CHEF Paul Askew is hosting a special dinner tonight to mark his 30th anniversary in the business.

Paul, who has cooked for the Queen, Condoleezza Rice and “many, many more interesting and high-profile guests from actors and footballers to writers and musicians” is celebrating his professional birthday at the London Carriage Works with guest of honour Stephen Doherty, the Formby chef who was the first Englishman in history to win three Michelin stars.

Askew told the Daily Post: “The dinner came about when I realised the 30-year hurdle had been reached while chatting to colleagues and friends.

“They suggested I marked the occasion during the [food and drink] festival as I was able to get the support of one of my favourite chefs, Stephen Doherty, who was the first Englishman to run a three Michelin starred kitchen at Le Gavroche, in London.Š

“He is my mentor and good friend and having had Marco [Pierre White] and Gordon [Ramsay] in his brigade over the years he has a wealth of knowledge and experience, which he is very generous and humble with to others.

“All in all, it’s a good excuse for us to cook together and have some fun with the guests at the same time.”

The dinner is mainly for regulars to the restaurant and their winemakers’ dinner crowd, with a few family and friends. He added: “I will be doing the ‘cheffy’ trip to London later in the year, probably to eat at Pierre Koffman’s restaurant, who we cooked for and spent time with earlier this year and a gastronomic trip to San Sebastian, which is my favourite culinary city.”

Askew has certainly seen some changes in his 30 years.

He said: “There has been nothing short of a food revolution in Britain in the food and beverage industry. Liverpool’s food scene is booming.”

There were still a couple of tables available for tonight – call 705 2222 to book.