The York Minster Refectory “23 Days of Christmas” offer throws three courses at you for £29 which is fabulous value, even more so in the context of the relative cost of the a la carte menu. The dishes on offer hit all the seasonal notes one would hope for at this time of year across a brace each of starters, mains and desserts. The building itself is littered with pointers toward the musical nature of the school previously resident here, such as sheet music and instruments, but your arrival is dominated by the beautiful frontage of the building and its gardens. Do take a beat to turn and look back at the Minster across the gardens which is yet another beautiful view of York’s most famous building.

Of course I habitually review menus well in advance of meals but with two options per course and two people dining, I was quick to impose my decisions on my companion for the evening to make sure we sampled each option. First up were cauliflower cheese soup and pine poached salmon fishcake served with a soft egg and buttery sauce with chestnut. The egg had enough rigidity left to make it to the table and quickly coated the fishcake, blending with the buttery sauce and gentle pine note in the fish for a satisfying and gently seasonal dish. Cauliflower cheese is something I’d welcome at pretty much any meal and it made for an intriguing starter given breadth by sweet sultanas and crisply almonds which gave well judged contrast to the earthy and cheesy notes.

Mains came down to a choice between the York Minster Refectory take on a turkey dinner, or bubble and squeak with mulled poached pear, roasted fig and Yorkshire Blue salad. This is the point at which I fall down slightly and have to confess to not being a fan of dried or poached fruit, which can make me look rather a spoilsport at this time of year. I can confirm though that the bubble and squeak cake was a well executed take on this much under-utilised dish and my companion reported strong feedback on the pear and fig. The turkey breast was perfectly tender and generously portioned with a few of my preferred Christmas dishes such as a meaty pig in blanket, sprouts and roasties with a strongly thyme accented jus. Dessert showed me up again but Christmas pudding received a warm welcome on the other side of the table while I enjoyed picking the marzipan off my fruit cake and nibbling a lovely bit of Fountains Gold Cheddar.

There’re many, many worthwhile options competing for the Christmas market and I have to admit it was a surprise to see York Minster Refectory offering a comfortingly traditional menu at such an accessible price. I need to get back and explore the full range of the menu here but this is a very decent introduction which certainly deserves a place on your Christmas party shortlist.

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The Star Inn the City has been at the forefront of the York’s establishment as a dining destination, acting as a spearhead for Andrew Pern’s Michelin Starred Star at Harome into the city which has turned out to be more enduring than Covid casualty Mr P’s Curious Tavern. Its location at the edge of The Museum Gardens remains without peer in the city and reflects its status as a landmark York restaurant, bestowing a real sense of occasion as you descend the steps by Lendal bridge to make your way through a small tunnel into its inviting comforts.

The menu for this Michelin dinner with Andrew Pern took in versions of a good few of his highlight dishes, making it a good chance to get a feel for his food in York without the need to make the shortish journey to Harome. Proceedings kicked off promptly after arrival with an amuse bouche of a diminutive stuffed Yorkshire pudding with a veal jus setting the scene nicely before a sea sea scallop tartare blini made its presence felt through accents of chive and coastal vegetables. We then moved onto a more substantial course of risotto showing off black truffle, braised chestnut and generous punches of Leeds Pecorino along with a crunch of cavolo nero. Fine dining doesn’t mean you should leave hungry, and I never have after a meal from any of Andrew Pern’s establishments; not a trend to be broken here with hearty portions such as this.

A meat course was next which headlined red legged partridge from Rievaulx and really pushed the boat out, throwing spiced brioche, parfait, celeriac, girolles and savoy cabbage into the mix along with a complex sauce making subtle use of Madeira wine. It’s a real treat to have game as well prepared as this, especially when so well supported by everything else on the plate, the sauce in particular doing more than could reasonably asked of its quest to enhance without overwhelming.

The penultimate dish of the event was a dark chocolate hemisphere filled with a damson plum mousse with a pear sorbet and ginger crumb to accentuate the bitterness and textures of the chocolate, a shimmer of real gold looking more appropriate on the plate than other more publicised recent implementations. Last to be served was a cheese course anchored around Mrs Bell’s Blue from Shepherd’s Purse also featuring a fig and date flapjack and a “port jam” that reflected nicely the port with which the dish was served.

It’s going to take a while longer for us to feel like approaching normality, and probably longer for reality to reflect that sensation, but events such as this are precious movements back toward enjoying the art of hospitality executed beautifully. This series of dishes from a deservedly garlanded chef, presented in some of York’s finest surroundings was a truly memorable meal of the sort that’s been scarce for some time. It was a privilege to see this operation back in action serving up a series of superbly executed dishes that will undoubtedly linger in the minds of those present.

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That intervening decade has led me back to The Star at Harome on a few occasions, illustrating the flexibility of its offering. That flexibility is key to the Star’s broad appeal; it’s always been welcoming to those just wanting to slope in for a surreptitious pint as well as those wanting to bust the budget on an indulgent tasting menu, while not forgetting the imperative to feed locals for an accessible amount of money, though it should perhaps be noted that drinks service is restricted at the mo for obvious reasons. When the opportunity to relax into an extended lunch without the cute but distracting Baby Fork in attendance came up, it took a matter of seconds before we were winding our way to Harome.

Harome is a picturesque village just a couple of miles down the road from Helmsley that is lucky enough to not only be home to The Star Inn but also The Pheasant, which I was lucky enough to be invited along to only a few weeks ago, and it’s also possible to book packages that include meals across both of these superb restaurants through The Pheasant’s website. The Star is a strikingly quaint thatched building which seems to exude a welcoming atmosphere as you arrive and guided to a table, the masks and sanitisers failing to puncture the welcome. We opted for the a la carte menu rather than tasting menu, augmenting with a few extra treats to reinforce the sense of occasion a day without a nappy brings at the moment.

We kicked off with a few snacks, including Lindisfarne oysters with a sorrel and elderflower dressing, mini game kebabs and mini potato & onion pie with black garlic ketchup. Oysters don’t feature toward the top of too many of my to-do lists but when they’re as fresh and well accented as these I’ll happily live with them. The pie was artfully constructed and packed powerful overtones of black garlic and the cute mini game kebab brought aioli and fermented cabbage into the mix for a well developed mouthful to finish on before we began on starters, for which we’d chosen octopus and halibut.

Octopus was slow braised and coal roasted before being served with a “Goose Fat White Bean Whip”, black cabbage and studs of bold chorizo. Well cooked octopus is a joy, as was this dish which was a luxuriant start to the meal proper with the fatty “whip” balancing with the chorizo heat perfectly and the octopus given plenty of space to breath. Halibut tartare was inevitable as soon as I realised there was something raw on the day’s specials menu and didn’t disappoint with a heady combination of black garlic, pommery mustard and cured egg yolk drawing every ounce of potential out of the fish. This came accompanied by a shot of red cabbage gazpacho delicately balanced with herbs and happily refreshing. Next up was a mid course of scallop with a deeply nuanced dashi that kept up the meal’s momentum beautifully.

For mains we went with locally shot Fallow Deer and Rievaulx Partridge, zeroing in on the sense of locality central to the Star’s offering. The partridge came with smoked beets and quince as well as spiced fruit and nuts for a delicately balanced plate of food featuring this relatively rare meat. The Deer pushed things up another notch too with perfectly cooked loin joined by parsnip and an elderberry topped “Pluck Tart”, which will ensure that this dish remains in my memory for a long time. While the meat had been treated with the utmost care and was beyond reproach, the tart paired a deeply flavoured earthy, gamey filling with huge flavour that never threatened the balance of the element, particularly being reigned in by the elderberries. The key question of this was the constituent of the tart’s filling, which perhaps is best left mysterious for those particularly squeamish, suffice to say it was “offal-y good”.

I lack much in the way of a sweet tooth so the presence of a savoury finale is the proverbial red rag for me, this time in the form of a Baron Bigod and caramelised onion quiche that called in truffle, marjoram and chive for heavy duty backup to the brie style main flavour. This was a predictably show stopping end to the meal which pulled off the impressive contradiction of being a refreshing, light cheese course.

I think by now it should be pretty clear that I’m a fan of The Star. It’s been a feature of the food scene around here for a long time and continues to be one of the finest in the region based on the evidence of this meal. That’s only half of the trick though, this meal gave the kitchen ample opportunity to show off but what’s most striking is how the sense of occasion is derived. I’ve had plenty of meals in starched restaurants in which you feel that the clientele wouldn’t be too bothered if the standard dropped off a bit as long as the staff continue suitable deference. Here though the surroundings are relaxed enough to facilitate a convincing role as a village pub while giving staff the platform to deliver the sense of occasion that a meal such as this deserves. The Star has had a starring role in my love of food and Yorkshire over the last decade or so and I don’t doubt will continue to play a key role, both for me, its locals and those that make it a destination.

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Post-lockdown it’s even more of a comfort to descend from Museum Street to the restaurant’s entrance which also leads through to the Museum Gardens. With hands sanitised we were quickly on the way to our table, noting some changes to the setup on our way. There’re fewer tables available to allow for more distancing and the tables seem a little barer than usual with cutlery now coming out when food is ordered. Servers in masks hardly registers these days and disposable menus is a change you’d not notice if you weren’t alerted to it. Speaking of menus, starters and mains are joined these days by morsels on which to graze with a drink and a selection of snacks such as burgers, which look to be closer to meals than snacks to my appetite. Of the grazing plates, I can happily recommend the mussel fritters to munch with a beer overlooking the Ouse. On the subject of that terrace, it’s worth noting that at present the full menu is available to order al-fresco rather than being confined to indoors.

We skipped the “snacks” in favour of something that would allow us to relax into the full restaurant experience. Head Chef Matt Leivers is now well established in his role at ‘City having previously headed up the Star Inn the Harbour and worked at the Harome “Mothership“. My previous experiences of his food have been uniformly positive so I approached this meal with a hearty appetite and high expectations.

To start things off we went with a salt baked craupadine “beetroot whip” and some maple glazed pork belly, which featured on the day’s specials menu. Of these the beetroot was the knock out, with slivers of smoked apple bringing out the best of the beetroot that was presented as ribbons and a foam along with roasted segments. Sherry vinegar caramel came to the plate to broaden its appeal further and the blue cheese gougère it came with would be happily devoured in unhealthy quantities if available in this house. Pork belly could have been a rich and weighty dish to start a meal with but complemented by broccoli puree and dabs of spiced cider jelly it resolved to a well judged portion with puffs of crisped potato in the mix for texture too. Also amongst the starters, my eye was drawn to a caramelised onion velouté that they were good enough to also let me sample a taste of, its bags of deep flavour and light texture not disappointing.

With regard to mains, we again dipped into the daily specials to grab a canon of lamb with truffled honey beets, smoked garlic and potato terrine with braised lamb neck. From the main menu we found our interest piqued by tandoori coley fillet with brown shrimp and a daal with summer squash alongside pickled kohlrabi and grilled chard. Presentationally, daal can lean a bit too far toward the brown end of the spectrum, making it a tricky one to bring up to the visual standards you’d hope when dining out. Chard, herbs and kohlrabi broadened the visual appeal to allow this one to make its mark. This was somewhat reminiscent of a curried fish dish that I’d been impressed by at Star Inn the Harbour some time ago, this time dialling in even more subtlety to make a seriously appealing dish, brown shrimp complementing the daal and fish nicely, the fish flaking away perfectly and daal balancing spice and depth of flavour with great balance.

The lamb canon struck upon a great balance between simplicity of presentation and big punches of flavour from everything on the plate. Lamb was just the right shade when cut into and golden beetroot will always be its happy partner but the potato terrine also made a strong case for itself as the star of the course, with the strong lamb elevating this element beautifully. A portion of fresh peas finished things off nicely.

While we were debating how much appetite remained for dessert we probed those limits with a pre-dessert of chocolate cake that established we would be able to tackle another course. For that finale we settled on the “Cheese of the Week”, in this case Yorkshire Blue served with a bitter leaf salad, hazelnut and a black truffle dressing, and a Yorkshire rhubarb and stem ginger cheesecake. Everything accompanying the cheese accentuated the headline ingredients, rounding the dish out nicely while the cheesecake similarly gave the rhubarb every chance of shining.

It’s sadly inevitable that the hospitality scene in York will look rather different as we go through weathering the worst of this crisis and I don’t doubt some beloved names will be lost to us. The Star Inn the City though has been at the forefront of the rise of York as a destination for food, timing its opening perfectly to feel representative of that movement and it continues to justify its position as one of the area’s most striking landmark restaurants.

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

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Previously head chef at Whitby’s The Star Inn the Harbour, Matt now has a broader brief across the Star group of restaurants, so was the the obvious choice to front this first event that took place in the main dining room of the restaurant, though future fixtures will be in more intimate surroundings. The fifty pound cost gets you a set menu of six courses that you can enjoy with matched drinks for another forty quid, something I couldn’t resist taking up.

It’s been a little while since I’ve been to the Star, so it was a pleasure to get reacquainted with the airy, calming dining space that the supper club had taken over a decent chunk of. I’ve been to a few events in the past that have tried to do a large number of covers in one sitting and resulted in very late finishes, so I was eager to see how this one would pan out.

We were quickly directed to our table and after a discrete interval to grab drinks orders, Matt and the restaurant manager braved some public speaking to introduce the evening and our first course, a tart of white crab, cauliflower and Spanish blood sausage. Featuring some of my favourite ingredients, it was hardly a surprise to regret there wasn’t more of this dish, which judged perfectly the amount of the blood sausage, reminiscent of black pudding, that was needed to bring out the sweetness of the crab.

Continuing the hit list of my favourite ingredients, next to the table was a Lincolnshire Poacher and truffle toastie that was intended as a partner to a few scoops of pumpkin and nutmeg burnt cream. I seem to recall loving something similar to this toastie at Mr P’s Curious Tavern in years gone by and this one hit the spot just as effectively. If there was an unlimited supply by this sofa, then it would take me quite a long time to clean the grease off my laptop afterwards.

We continued with a course of cured cod loin with lemon and parsley which made good use of a shard of chicken skin for breadth, before indulging in a lamb dish of uncommon depth. This plate was a real treat that chucked plenty of black garlic into the mix along with red cabbage and a treacherously enjoyable jus. This combination of a finely layered terrine and a perfectly cooked piece of lamb shouted the old maxim “fat is flavour” at every mouthful and will be lodged in my memory for a good while.

Having cleared a path through the savoury courses, we were next presented with a roasted cobnut porridge that featured quince and honey. Desserts are unlikely to ever take precedence over savoury in my preferences, but this was original and packed with complementary flavours. Last up was caramel shortbread with creme fraiche ice cream and dots of a sharp citrus fruit based gel. The chocolate on this one was described as bitter, something that it delivered on notably. While certainly aggressively bitter, the ice cream and caramel did the hard work of tempering that to bring things back in balance.

That fire may have been the story of 2018, but it’s firmly in the past now, with events like The Star Inn the City Supper Club doing a good job of reaffirming the Star Inn the City’s place in York as one of the city’s most prestigious places to eat. With chefs like Matt behind the scenes, it’s got the best possible opportunity to cement its reputation. I’m looking forward to watching its progress continue in 2020.

Disclaimer: no charge was made for attendance, opinions are impartial

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The Countryfile Live outdoor stage area is always popular with crowds in the event’s Oxford edition, with thousands of people stopping by to watch chefs, food producers and food connoisseurs in action. 

Local restaurateurs are championed on the bill including Jonathan Harrison of the Sandpiper Inn in Leyburn, Matt Healey from The Foundry in Leeds, James MacKenzie, chef patron at The Pipe and Glass, South Dalton and Jon Appleby of The Blue Lion in East Witton. 

Social media stars and internet sensations will also be cooking up a storm with Flexitarian and baking recipe blogger Izy Hossack coming from London to York, as well as self-proclaimed ‘semi-fit Masterchef losers’ Billy and Jack, bringing inspiration from their exclusive monthly supper club in Covent Garden to the stage at Castle Howard. 

A taste of far flung lands will be showcased by British Iranian Sabrina Ghayour, whose Middle Eastern cookbooks and cookery classes bring the essence of Persian cooking to London and Yorkshire. 

Recognisable faces including Tony Singh, and of course Brian Turner himself will open the stage on Thursday 14th August at BBC Countryfile Live with four full days of demonstrations. The full demonstration schedule is available at https://www.countryfilelive.com/castle-howard/show-features/the-le-creuset-kitchen-theatre-at-countryfile-live

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Andrew Pern has had great success with The Star at Harome, which has a Michelin star, following this up with an expanded portfolio featuring the Star Inn the City, The Star Inn the Harbour and Mr P’s Curious Tavern. This forager’s menu was hosted at Mr P’s Curious Tavern, with Mr P himself on the pass. The foraged element came courtesy of Alysia Vasey. Alysia has made quite a name for herself over the last few years and supplied pretty much every notable chef in the North of England along with many other storied names in the food industry. Her story is quite fascinating and set to be told in a book next year, so stay tuned to hear more!

The five courses came in at £35 with an extra £25 for paired wines, very reasonable for chefs and ingredients of this quality. Mr P’s is slightly eccentrically decorated, but a comfortable place to enjoy a meal. I was seated upstairs near the kitchen, close enough to enjoy the bustle of it without it becoming invasive. The first course to arrive was a “Forager’s Broth” that dropped charred celeriac and freshly grated horseradish into the mix along with the earthy mushroomy broth.

The fish course that followed was really quite exceptional. A cultured butter crumpet topped with cured halibut and brown shrimp that was brought to life by the accompanying sea purslane, “Salty Fingers” and “Scurvy Grass”. Those foraged elements were reminiscent of samphire but leant the plate a greater depth and subtlety.

Next up we were treated to a spelt risotto that made a feature of a fried pheasant egg. The texture of the risotto was a little close to tapioca for my taste, but the flavours were happy company for one another, nettle pesto and sheep’s curd doing their bit to round the dish out. I don’t recall having had pheasant egg before, but the large yolk and delicate cooking allowed it to become a strong element of the dish.

The meat course centred on hay baked, Harome reared, chicken with Douglas fir-baked potatoes, a chickweed salad and artichokes. Wild garlic is irresistible at this time of year, so had to pop up somewhere, thankfully not overpowering the relatively delicate flavours of the chicken and potato. Finally the sweet tooth was satisfied by sweet woodruff parfait with honey and apple blossom, with toasted oat varying the texture.

As I said at the outset, £35 is a bargain for this sort of meal. The food was of high standard, that crumpet in particular was stunning, and the effort made by Alysia and Andrew to say hi to people was admirable. I’ll certainly be looking out for more events like this and making sure I continue to keep an eye on both Andrew and Alysia in the future.

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When we learned of the impending arrival of Baby Fork, we promised ourselves that this would not be the end of our love of dining out and that we would involve her in as many meals as practically possible. As she’s only just about to pass the one year marker, we’re not quite at the stage of ordering from menus for her, but I’m acutely aware that time will zip by as it tends to these days and it’ll suddenly be a pressing consideration.  

My blinkered life pre-baby meant that I hadn’t considered how an effective children’s menu needs to meet the diverse needs of the age range involved. With all that playing on my mind, I teamed up with Avocado Events last November to give The Star Inn the City the chance to show what they could do when presented with a bunch of children of varying ages.

You might think it odd that I’m posting now about an event last November but only a few days after the event, there was an unfortunate fire at the restaurant that has left their food service out of action until March of this year. In the meantime the guys have managed to keep the drinks service open with minimal disruptions, so it’ll be a real pleasure to see them back up and running. 

Avocado Events and I invited a bunch of local influencers with a children of various ages to test the Star Inn the City’s children’s menu to its limit, so it was a happy bunch that arrived on a Thursday morning to indulge some keen appetites.

We took over a decent sized corner of the restaurant with great views across the Museum Gardens, in whose corner it nestles appealingly. I’ve had some lovely meals here over the last few years and it remains one of the most striking places to eat in York. This is something a good number of the attendees noted, particularly enjoying the sense of escape from York’s centre as you pass into the entrance courtyard where there’s frequently a welcoming fire burning.

With a large number of children in attendance, there was always a risk of some disruption, but all of our attendees’ kids were a great credit to them and behaved impeccably. We started out with a chat from Operations Director and Chef Matthew Hunter who talked passionately about the restaurant’s commitment to fresh, quality, seasonal produce and how this approach is shared across all of the restaurants in the group (The Star at Harome, The Star Inn the City, Mr P’s Curious Tavern, The Star Inn the Harbour).

Matthew was also keen to highlight how flexible they could be with their children menu. While of course there’s a decent selection on the kids menu, should they fancy something that it doesn’t feature, the kitchen will happily knock up a child sized portion of anything that features on the main menu.

There were a number of hits amongst the dishes our little diners enjoyed, the Yorkshire pudding & gravy starter drawing more little hands to it than the chicken liver parfait or prawn cocktail. Mains included spaghetti with tomato sauce, flat iron steak and classic ham, egg & chips that all drew their own fans amongst the junior audience. To finish up, our ravenous group went through bramble mousse, lemonade ice cream floats and chocolate brownie while us adults snacked on delicious arancini balls and prawn cocktails.

The Star Inn the City is a great place for family dining that offers great food and a sense of occasion without undue formality. It was a great pleasure to organise this event with them and see so many people of different ages enjoying their food, for the first time in many cases. It was desperately unfortunate to hear about their fire so soon after all this fun, but they’ll be back up and running at full strength again soon.

Disclaimer: This event was organised in conjunction with Avocado Events and The Star Inn the City.

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January started with a trip to London where I took the opportunity to indulge in a Kejriwal from Dishoom, one of my favourite breakfast dishes. This month also saw The Ivy on St Helen’s Square open its doors and a fun day helping Brew York put together the newest variant of their Tonkoko Imperial Stout. Mrs Fork showed admirable fortitude for a visit to Whitby to enjoy a stay at The White Horse & Griffin despite her advanced state of pregnancy, even finding space to enjoy a meal at The Star Inn the Harbour. Finally, the Star Inn the City had the chance to show off to the great and good of the food world, hosting the Estrella Damm UK Gastropub Awards which was a very special day.

Dishoom Kejriwal

The Ivy

White Horse & Griffin

Bisque from The Star Inn the Harbour

February was something of a quiet month as we waited for Baby Fork to make her arrival. While her debut was of rather more personal import than that of Humpit Hummus, it was still a pleasure to sample their hummus and falafel. I also finally got the chance to try bread & butter pudding spring roll when Street Cleaver popped up at the Fossgate Social. Millers Fish and Chips in Haxby gave us strength in the days before birth, as did a fabulous Reuben sandwich from Shambles Kitchen.

Shambles Kitchen Reuben

Street Cleaver Bread & Butter pudding spring roll

Baby Fork

March was mainly marked by a lack of sleep, but I still found time to get out and about. Radix started its cutting edge regular tasting menu at 45 Vinyl Cafe. It was a pleasure to be involved with judging the Garbutt & Elliot Food Entrepreneurs Awards so it was particularly rewarding to see the winners crowned at the Hospitium. There’s not much that can prepare you for the first few weeks of parenthood so brunches became something of a refuge. We particularly enjoyed Trinacria (the sausages are superb) and the Brisket Benedict at Source, which was en even more welcome distraction after the loss of one of our beloved cats. The first meal we braved without Baby Fork was to sample the new menu at Goodramgate Ambiente, just as reliably tasty and great value as ever.

Garbutt & Elliot Food Entrepreneur award winners

Radix Hen of the woods, poacher & root vegetable tagliatelle

Source beef brisket benedict

In April Tommy Banks launched his first book, Roots, which later shared its name with his new restaurant in York. I had a stab at his ox cheek recipe and produced a dish that even Tommy complimented me on. A trip out of York to Gio’s Italian Diner uncovered a great value spot that delivered simple food, done well with great ingredients. Our wedding anniversary celebration was less ambitious than previous years but still took in a delicious rosti at Betty’s Northallerton and some beautifully honest pies at Lordstones Cafe. I also finally had the chance to get back to Melton’s for lunch, which was a great opportunity to remember the understated quality these guys bring to Bishy Rd.

Betty’s Rosti

Melton’s celery & gruyere ‘rarebit’

My attempt at Tommy Bank’s Ox cheek from Roots

May brought about the long awaited opening of container park Spark that brought together a well curated selection of the best of local streetfood. While there’s been some turnover amongst the traders involved since then, it remains a welcoming space. With a young baby, we were still struggling to get out for special meals so the chance to visit The Park from Adam Jackson remains a fond memory that Baby Fork was able to share with us. With summer starting, it was lovely to pay a visit to Raithwaite Spa and take the time to relax in the sun, not to mention grab some crab sandwiches from The Cod & Lobster en route. This busy month also saw the launch of Yorkshire Cheddar from Wensleydale Creamery with a menu from Yorkshire legend Steph Moon, a pasta class with the indomitable Sara Danesin, the launch of The Cat’s Pyjamas in York and Malton Food Festival.

Poussin, white onion, ham, hen of the woods from Adam Jackson at The Park

Raithwaite Spa

Spark

As we got to half way through the year, June took me out to the Herbs Unlimited open day and the openings of Shakespeare’s Globe, The Press Kitchen and L’Uva. I also took the chance to check out a fully vegan menu at The Whippet before we popped to Ludlow and enjoyed some small plates with great local produce at CSON’s by the river.

Family Fork at the L’Uva opening

Mussels in the sun at Shakespeare’s Globe

Vegan dishes at The Whippet

By July we were starting to find our feet with Baby Fork a little so managed a few more days out. The hot summer days were perfect for the Yorkshire Sculpture Park and Fountains Abbey. Fantastic meals came from Arras and The Star Inn the Harbour while I finally made it to Everyman Cinema for a Spielburger to celebrate my birthday after a film.

Salmon and Greek Salads at Arras

One of the Follys at Fountains Abbey

Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Spielburger at Everyman

In August I travelled further afield to Leeds to enjoy the launch event for new Pudsey neighbourhood bistro Feed, featuring cheeseburger spring rolls and the “Hangover cone”. I also made it to Bradford to finally visit Prashad, which lived up to sky high expectations despite some enforced needlework, and Stamfords in Pocklington that represented great value. Cooking at home included sampling a recipe box from Riverford and it was a real pleasure to see Born to Lose open in Brew York from the guys behind Street Cleaver.

Whipped Goats Curd with Carrot at Stamfords

Hangover Cone from Feed

Kopra Pethi at Prashad

The big things in September were the York Food & Drink Festival, with whom I was very happy to work and curate the food and drinks trails, and the much anticipated launch of Tommy Banks’ new restaurant on Marygate, Roots. Sunday lunch came from the Principal and Born to Lose, whose Alternative Sunday Lunch was characteristically brilliant. I also made it to Skosh for the first time in too long and for a great value Bento lunch at Sushiwaka. A lowlight of the year came courtesy of a broken plate that necessitated a rather painful and invasive check for tendon damage in my hand and a number of stitches (NB: link to graphic pic), and I was even late for lunch! Thankfully my thumb remains fully functional, if still rather achey.

Born to Lose Alternative Sunday Lunch (2 hours after having my thumb stitched together!)

Lemon & Blueberry Cheesecake at The Principal

Garden pea falafel, pork fat and carrots at Roots launch event

Things quietened down in October a little; fine dining came from Hudson’s in The Grand and a more casual offering from Los Moros, whose opening and success was great to see. A set price lunch from The Rattle Owl was an accessible treat that makes for a great value midweek lunch.

Stone bass, langoustine and Fennel from the Hudsons Tasting Menu

Small plates for lunch at The Rattle Owl

Los Moros Tagine

November took us back to Roots for a final treat before Mrs Fork went back to work. I visited Leeds again to check out Dough, the new city centre offering from the guys behind Feed, and the Assembly Food Hall that packed a cracking burger from Slap & Pickle. The lunchtime pie menu from The Whippet hit the spot and I had great fun running a blogger event with the lovely Avocado Events and the Star Inn the City, to whom I wish a quick recovery to after their recent fire.

Slap & Pickle burger at Assembly Underground

Introducing the Children’s menu at the Star Inn the City

As we moved toward the end of the year, December took me to The Cutlery Works in Sheffield, a great addition to Kelham Island, which featured some great sashimi and poutine. The Christmas decorations at Castle Howard were good enough to encourage us to make it a habitual visit with Baby Fork in coming years and I finally got to see the stage show of Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds that even exceeded my expectations.

Castle Howard

Martian fighting machine with War of the Worlds!

Sashimi and small plates at Cutlery Works

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Taste Trail
I’m hugely excited to announce that this year’s Taste Trail is a collaboration between York on a Fork and The York Food & Drink Festival. I’ve been working hard with the Festival to organise a great selection of businesses to offer samples and discounts to trail participants. Make sure you preorder your booklet from the festival site for only £5, or two booklets for £8, or collect it/them from the Festival Information Point.

Food Factory
This is your chance to get stuck into a range of activities that’ll get into the detail of where some of our favourite foods come from. You’ll have the opportunity to make bread, butter, pasta and ice cream along with preserving fish and making cheese. You’ll also get a chance to try a chocolate activity at York Cocoa Works. A family ticket for four (including up to two adults)​ which offers all of these activities is £15. You can book places here.

Gin, Fizz & Ale Trail
This year the Ale trail is being broadened to include options for gin and fizz too. Grab your booklet from the Festival Information Point and after visiting six venues you’ll be eligible for entry to a prize draw!

Chef Demos
As always, there’s a packed schedule of chefs ready to show their stuff in the demo tent. Amongst many others this year features:
Rafi’s Spicebox
James McKenzie from the Pipe & Glass
Craig Atchinson from Hudsons at The Grand
Adam Jackson from The Park
Neil Bentinck from Skosh
​Tommy Banks from The Black Swan and Roots
Matt Hunter from The Star Inn the City

Taste Workshops
This year’s Festival features a series of “Taste Workshops” that offer the chance to take advantage of specialist knowledge from some of the city’s food experts.  Details of them all can be found here. As well as these, there’s the chance to enjoy a Pinot Noir tasting at The Chopping Block (The new restaurant at Walmgate Ale House from Michael Hjort) which also hosts a charity “Call my Bluff” dinner on September 25th. Check out the full list of food events here.

​Beer & Cider Festival
York Knavesmire again hosts the Beer & Cider Festival from 19th- 21st September as it celebrates its 10th anniversary. There’ll be over 500 beers and 100 ciders to choose from, live performances, expert briefings, cooking demonstrations and tastings.

Little Vikings Recipe Trail
York Food & Drink Festival 2018 is absolutely for all the family. This year, Little Vikings have put together a free recipe trail that allows children to collect recipes from ten locations around the city as you explore. Book here to reserve your recipe hunt pack to collect from the Festival Information Point.

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