IT would be some dinner party.

“Ian Brown, Liam Gallagher, Marco Pierre-White and Kenny Dalglish.”

You’d hate to think what the bar bill would come to. If there was a bar left. But award-winning chef Kevin Lynn had no hesitation selecting his dream guests.

Brought up in Warrington, he looked to Liverpool for his football and Manchester for his music. Clubbing at the Hacienda and going to see Oasis and the Stone Roses live.

Like his idols the Gallaghers, he wasn’t one for studying: “I hated school. Hated being told what to do. I wasn’t very good at it,” he confesses.

Luckily there is one thing he is very good at. Food. Oh, and picking up awards.

Kevin’s restaurant, The Machine House, in Rossett, between Wrexham and Chester, is Michelin recommended, and has been awarded AA Restaurant of the Year Wales 2018, won the Outstanding Restaurant of the Year in Wales 2018, Best Restaurant in North East Wales 2018 as well as picking up two AA rosettes.

"It's been one thing after another," laughs Kevin, 46, "It makes me very proud and of course it makes all those days of hard work worth it.

"I go to the market in Manchester to get the fish, get my own fruit and veg from a couple of different stalls in Cheshire and source my lamb from a local butcher. It's lot of work to get it all local but it's what I want to do. It takes a lot of research - we've just got Montgomery Wines from Montgomeryshire involved because I want a Welsh wine list.

"It's an exciting time for Welsh produce and an exciting time for The Machine House."

Modern British food is at the core of what Kevin produces, with a “Nordic” twist – and everything is sourced locally.

For a lad, who remembers his mum baking scones and his dad bringing in game and fish for the family table it’s no surprise that his natural larder, the Welsh and Cheshire countryside, inspires his menus.

“We’ve got local venison on at the moment plus mallard shot in Cheshire and pigeon," he says.

“The River Dee is about 20 minutes away, and that’s where I get my samphire and shore herbs. The lamb we use is in the field next door.

"You have to exploit a country like Wales and what it produces - there's so much going from craft ale to gin - you've just got to go out there, locate it and then pick the best to put in the restaurant. I think it's what's attracted so many people to eat with us - good quality, local food.

"We've had visitors from all over, from Spain to Glasgow, and we recommend they use the local hotels and explore so hopefully we're helping to generate a bit of business for Rossett and Wrexham."

Next year Kevin has set his sights on the biggie.

“It’s every Chefs dream to get a Michelin Star, it would be an amazing achievement if this was to happen next year. I strongly believe we have the right team to do it.

"It's a hard one because you don't want to chase it and I've not applied for it before. Now, when people are making a fuss about the food, the inspectors visit which stops the old school way of applying or getting nominated - they've got to hear about you first.

"It's a rollercoaster the journey we've been on - all I wanted to do was open a restaurant and that was it. I never thought in my wildest dreams that Michelin might be interested.

"I think it shines through that we are happy in what we are doing and enjoying and the customer goes away satisfied."

With 30 years in the business behind him, including at The Belle Epoque and Shrigley Hall, Kevin has no plans for expansion or to run a chain of restaurants.

“I’m not into big glitzy places, they’re not for me," he says. "I don't believe in it. I think anyone who is coming here at the moment is coming for the food that I'm producing.

"Obviously I have chefs working with me who have the knowledge but I would not leave them to here to run a kitchen and the service while I'm off somewhere else gallivanting.

"It would take away the fact that people are coming here for a special reason and, without wanting to sound too big headed, I'm part of that. The food has created a bit of buzz and I want to keep that buzz here and generate more business in the area.

"I've been an executive chef before where we've had three restaurants in Knutsford including one that was next door to the other. I'd be in one kitchen and it was all hunky dory and then I'd be in another kitchen where staff weren't turning in and suddenly you were all over the place and thinks start slipping.

"I want to concentrate and I want to develop this place and see how far we can go.”

While most of the menu at The Machine House is inspired by Kevin's love of the sea and the land, he's also willing to encourage the modern move towards veganism which has been such a hit topic of late.

"I think it's very interesting and we do a vegan menu," he adds. "As a chef it puts me on the back foot a bit and means I've got to think about what I'm going to produce.

"I'll go away and look at what they can and can't eat and I see it as a challenge. Sometimes I'll be standing there scratching my head thinking about what we've got in the fridge because it is mainly lamb and beef but I think it's very important to cater for vegans."