I’d not visited this pub before and hadn’t quite prepared myself for how picturesque its setting would be. Aided by the sunny day on which we visited, it cast an attractive light over things. The pub overlooks an attractive village green on which there are a few tables that would make a lovely place to sit with a pint in the sun, and for good measure, there’s a distinctive old water pump subtly emblazoned with the name of the village. An interesting addition sat outside in the form of an A-board featuring Jeremy Clarkson promoting his beer, something that one presumes would go down well in a rural community.

Once inside the atmosphere is calm and low key with plenty of space for diners in the open layout and an inviting bar. We were quickly furnished with menus along with colouring implements to keep Little Fork distracted. The menu is a well rounded selection of pub classics with little to intimidate and plenty of comforting dishes to choose from. Chicken liver pate and prawn cocktail got the nod for starters to be followed by minute steak and a rather intriguing sounding seafood pancake, which I gather is something of a signature at The Tiger Inn Coneythorpe. The well-appointed children’s menu yielded a hot dog in due course which went down well while we set about starters. A classic prawn cocktail can be a light and refreshing preamble to a main course with a fresh crunch of lettuce underpinning sweet prawn and Marie-Rose; this was a well put together execution that served its purpose well. Chicken liver pate needs something to bring out the best qualities of the dish and the bitter rocket with red onion chutney did the job in this instance, another satisfying classic.

The minute steak I ordered represented something of a risk – I’m generally nervous of ordering steaks in non-specialist establishments – but this was covered with tempting bar-marks from the griddle and a gently melting pool of herb butter. Crunchy fries and a mound of bitter rocket dressed with balsamic accented the dish nicely. The seafood pancake that had intrigued me was also served with fries as well as a mixed leaf salad. The pancake itself was hidden under melted cheese and a white wine sauce, playing home to a generous mix of sea food with haddock and prawns. I enjoyed this rather unique assembly of ingredients that felt more indulgent than many seafood dishes I’ve been served over the years. We finished off with a sticky toffee pudding that carried on the theme of nicely put together, comforting classics.

I didn’t visit The Tiger Inn Coneythorpe in its previous guise, but as it stands it’s clearly a real asset to the village, well configured to serve a variety of uses. It’s superbly positioned to sit at the heart of the community as well as bringing people from the surrounding area in to show off this picturesque little village.

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The opening of Amber’s a few months ago set it out as a luxurious dining room in which hearty, not unduly fussy, food could be enjoyed. As such it was a pleasure to reacquaint oneself with the space and say hello to our server Jack, who by coincidence is an old friend of mine. We took up residence in a comfortable booth and submitted our orders, taking a note of the kids menu, which wasn’t shown on line, as well as the option to order a kids’ roast. Glasses of wine quickly arrived and we settled back for starters of pig cheek and salmon. These appeared in the white-gloved hands of suitably decorous servers ready for us to set about them. I’m always slightly dubious about the need for a starter with a Sunday Roast, which should be enough to satisfy in itself, but the portions were well judged to not distract and the flavours well matched. Pig cheek should feature on more menus and offers up the perfect portion for a starter, here matched with bubble and squeak and a sharp apple gel. This cut is nothing without slow-cooking and the braising this one received had done the job perfectly, a starter that deserves to be far more common than it is. The other side of the table tucked into a more classic dish of cured salmon with beetroot and a pleasant hit of caraway tempered by a spiced pineapple relish and a citrus cream, just the right level of individuality pushed upon this classic dish.

Appetites suitably whetted, mains arrived quickly with my roast sirloin joined by pork loin as I took the opportunity to double up. Pressed lamb shoulder came to the other side of the table and a kids’ roast arrived at just the right moment to head off another chant “but I’m hungry now”. Side dishes were plentiful with cauliflower cheese, greens, Yorkshire pud and jugs of gravy present to augment the roast potatoes and roots on my plate. The lamb was served with baby broccoli and beans with a delicately layered potato terrine catching the eye and a hint of marjoram in the sauce. The lamb fell apart with tiny provocation and was as tender as hoped with plenty of depth of flavour. The potato, sauce and greens came together merrily too, making this a pleasing plate to tackle. A Sunday roast is not a ‘tweezers’ dish and thankfully there was no sign here of undue attempts to over-finesse things, not to say that this wasn’t a well put together dish though with the generous slices of meat shielding roast veg from view and an indecently crispy shard of crackling for a hat. The picture was completed by a generous Yorkshire pud, and the sides all hit the spot. Thinking about it now, I must make cauliflower cheese more often… The gravy was lustrous, deep with flavour and plentiful to finish things off perfectly for mains. Tiramisu and chocolate brownie were a suitable adjunct to the meal and well executed, the tiramisu in particular being light and compelling.

The only negative comment around the table was from Little Fork who didn’t get on with the mocktail that she was presented with, though we appreciated the thought at least. £32 for three quality courses in a dining room as elegant as this represents great value and should compel repeat business from those more local to the restaurant than me. All the comforting notes of a Sunday roast were present and correct along with a few mild flourishes that reflect the establishment, service matching the food also. As an extra bonus I got to catch up with my old friend Jack who left York a little while ago and now brings his skills to Amber’s, all in all a great way to spend a Sunday. If you live in HG1 or HG2 make sure to check out “Friends of Amber’s” which entitles you to a 20% discount on Sunday lunch amongst other things.

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The hotel itself was welcoming in the typical comfortably upmarket style of places like this but walking into Amber’s Restaurant is a distinct and impressive experience. They’ve also spent the time and money to bring what was a large corridor right up to date which will function as a buffet or mingling space but the private dining room is even more striking. Some private dining spaces can feel a little tokenistic or an addendum to the main space but there’s nothing of the sort here. Sofas and subtly included TVs fill some of the sprawl of this space which feels homely and comforting without losing that sense of luxury and indulgence. One could easily fill an entire day of meals here with a family or group of friends, periodically retiring across the room to relax.

As a steady buzz of Instagrammers (is that the collective term?) worked the room over we took on a brace of starters, which had been chosen for us. Citrus cured salmon with crispy capers and beetroot along with a heavily seasoned cream was well executed and benefitted from the sharp hit of those capers to bring drama to the soft ribbons of salmon. Beetroot and salmon being a well trodden path for good reason, this was a well concieved plate that could have been further lifted with a crunch of a sourdough crisp or similar for texture, as was found on the other starter of home corned beef brisket. The brisket had a pleasing richness to be tempered by pickled vegetables and a few baby potatoes, a reassuring pair of starters.

For mains we went for stone bass and duck breast, both comforting dishes with a good mellow sense of nostalgia and indulgence. The duck came with fondant potato which easily yielded to my cutlery with buttery smoothness as well as sweet carrot and a sweet blackberry jus. A few more blackberries on the plate and a bed of baby spinach finished the dish off. The success of a plate such as this really depends on the execution of the duck, which must be pink and well rested with the fat layer adequately rendered but not at the expense of overcooked skin. This example walked that line nicely, showing a deft touch from the chef that was a suitable centrepiece for this well put together dish; the fondant potato also being another potential pitfall avoided. The stone bass came with a few greens and potatoes but the sauce really starred on this, with a lustrous and creamy indulgence cut against pops of freshness from peas. The stone bass itself showed the same skilled touch as the duck, making for a pair of well executed main courses.

A pair of desserts featuring various sweet textures, with shards, brownie, parfait and fruit spread across a couple of plates finished things off nicely, the sugar rush jerking us away from somnambulance ready for the journey home. Amber’s Restaurant delivers a range of classic dishes that are satisfying and confidently put together, served in a beautiful new dining room. It’s easy to feel a sense of occasion in surroundings as refined as this.

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The General Tarleton was built in the 18th Century as a coaching inn in Ferrenby, just a bit North of Knaresborough, and is just the type of establishment that one wants to see as the heart of village life. Ferrenby is a small village so it’s easy to overshoot your destination, but equally easy to execute a swift u-turn thankfully and rectify the error, as we may or may not have had to do. The bar into which one arrives is a welcoming space that would be very easy to slip into on an almost daily basis as a village resident, so we paused there briefly to kill the few minutes that had been unexpectedly liberated by light traffic. We then moved through to the separate fine dining restaurant in which to enjoy the tasting menu that’s available in the evenings from Wednesday to Saturday.

This fine dining restaurant is in a bare stone walled room with low ceilings in a secluded part of the building, with a wooden floor and a wood burner to keep us nice and snug. Smartly laid tables accented the higher end nature of this dining experience which looked to be great value at £55 for 7 courses with a generous wine flight doubling that to a still perfectly fair £110. First up was, predictably, that staple of a tasting menu, canapés! This time in the form of arancini, fish and chip bites and cured mallard blini amongst which the cauliflower arancini really stood out with a solid whack from the headline ingredient relieved by a parsley aioli. With a glass of Champagne to go alongside, I was well and truly ready to settle in for as much as could be thrown at me after a long day listening to builders working on our house.

The first more substantial course crowned a disc of gingerbread topped with pear to balance a lustrous chicken liver parfait which was paired with Sauternes, rather unusually featuring early on in a meal and bringing impact to the early stages of the meal before the fish course of seared sea trout. This neatly presented dish used pumpkin a couple of ways for a seasonal accent of sweetness along with some fondant potato and an appealingly glossy herb oil. The mouthful that really elevated this one though was a single tempura mussel that vanished with a deeply satisfying crunch, and a tinge of sadness that it wasn’t one of many.

Beef is a classic choice for a meat course on this style of tasting menu which was executed here with flair as sirloin and cheek were presented with celeriac fondant and puree. With a bold Rioja, they came together as a real crowd pleaser, a bit of cavalo nero taking on the jus nicely too. Next up came “Chefs Cheese on Toast” composing strata of fig, Tunworth cheese and brioche that was as indulgent as the port with which it was paired. All that remained were a brace of sweet courses that started with a lemon syllabub with champagne jelly and finished with a bitter chocolate mousse with brambles and a pistachio cake, both of which were beautifully presented and continued the themes of indulgent ingredients presented delicately.

The popularity of tasting menus has ebbed and flowed in recent years, taking a bit of a dip as a few high profile chefs moved back to a la carte only, but these days they seem as widespread in fine dining as they’ve ever been. In all honesty, my enthusiasm has always remained as strong as any other style of menu, the opportunity to let a chef run riot contrary my perceived preferences remains a unique way for a kitchen to express itself. Ralph’s Tasting Menu at The General Tarleton is a great value introduction to this kind of experience, sacrificing none of the details of the fine dining experience despite hitting that £55 price tag. The standard was high, featuring a few real stand out courses that stood comparison with the best, and the wine pairing was engaging and good value. It’s particularly pleasing that this style of experience could be found in the same building that also offered what looked to be solid casual dining as well as a comfy village pub.

(Disclaimer – PR invite)

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For no particular reason, I’ve never quite managed to make it to Rudding Park before, but its reputation preceded it, in particular through the warm words of its close associate Steph Moon, deservedly a Yorkshire legend in her own right, who would be cohosting the event. On arrival we were treated to live jazz and canapés before taking our places for dinner, where I was fortunate to be seated at the head table with both Steph and Peter Banks, the general manager of Rudding Park, as well as a representative from Hospitality Action. With the stage set by a short video setting out the good work that guests would be supporting, the evening was handed over to a series of chefs who would each present a single course.

Truth be told, trying to serve a hundred or so diners in a single seating can be an insurmountable challenge for some kitchens, so I was a little trepidatious that the food would have to be excused as supporting a good cause rather than uniformly exceptional as it turned out. After we enjoyed some delicately shaped and delightfully light honey butter with bread, first up was Luke French from Sheffield’s Jöro who presented a starter showcasing Yorkshire Wagyu beef. Well prepared Wagyu is always a joy but was imbued here with plenty of personality thanks to well balanced additions of onion, truffle, garlic and mushroom. With a scattering of puffed rice for texture, the fermented wild garlic in particular was a powerful flavour that threatened to knock the dish off its axis but just the right amount of restraint kept everything in alignment.

Picking up the baton for the fish course was none other than the esteemed Shaun Rankin, holder of a Michelin Star at his restaurant in Grantley Hall after an impressively short tenure. This was the first time I’ve been lucky enough to enjoy his food, and an impressive introduction it was too with roast turbot falling into conspiratorial harmony with cauliflower, pistachio and pine nut along with a handful of sea purslane. If this is the sort of quality Shaun is able to turn on for a relatively large event, then his eponymous restaurant is certainly unmissable. The final savoury course was in the safe hands of Mark Birchall, whose restaurant may not be in Yorkshire but makes up for that with a brace of Michelin Stars and shelves full of awards. Mark had chosen to highlight deer with vivid red beetroot presented a few different ways as well as kale that I think was braised. Regardless of the cooking medium, it was remarkably deep in flavour. It was left to Callum Bowmer to sign the meal off strongly with a real flourish, using his home advantage as Rudding Park’s Horto restaurant Head Chef to present an apple dish served along with a Jerusalem artichoke ice cream that I would happily eat every day.

While the food was all quite exceptional, the real purpose of the Hospitality Action Chefs Dinner was to raise awareness and funds for that titular organisation. To that end, we were treated to Peter and Steph taking up auctioneer duties, keeping the room flowing nicely while a series of lots attracted a healthy chunk of cash. All in the evening raised nearly £30,000 for Hospitality Action, which will go some way to furthering this great cause. The hospitality industry is very much on a knife edge at the moment, with many challenges to meet in the coming months and years as our society and economy recovers. Do make sure to follow this organisation for more chances to be involved.

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Marton-Cum-Grafton is a picturesque village a short drive from York, just this side of the A1 on the way to Harrogate, that turned out to be a happy place around which to stroll with a few blue plaques to hunt out some snippets on its history. The Punch Bowl at Marton-Cum-Grafton is surely its main attraction though and makes a good first impression as you get parked up and start to have a think about what the menu might have in store. The interior is all low ceilings and exposed beams, furthering the village pub feel and a reminder that this site can trace its history back to the 16th century. There are also a wide variety of motoring themed pictures to distract the eye, not that I was distracted for long from the important business of lunch.

Scallops are something I feel haven’t been numerous enough in my life throughout lockdown so they were a no brainer amongst the starters along with an asparagus based special whose price included a donation to a charity specialising in supporting the deafblind and those with complex disabilities. With a portion of fish and chips duly ordered by the youngest person at the table, we were all set and before long tucking into our first courses. Scallops with pancetta and pea is deservedly a classic that doesn’t need mucking about with, the combination of generous size scallops with pea puree and pancetta was always going to be a winner and a touch of sorrel as an emulsion gave enough of a twist to make it distinctive without going too far. The asparagus dish hinged upon getting the crispy hen’s egg right and thankfully upon its bisection a soft yolk was revealed to go alongside the local asparagus. A side salad, crisp breads and a tarragon dip completed things while on the other side of the table, fish and chips were starting to disappear at a rate suggesting the recipient’s approval.

Next up came hake with a Thai twist courtesy of a sesame crust, prawn dumpling and a Thai coconut sauce which all came together nicely with a hint of originality and plenty of comforting flavours that showed a lightness of touch with spicing. The final dish we chose was headlined with a real star ingredient, Warrendale Wagyu Beef marking this one out as holding plenty of potential to be fulfilled. The beef rump took a confident first step to the plate living up to that potential, showing evidence of everything a quality piece of meat deserves such as seasoning, resting and being allowed to remain pink. Slowly cooked beef shin also filled a hollowed out roscoff onion with a big punch of flavour, making this a notably indulgent dish. Alongside these were a generous amount of pomme puree that was appropriately rich and a beer based sauce. Charred baby leeks and white onion puree gave a bit of sharpness to contrast and finish off this memorable dish.

With time and appetite limited, we skipped dessert and made tracks back to York, though there’s no inference to be taken about the selection of desserts from that. It was a real pleasure to tick The Punch Bowl at Marton-Cum-Grafton off my list finally and it really hit all the beats I would want and expect from a quality village pub. It can be tricky to balance offering food worthy of the trip with the right kind of atmosphere to satisfy locals just after a relaxing pint to finish the day, but that’s a balance well struck here. I don’t doubt we’ll be back for food when I’ve a gap in the new spots to try, but I’d also be here very frequently to take advantage of it as a local if I lived nearby.

(Disclaimer – Complimentary visit for PR purposes)

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With the role of the village pub sadly marginalised these days, The Hideaway Kitchen at The Dunsforth has set out to take on a variety of roles as an informal place to eat and drink, offering anything from just a quick drink to relax after a walk to a full on foodie blow out. Owners Amelia and Georgina have a strong history in hospitality which has involved a​ couple of AA Rosettes and a prestigious boutique hotel in Spain.

Dunsforth is about half an hour North West of York by car and surrounded by countryside typically attractive for the area. The space itself is comfortable and has a few rooms off of a central bar, which lends a homely air to the place. It felt as appropriate sitting at the bar with a drink as it did dining more formally later and all the while a family were happily playing board games and keeping themselves occupied. We were to enjoy a five course tasting menu to give us the opportunity to get a good feel for the breadth of the food offering. While we took in the menu, some snacks arrived to start us off as we enjoyed a glass of wine.

The generous snacks started with delicate slices of jamon that had been carved from the ham sat proudly on the bar. The indulgently fatty slices matched off well with the intensely crunchy pork crackling strips that made an improbable amount of noise as we giggled our way through them. Houmous and sourdough added to the spread but the real star was the pickled cockle popcorn (try saying that fast after a few drinks) that we all found ourselves shovelling down by the handful. Pots of this stuff should be mandatory anywhere that serves a decent chilled glass of wine.

The first ‘proper’ course was a crab salad which used mojama to deliver extra depth alongside peppery nasturtium. Mojama is dried, salt cured tuna which brought to mind smoked bonito flakes that I’ve seen used to give steak tartare another dimension, the boldly dressed salad underpinning a good start. The next dish was a twist on satay chicken, the nut element being replaced with cashew, which came with a Thai basil salsa and a satay dipping sauce. The dish still packed a punch despite mango making every effort to sweeten things off; another enjoyable plate ready to move us toward a fish dish of tuna carpaccio.

I’m a sucker for a good carpaccio so looked forward to this one, which would be paired with parmesan and oregano. This one was simply plated with the tuna under a hefty shroud of parmesan with a generous serving of olive oil, the combination of which threatened to drown out the plate. The oregano struggled to make its presence felt against the other strong flavours on the plate, but the quality of the produce wasn’t lost amongst the shouting.

Our last savoury dish was lamb rump set against a spicy chimichurri dressing, harissa sweet potatoes and a mint and pea salad. Again there was plenty going on here, with any number of risks to be avoided. Thankfully the lamb was bold enough to hold its own and everything stacked up, though  the spicing was on the generous side for my weedy palate.

To finish things off, we enjoyed a dish centred around strawberry parfait which also featured fresh examples of the fruit along with pistachio and basil. This one was restrained in its presentation but still managed to remain memorable as we ended the meal, with basil balancing itself well against the strawberry elements.

The standards for food businesses around York have been relentlessly on the up for the last few years, with a rural location being an added hurdle to leap over. Despite that, there’s still the opportunity for progressive operators to thrive if they can come up with a broad offering that hits a number of audiences. By making itself welcoming and comfortable, the Hideaway Kitchen at the Dunsforth makes a good start and by backing that up with good food, sensible pricing and a sense of inclusivity, it really makes its case as a destination. There’re plenty of places that could learn a lot from the hospitality on offer in Dunsforth.

​Disclaimer: No charge was made for this event, opinions are impartial

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We found ourselves with a bit of time to kill in Harrogate given the ease of parking relative to the centre of York, so took the chance to have a stroll around the picturesque town centre before locating the restaurant and having a chat with Victoria from The Harrogate Girl who had organised the event. The restaurant was obviously laid out with families in mind, giving plenty of space for prams along with an open kitchen to keep an eye on how the chefs are getting on with their hard work.

We were served an “Antipasti Classico” to start which was sat on a stand to give an elevated position slightly above the table, making more space for our plates. The antipasti was a typical combination of cured meats, cheeses, olives and breads. Fennel salami and fresh mozzarella were of decent quality and the creamy gorgonzola gravitated to my side of the table in rather unfair quantities as I tried my best to avoid sharing it. The generous quantity of olives was as lovely as the olive tapenade, though smoked chilli jelly a slightly jarring addition that was at odds with the other elements.

While everyone was enjoying the starter, we were left to our own devices to order mains, plumping for pork belly roast new potatoes and broccoli and “Aragosta e Gamberoni”, a pasta dish that highlighted lobster meat and king prawn against a tomato sauce with a hint of chilli. The pork belly was succulent and rich with fat, nicely flavoured without overwhelming the pork and presented on a bed of roasted new potatoes with a portion of broccoli on the side. The pasta dish was generously shot through with lobster and prawn meat, with a large king prawn showing off on top of the bowl. This was a very pleasant dish which was given a feeling of indulgence from the plentiful seafood.

We finished off with a couple of scoops of ice cream while commenting on the clean and spacious baby changing facilities (how times change). We had a lovely evening taking Baby Fork to Ask Italian Harrogate for the first time. The meal would have attracted a bill of around fifty pounds for the three courses for two people, which seems fair for good service and a well thought out environment. Thanks Victoria for arranging a very nice evening!

Disclaimer: No charge was made for this evening; opinions remain impartial

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After a busy few days we were feeling a little frayed and, truth be told, a little less keen than usual to leave the house. Thankfully Goldsborough Hall is a magnificent refuge and we were quickly possessed of a great deal more calm as we sat with a drink browsing the menu, alcohol free “G&T” being a nice touch for my wife as she’s expecting our baby. The lounge was just as delightful as on previous visits with the large open fire providing the perfect backdrop for some canapés, among which slices of pork terrine with tiny romanesco and sharp piccalilli really shone.

We made our choices from the well rounded menu and were escorted through to the dining room, which pulls off a neat trick by being ornate and grand without becoming overbearing. Among the selection of breads were slices of squid ink loaf that may have been a little adventurous (I’m not convinced fishy bread will catch on) but the more conventional options were lovely to nibble at while we enjoyed a pre-starter of a deeply flavoured wild mushroom risotto served in an eggshell.

For the sake of variety, I should try and look past beef tartare on occasion, not tonight though. This example used crisped slices of bread and pickles for breadth of flavour and texture with blobs of rosehip sharpening things up nicely. Rabbit tortellini was received with equal enthusiasm, the bowl being rounded out with haricot beans and pancetta with a rich sauce tying everything together neatly.

For mains, we’d settled on spiced monkfish and mallard, though we were amused by a brief feline cameo by this point as I spotted a server quickly passing the dining room door to remove the same errant cat that I’d mistakenly let in on a previous visit! I crossed my fingers that we’d get to say hello to the cheeky mog later when we left, while our mains arrived after a well judged interval.

The monkfish was subtly spiced, not distracting from the superb fish, and served with a delightful onion bhaji and a “Mussel Mulligatawny”. Every element of the dish was superb, the bhaji remaining light and mulligatawny keeping perfect balance with the tender flesh. While I enjoyed the course hugely, I felt like there could have been one more element to really elevate it. Given that I can’t quite put my finger on what that element should be, it’d be churlish to complain. The mallard arrived arrived with brassica and delightfully unctuous sauce to pour over. I don’t recall ever eating mallard before but I certainly hope to again. As I mentioned earlier, my pregnant wife is avoiding rare meat at the moment so it was, by my request, cooked a tad further than would have let it really shine. Regardless, these were two well judged and well executed plates that we thoroughly enjoyed.

Wanting to sample as much of the menu as possible, we then moved on to desserts, dutifully getting through matcha mousse with yuzu and mango, a layered chocolate and walnut trifle and burned cream with spiced plum and doughnuts. Each member of the trio fitted the brief perfectly, and I was particularly happy with the wonderfully rich layers of varying chocolate shades and the wonderful cylinder of burned cream that contrasted nicely with the light doughnuts.

Goldsborough Hall remains a stunning location and the food continues to live up to its elevated surroundings. The building is clearly in good hands with the Oglesbys and the kitchen helps them in doing justice to the history of this building. As we left, we bumped into our furry friend again who was showing admirable fortitude in trying to sneak in. It must be said, it’s hard to blame a cat for trying to get scraps from such well developed food.

Disclaimer: No charge was made for this meal, opinions are as impartial as ever

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The course took place at Andy Annat’s house, the garden of which was predictably rammed with BBQ equipment. A pizza oven and tandoor supplemented the four other BBQs that were up and running when we arrived, one of which was gently smoking away with a pork joint to be ready later, while another was packed with bacon ready to get the day underway with breakfast, over which we met the rest of the course’s attendees.

After a first burst of butchery demonstration we set about making sausages, with two of the group co-opted into mixing their own sausage meat and using a sausage machine to stuff their sausages while the activity was accompanied by many double entendres and bad jokes. After realising that making up strings of sausages isn’t as easy as Andy Annat makes it look, we moved into a chat about the relative merits of cooking on planks against salt blocks. With examples of both of those in place on one of the BBQs, I set about making up some bacon-wrapped onion rings to contribute toward lunch, which would also feature “dirty steaks”.

We were cooking with natural lump wood charcoal, so we had no worries about it being adulterated with any accelerant or chemical, and that meant that we could just throw a bunch of steaks directly onto the coals. After a decent interval for them to take on some smoke, they just needed the coals knocking off and a coating of Bovril butter to bring out the quality of the meat. With that done, we were ready to serve up lunch and get stuck into the fruits of the morning’s work and enjoy fantastically cooked examples of everything I’ve talked about along with a selection of salads and some maple- and pecan-drenched sweet potatoes that had been cooked in the coals.

The afternoon was spent over a series of more butchery demonstrations that showed, in great detail, where particular cuts of meat come from, along with more chats about technique and the BBQ scene in the UK and around the world. Andy has some cracking anecdotes to share too that I don’t doubt are, deservedly, well practised. If you have the chance, ask him the one about armed response intervention and the Queen, or about messing with a prominent food critic’s potatoes on live TV.

The day continued at breakneck speed, taking in mackerel, BBQ Yorkshire puddings, BBQ garlic flatbread, lemons injected with butter and slow smoked pork that had been cooking in the background all day. With the need for something sweet to complete proceedings, a bunch of pineapple strips were covered in rum, cinnamon and sweetness before being seared and served.

The cost of the day was £120 and included your apron from the day, all you could eat through the day and all you could drink from the cask of local real ale squatting in the corner from which you could serve yourself. That’s a complete bargain if taken in isolation, and even more so if compared to other well known local cookery schools. The next course will be a BBQ take on “The 12 days of Christmas”, which sounds like a suitably left field subject for a day with Andy Annat. I’ll be checking my penny jar…

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