Andy Hook is one of the North East’s most respected hospitality entrepreneurs. Originally from Cambridge, Andy trained as an engineer before moving to the North East to take up a manufacturing leadership role in South Shields.
That move, which reconnected him with his family roots in the region, would ultimately shape his future in hospitality.
Realising that engineering and manufacturing were not his long-term love, Andy shifted careers and leapt into hospitality in 1999 after completing a Diploma in Management Studies at the London Business School. After opening the acclaimed Sidney’s in Tynemouth, he went on to create the multi-award-winning Blackfriars, transforming a 13th-century friary in the medieval heart of Newcastle into one of the region’s most celebrated dining destinations.
Andy has since expanded his portfolio to include Hinnies in Whitley Bay and the newly refurbished Dobson & Parnell on Newcastle’s Quayside. Under his guidance, Blackfriars has expanded to encompass a cookery school, brewery, tasting rooms, and event spaces.
