Why Newcastle's New Fine-Dining Restaurant Hide is a Must-Visit
Heaton's newest fine-dining gem has finally landed, and it's already making a name for itself
Although he’s not a local lad, Aaron Mclellan has taken the North East to his heart. An essential part of the crack team behind Hide, Aaron talks us through menu-building, foraging in Northumberland and how Hide is breaking brand new ground in Newcastle.
Tell us about your background.
I started my career in Edinburgh at The Balmoral as an apprentice and then moved on to Greywalls Hotel (which was at the time a four-AA Rosette restaurant), working for Michel Roux Jr. From there I went to Aizle and then I got given the head chef job at The Torridon in the Highlands (the most northern five star hotel in the UK). Then we moved to Newcastle and I started for Jack Brown (the owner of Nest, Flight and Hide) and Hide opened about a month ago. It’s beautiful down here.
What was the vision behind Hide?
Because of the demand at Nest, about six months ago we decided to open up another venue in the same neighbourhood. Interior-wise we try to tie it in to the title. In Nest it’s like a little bird nest and as you come in you’ll see that the windows are hidden with trees, and there are branches and flowers along the ceiling. It feels like you’re in a little nest. The same went for Hide – we made it a little hide where the whole room is wrapped in branches and twigs.
How do you approach menu-building?
When I write menus, I try to think what I like to eat. I like to do head-to-toe cooking, so for example at Living North’s Christmas Fair this year I used a pig’s head – things that you’ll never really see in another restaurant in this day and age, but it’s such a beautiful way to cook something. You use everything, including things which would usually be thrown away.
I try and use cheaper ingredients to showcase them and display them as the main centrepiece. I tend to use a lot of game (especially at this time of year), but I try to cater for vegans as well, and we showcase the best of British vegetables. Rather than copying the pig’s head and trying to make it vegan, I want to use natural resources. Northumberland is such a beautiful place and I tend to go foraging up there quite a lot. We try to get a lot of sorrels, mushrooms and herbs which we bring into the restaurant.
What’s exciting you on the menu at the moment?
At the moment we have some ducks from a farm up in Widdrington and no one else is currently using these ducks apart from us. We also use a lamb supplier in Alwinton, and we went up to the farm to learn about the lambs which was quite a nice touch. We all get day trips out to meet suppliers and see what they do.
‘We’re going to be the only people in the North East to be doing a Breakfast Tasting Menu, which I hope will take off’
Tell us what you have coming up at Hide.
I’ve done a fair bit of research into this over the past few months and we’re going to be the only people in the North East to be doing a Breakfast Tasting Menu, which I hope will take off. I wanted to be the person to bring it up North! We’re going to do a seven-course breakfast menu, going through the stages of a traditional hotel breakfast like the fundamentals of a continental breakfast, and then were going down the route of smoked salmon and scrambled eggs with caviar. We’re also going to have something called the Hide Stack which is going to be a layered terrine of breakfast.
Breakfast is massive in Newcastle and there’s so many great restaurants even just in Heaton like Smoke & Sear and Aidan’s Kitchen. We want to get involved in that but not as competitors – they’re great in what they do and we’re great in what we do. Bookings are live already for December for every Saturday and Sunday morning.
What advice would you give to novice chefs?
Come in, be yourself, and be confident. When I get junior chefs in they’re really nervous and are scared to fail. From my point of view, I want them to come in and be happy – if they make a mistake, they learn from that mistake. Our morale in the kitchen is amazing. We’re not aiming for three Michelin stars, we just like to be happy and do what we do.
What’s your favourite ingredient to work with?
At the moment it’s wood sorrel. Most people will turn a blind eye, but these herbs bring such a punch of flavour to a dish.
Tell us a good local foraging spot.
A true forager never gives away his spots! I do like to go around Kielder though, and even Jesmond Dene for people who live in the city.
What’s your go-to lazy snack?
As much as I love doing fancy food, I can’t go wrong with a Pot Noodle. A Pot Noodle and a nice cheese and ham toastie!
