Craig Bancroft - FIH MI

Managing Director

Northcote Group

Craig Bancroft is Managing Director at Northcote, a Michelin Star Boutique Hotel set in the Ribble Valley, Lancashire. Since joining the hotel as General Manager in 1983 with Nigel Haworth he has focused on creating an oasis of food and wine excellence with genuine service. This commitment has led the hotel to flourish over the years and win numerous awards. Most recently Hotel of the Year 2016 in the AA Hospitality Awards and Hotel of the Year 2017 in the Visit England Awards for Excellence, as well as Craig himself being awarded The Caterer’s Hotelier of the Year 2016 and Imbibe Hotel Personality of the Year 2017. Craig has always had passion for food and wine, which he has developed over the years and saw him enter The Academy of Food and Wine Hall of Fame in 2010. Matching wine with food is an integral part of the experience Craig creates for his guests. With his team of five sommeliers, he takes great pride in curating a wine list to complement Executive Head Chef Lisa Goodwin-Allen’s menu. Craig meets with the Northcote wine team monthly to revise the wine list and ensure its constant improvement. The broad list currently includes 52 Champagnes and Sparkling Wines and 500 Bins of still wines from 20 different countries, ranging from £26 through to £800. In 2016 and 2017, their hard work was recognised when Northcote won the Best of Award of Excellence in the 2016 Wine Spectator’s Restaurant Awards for an outstanding wine list. This extremely prestigious award is only granted to 11 English restaurants.