, first at his Rogan & Co restaurant in Cartmel when it won its first Michelin Star, and then onto L'Enclume where he was executive chef when it won its third Michelin Star.
Opening his own restaurant for the first time in Manchester, Tom was determined to celebrate the north. And that included with the name itself.
"It's a very Northern word really," he told the MEN last year.
"It was the sort of thing my dad used to say when I was younger or complaining, 'just skof it', but it's also Edwardian slang for food."
The style of the restaurant certainly left a lasting impression on the Michelin inspectors. Bestowing its star this week, the entry in the 2025 Michelin Guide praises its nods to "Manchester's industrial heritage with its exposed brickwork and girders".
It adds: "A relaxed atmosphere is encouraged, with the chef's hand-picked playlist and the chattering diners combining for a brilliant buzz."
And after the Michelin endorsement this week, it's a restaurant that's destined to continue to keep buzzing for a long time to come.
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