Superstars of the culinary scene cooked up a storm at the first Hospitality Action’s Northern Lights fundraising dinner at the Lowry Hotel, raising a whopping £25,000.

Hospitality Action has been raising cash to help those in need working or retired from the hospitality industry. The charity, which was set up in 1837, looks after those who find themselves in crisis and last year alone it gave grants of £668,620 with just under £80,000 supporting workers in the North West.

There was a truly stellar line-up of chefs who teamed up to treat guests to a five course dinner which kicked off with a glitzy champagne and cocktail reception and canapés prepared by the Lowry’s own chef Andrew Green.

A starter of pork terrine and smoked eel was created by two Michelin star chefs, Shay Cooper from the Goring in London and Mark Poynton, from Alimentum.

The brill and cauliflower fish course was created by Andrew Nutter of Nutters restaurant and Anthony Shirley, Executive chef at the Seafood Pub Company. The main of aged Lonk Lamb in seaweed infused butter pastry was cooked to perfection by Northcote’s chef Nigel Haworth and Warrick Dodds of the Individual Restaurant Company.

A twice baked cheese soufflé delighted as the savoury course from Paul Askew, the Chef Patron of the Art School and Executive Consultant, Steven Doherty

Paul Heathcote, owner of Heathcote & Co and Steve Midgley of the CH&Co Group brought the dinner to a delicious conclusion with a chocolate and almond savarin with orange curd and raspberries.

Each food course was paired with an array of exquisite wines chosen by top sommeliers George Bergier, Alan Holme, Pasquale Matarrelli, Nigel Wilkinson and Filippo Zito.

To round off the evening, there was a fundraising auction with some fantastic experiences up for grabs, including a training session with Mike Gatting OBE, a weekend for two cooking with Aldo Zilli in Italy as well as memorabilia and artworks.