Old Pulteney returns to Liverpool Food and Drink Festival with local Chef Aiden Byrne

Following their successful debut at the Liverpool Food and Drink Festival in 2015, Old Pulteney single malt Scotch whisky and leading local chef Aiden Byrne have teamed up again to bring fine drams and delicious food pairings to this year’s event (17th – 18th September).

‘The Old Pulteney Drifter’, the whisky’s hand-crafted, boat-shaped bar featuring original nautical details and an eye-catching sail-like canopy, will be anchored at Sefton Park throughout the festival. It pays homage to the award-winning whisky’s home in Wick on the rugged north coast of Scotland where Pulteney Distillery was founded in 1826 during the town’s historic herring boom.

Old Pulteney has had an exciting year with appearances at a number of food festivals and special events around the North of England. Aiden, who is chef and owner of The Church Green British Grill in Lymm and Chef Patron at Manchester House, is an Old Pulteney brand ambassador, on a mission to give food lovers a fresh taste of malt whisky and to pioneer whisky and food pairing.

Aiden began 2016 with a visit to the Pulteney Distillery to immerse himself in the rich maritime heritage and traditional crafting of the whisky, enjoying a personal masterclass with Old Pulteney Senior Brand Manager, Margaret Mary Clarke. Inspired by its distinctive flavours and faint hint of the sea, Aiden has devised a selection of Old Pulteney-inspired food pairings. He will be educating festival visitors on how to bring together the perfect combination of complementary flavours during his appearance at the Old Pulteney Drifter on Sunday 18^th September from 2 – 4pm.

Margaret Mary Clarke, Senior Brand Manager for Old Pulteney commented: ‘We really enjoyed our last trip to Liverpool, we found that Festival visitors were keen to learn more about Scotch malt whisky and to sample our collection. It’s a huge asset for us to be able to work alongside as talented and passionate a chef as Aiden. Pairing food and whisky is a relatively new idea and he has taken our challenge and created some wonderful and creative dishes which we’re all looking forward to sharing with Festival guests over the weekend.’

Aiden Byrne added: ‘Since starting to work with Old Pulteney at last year’s Liverpool Food and Drink Festival, we have developed a partnership that has been fascinating for both parties. I love working with the delicious, complex and slightly salty flavours of the various Old Pulteney malts and developing flavour pairings has become something of a passion for me. Having the chance to introduce so many people to the taste of malt whisky and the foods that it can pair with has also been very rewarding.’

At this year’s Festival, Aiden will be preparing a special food pairing for Old Pulteney 12 Year Old – a nori rice cracker with cured salmon and seaweed salad. ‘ The citrusy and salty back notes in the 12 year old are complemented perfectly by the seaweed, citrus fruits and small bursts of seafood from the salmon caviar’, he commented.

The Liverpool Food and Drink Festival takes place on Saturday 17^th and Sunday 18^th September 2016 at Sefton Park, Liverpool. The Old Pulteney Drifter Bar will be on site in Zone B throughout the Festival. Aiden Byrne will appear at the Old Pulteney Drifter Bar on Sunday the 18^th of September from 2 – 4pm. 

www.oldpulteney.com / @OldPulteneyMalt

http://www.liverpoolfoodanddrinkfestival.co.uk 

Old Pulteney Single Malt Scotch Whisky

Old Pulteney is one of the world’s finest and most distinctive single malt Scotch whiskies. Known as ‘The Maritime Malt’, it is crafted in the windswept coastal town of Wick, home to the Pulteney Distillery which is one of the most northerly on the Scottish mainland. The distillery was established in 1826 in the heart of ‘Pulteneytown’, the town created to house fishermen during Wick’s famous herring boom which drew a fleet of over 1000 boats and 7000 workers to this remote and rugged harbour.

Old Pulteney is the embodiment of this place, its people and its remarkable history. The skilled Pulteney Distillery team continues to craft whisky using the most traditional and time-honoured techniques that most others have long abandoned. This includes the uniquely shaped Pulteney stills, which are reflected in the design of the Old Pulteney bottle on shelves today.

Matured in hand-selected oak casks, the resulting whisky has been acclaimed for its excellence, its smooth drinking style and faint hint of the sea. Old Pulteney’s 21 Year Old Single Malt holds the coveted title of ‘World Whisky of the Year’ for 2012 in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible – one of the industry’s highest accolades. Earlier this year Old Pulteney 1989 Vintage was crowned the ‘World’s Best Single Malt’ at Whisky Magazine’s prestigious World Whiskies Awards. The whisky also achieved top ten status in the UK single malt market in 2012 and is flourishing in many other countries around the world.

Aiden Byrne

Aiden Byrne was raised in Kirkby in Merseyside and comes from a humble background. Excelling in Home Economics at school, Aiden spent his college summer holidays working for free at the Stanneylands Hotel in Cheshire and decided to embark on a career as a chef.

After a spell at London’s Royal Garden Hotel he left to join Adlards Restaurant in Norwich. Aiden was made Head Chef by the tender age of 22 and his cuisine helped to win back Adlards’ Michelin Star. He went on to work at a number of Michelin-Starred establishments in England and Ireland including The Oak Room and Orangery Restaurants, The Commons Restaurant and Tom Aikens where he was Head Chef. Aiden had previously worked with Tom Aikens at Pied à Terre restaurant and cites him as one of his mentors. After parting ways with Tom, Aiden went on to work at Danesfield House Hotel before joining The Dorchester as Head Chef of The Grill Room in London. His first book, Made in Great Britain, was released in September 2008.

A Northern boy at heart, Aiden and his wife yearned to be closer to home and in 2008 purchased the Church Green in Lymm, Cheshire. After converting the local pub into “The British Grill” the couple won the AA restaurant of the year award in 2012. In 2013, Aiden opened Manchester House with Living Ventures. A passion project for Byrne, Manchester House has won him both critical acclaim and a loyal fan base. This autumn Aiden appeared on new BBC programme Yes Chef, which saw 16 chefs mentor amateur home cooks to do battle in the kitchen. A new book based around the recipes and ethos of Manchester House will be published this winter.