The Clocks Go Back, The Beers Come Out...

I feel distinctly different in the last few days. The days are shortening, the heating has been turned on, the kitchen has stopped producing griddled and barbecued things and now hosts pots of bubbling stews and casseroles. I'm drinking more beer.

The Good Stuff has always been beer-heavy, but i'm going to concentrate more on this in the next few months. There's so much good stuff out there, and now is the perfect time to take a trip to your local beer-nerd-stockist (see the next post for a profile of mine).

I recently got my hands on two excellent examples of the evergreen work of Samuel Smiths, a brewery close to my heart, in Tadcaster.

Thier 'Taddy Porter' is a big, big beer. Huge malted flavours, with those tradmark hints of coffee and roasted malts. Make no mistake, you know you've had a glass of Taddy. Unremittingly dry, this is one of my favourite examples of Porter available today (the other being Flag Porter - which i can't seem to find - can anyone help?).

A few nights later, a long, boring day at work was rounded off by a glass of Smith's Winter Welcome Ale. At 6% abv, the ale is no slouch but is remarkably drinkable - malty, as you you would expect, but quite lively also. It's brewed in Yorkshire Squares and you can tell - that trademark taste runs thorough it. Hoppy on the aftertaste, i really enjoyed this and will be having it again.

In Leeds, The Angel, just off Briggate, stocks these and pretty much all of Smith's brews all of the time.Oh, and i know it's nerdy - but when was the last time you say such amazing design on a beer label?

Wanna be on Telly?

Always one to bring attention to worthy causes - Eating Britain has an invite from Thames TV to take part on a new cookery show called 'Cooking the Books'. Good People Eats had also been invited, but won't be taking part - but if this is your cup of tea, or you harbour dreams of becoming a celebrity, drop by and register your interest...

Eating Britain has also higlighted Chicken Out , a campaign fronted by our friendly friend Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. A sad fact of today's eating environment is that upwards of 90% of the chicken we eat today is intensively reared. This is shocking, and although sometimes it's hard to find an alternative, if we can raise awareness of this then maybe we can turn the tide. Drop by the official site and sign your name.

Eating Britain is a great blog, and i urge you all to drop by.

http://www.eatingbritain.com/

Michael Jackson - more genius...

Beers of The World magazine are carrying a touching tribute to Michael Jackson this month, with loads of great quotes from the man. If you're not familiar with the man or the mag, i suggest you remedy that asap!

...While we are on the glorious subject of beer, time for a rant. After reading this, and doing some research, it occured to me that there are still hardly any books on beer (guides, brewing guides etc) stocked by bookshops - at least in Leeds. The sections on books about Wines are usually massive - even books on whisky get more shelf-space. Surely there is room for more? Amazon stocks at least 1000 books on Beer - why are they so hard to find in shops, then? Has anyone else out there found this frustrating, or do are my expectations too high?

http://www.beers-of-the-world.com/

Spotlight on...Raydale Preserves

Raydale Preserves are a company that i always keep an eye out for when visiting Farmer's Markets across Yorkshire. Our love affair with them started simply; one day we were lamenting the lack of blueberry jam in the market place; the next weekend, at a market in Skipton, we found that Raydale had put that right. We bought 2 jars, and declared it the best we had tasted.

Raydale are based in Askrigg, near Leyburn - a hub for home-made produce. Thier preserve list is extensive, and new flavours pop up all the time. Although the art is traditional, the flavours show forward-thinking; my last trio of buys included Plum and Strawberry & Amaretto.

The Kettlewells, who run Raydale, epitomise what i like about Yorkshire food in particular - keeping a tradition alive, and appealing to those long-forgotten tastes.Their tasting room is open pretty much daily but please check the times if you visit because these can be affected by the seasons. You can see how the preserves are made and kick back afterwards and sample some home-made cakes.

Give Raydale a try - you won't be disappointed. They can be found at pretty much every farmer's market across our region.

Raydale Preserves

Schoolhouse Farm, Stalling Busk

Askrigg, Leyburn

North Yorkshire

DL8 3DH

01969 650233

A BBQ Odyssey - Harrogate to Tennessee

A story in the Yorkshire Evening Post really warmed my heart this week. Andy Annat, a butcher from Harrogate, is flying to the States at the end of the month to take part in the World Barbecue Championships.
BBQ is huge in the states - and is entirely different from the summer-only affairs we have in the UK. Where we will stoke up those coals, throw on some choice burgers, bangers and meat cuts, then proceed to spend a balmy aftenoon stuffing ourselves and downing chilled wine and beers, the Americans elevate it to a way of life. Slow, slow cooking over heat is the order of the day; complex marinades and rubs come into play. Meat is cooked for days in 'pits' - much more than a normal BBQ.
What i love about this is what links it to every business or individual we feature on Good People Eats. Love for food, bordering on obsession - no matter where in the world you are.
Anyway, if you want to know more, check out the story here. For more on home-grown BBq obsession, there have been some great recipes and articles by my Candian buddies An Endless Banquet - see the link.
Good Luck, Andy!

'Our' Meatballs

Ah, Meatballs...So simple, So delicious. Working full time has really made me appreciate 'making stuff for the freezer' - taking a little time out of your weekend to make something that can freeze well, so you make sure your midweek meals aren't reduced to ready meals or take outs (not that we would!)

One treat that we have been eating a lot of recently is the humble meatball. Every one has thier own recipe - here's ours.

'Our Meatballs' (makes about 25)

Ingredients:
1lb of minced Beef

1lb of minced Pork

3 slices of wholemeal bread, blitzed or finely chopped

1 onion, finely chopped (as fine as possible)

2 cloves of Garlic

1 chilli pepper (or as many as you like!)

chopped parsley

chopped oregano

black pepper

The recipe is simply this; prepare all your ingredients and mix together with your hands (gotta use your hands!) and then form into balls. I also sometimes use a little olive oil for moisture; but you'll find that the onion creates enough anyway.

The great thing about meatballs is that you can use pretty much anything you want; one person i know adds finely chopped carrot; you could use turkey or chicken for a lighter, more savoury meatball for soups or broths. One fave of mine is to use lamb and mint for a greek-style 'metze' ball. the possibilties are endless - but this is my fave, the old standby. Bake, dump four or so onto a split baguette, top with some (pre-prepared) chunky tomato sauce, add tons of strong cheddar on top and grill until the cheese bubbles for an amazing midweek meal. Messy, though...

North Bar's Oktoberfest

It's a strange, heady smell that greets my nostrils as i walk into North on this autumnal wednesday. Bratwurst. Yep, thick, sizzling sausages sitting alongside tall glasses of every shade of ale you could imagine. This is North Bar's Oktoberfest.
Trust those forward-thinking chaps at North to bring this great little slice of Bavaria to he heart of Leeds; a positive godsend for those of us who can't afford to go to the real thing. In he name of research, i get stuck in.
Its strange reviewing a bar that i spend so much time in - and i was thinking about not doing it at all. But despite my obvious love for North, the only city bar I consider 'my local', i don't want to ignore the seasonal festivals that they take great effort to put on -and Oktoberfest is a success, purely for that reason. These guys want it to happen; so it does. They do it because they know thier customers want it.
That's enough of the gushing - onto the beers. First up I sample an Oktober brew by one of my favourite brewers, Paulaner. Its long, smooth and unbeleivably refreshing. Pale, but not too sharp. Of all the normal 'Oktoberfest' style brews, this is easily the easiest to drink. A little too easy, actually! Another hit for Paulaner. (Watch out for the Paulaner - heavy beer tent at the German Market around Christmas time!)
Next up, another old fave - Erdinger. Again, tempted by the promise of a seasonal brew from the Munich-based brewery. Again, a gorgeous amber wheat beer, very smooth, but with a much more pronounced kick (5.7) abv. Very drinkable, very good with the aforementioned Bratwurst.

The beer list is extensive - i can't imagine many places serving Hofbrau or Spaten tonight. The staff pour and pour, smile and serve in a true German fashion. The place fills, and the lights fade. Another night begins at North, and the conversation, lilting in and out of the music, is invariably about Beer.

Oktoberfest @ North runs until the 7th October. For further info, see the North link.

Dos Amigos - Tapas bar none...

I'll be honest here; I couldn’t hide trepidation as we drove through Kirkstall. I loved Amigo's. It was a special place, a warm, authentic Tapas joint in a city that sadly lacked them. Inside the new ‘Dos Amigos’, little has changed. The same charming, tiny room, the same friendly staff (well, in attitude, anyway), the same Mediterranean music bringing back memories of holidays in Spain, Greece and Turkey. But what of the food?
I am pleased to report the standard has not slipped one ounce since the slight makeover and name-change.

The menu now sports a slightly Italian flavour, as well as Spanish - We opted for: Spiedo di Gambas Mixta – grilled Langoustine, The ubiquitous Polpette di Maiale (meatballs), Fried Calamari, Peperoni Ripieni, Patatas Bravas, chicken croquettes and some Pollo El Ajillo…and don’t forget the Pan Catalan – thick, olive oil-drenched bread rubbed with garlic and fresh tomato.

As our table was laden with what seemed like a million earthenware dishes, the feast of food really hit the spot. And for me, the piece de resistance was the draft Cruzcampo – my favourite of all Spanish Cervezas – bar none. Icy cold, it washed the feast down perfectly.

The star of the show was a dish that I had not tasted before – Peperoni Ripieni. Peppers stuffed with rice and veg are commonplace but this whole, sweet pepper, charred on the outside, stuffed with spicy, close-textured minced pork was outstanding, and a dish I can recommend heartily. This was the best meal I had enjoyed in a while.

So what do we have here?
A genuinely local restaurant, proud of its location, that stands apart from the hustle of inner-city Leeds. A place where authenticity has served it well, and the locals will patronise it for a long time to come. A place where the noise, the conversation and the wine is as important as the food.
Or, quite simply, the best Tapas in Leeds? Visit, and decide for yourself.

http://www.dosamigos-leeds.co.uk/
68-70 Abbey Road (opposite The Abbey)
Kirkstall,
Leeds

tel: 0113 228 3737

Blackberry Slices - In The Bag!!

Inspired by Scott @ Real Epicurian's 'In The Bag' promotion, The Good Stuff set about creating a seasonal treat for the start of Autumn. And seeing as though my good lady had been ransacking the Blackberry bush at the end of our street for a month or so now, that seemed like a good place to start.

Here is what we came up with - nothing fancy, but great with a cup of tea and Seinfeld box set on an ever-darkening night...

Blackberry Tray Bake

You will need:

225g Soft margerine

225g Caster Sugar

275g Self-Raising Flour

2 tspns baking Powder

4 Eggs

4 tbs Milk

Icing sugar (To decorate)

100g Blackberries - or about 20!

1. Pre-heat oven to 180C, 350f or gas mark 4.

2. Grease and base line a 12x9 inch roasting tin or shallow tin with greaseproof paper.

3. Measure your ingredients in a large bowl and beat well for a couple of minutes until blended.

4. Turn the mixture into the tin, and level the top.

5. Add the Blackberries in lines - you want to get about 3 to a slice. Lay them on top (they will sink during baking).

6. Bake for about 35 minutes, or until the cake has pulled away from the sides.

7. Leave to cool (overnight, if you wish)

8. Decorate top with some icing sugar in whatever way you want.

9. Slice and enjoy!

If you want, you could add some berries to the top also, for prettiness! as you can see, it's fairly basic but was delicious!

News Round-Up

Yorkshire Deli in Ilkey are holding a ‘Grapes of Burgundy’ wine and food tasting night on Thursday 4th October 2007 at 7pm. At £29.50 per head, you get a three course dinner matched to 4 fine wines, guided by Mike Widd, and lots of other locally-sourced treats. For further details, see the blog 9in my links). To book, you can call Yorkshire Deli directly on on 01943 817387 or email them - see the link for more info...Bolton Abbey Beef are now delivering in certain postcodes – see here for further news….the East Keswick Yorkshire Beer Festival kicks off on the 13th October, featuring live music, locally-produced foods and 20 or so Yorkshire Beers for your pleasure! Muse Ale and Wine Bar are sponsoring the event, which will be held in the village hall. For more details check out the good old CAMRA website, or you can call David on 01937 573082, or Brian on 01937 572149…Amigo’s on Kirkstall Road has recently changed owners and is now called ‘Dos Amigos’, offering some Italian tapas to the already-extensive traditional menu. The Good Stuff has visited and will be reviewing officially shortly but we can tell you that the food is still outstanding and the draft Cruzcampo is as refreshing as ever…The Manchester Food Festival takes place next month – for further details see here…and October is the time for Devon and Cornwalls celebration of food – as if you needed any other reason to go this wonderful part of the country (had the best mussels I have ever tasted in Devon) ... more to come shortly...

Grains 2 Mill

There’s something about bread, isn’t there? The smell is constantly noted as being one of our favourites in the whole world, and it’s true when Nigel Slater says that one of the most-underrated foods ever is a simple slice of toast, dripping with golden, unctuous butter.
Apparently it’s easy to make as well, but I have always struggled – I never make good bread. Ever. And I refuse to buy a bread-maker, as that, for me, takes the magic out of the entire process. But bread-making holds a charm for me that I will always aspire to, so it was with some interest that I browsed a Grains 2 Mill stall at a recent Food Festival.
Grains 2 Mill’s operation is simple – good ingredients, produced by hand, and then given to you. After a quick taste of what they had to offer, I opted, with the advice of the very knowledgeable chap behind the stall, for a bag of ‘The Lord's Bread Mix’ – it sounds lofty but check out Ezekiel 16:9 in the good book for clarification.
To be honest, it couldn’t have been simpler. You just empty all the freshly stone-milled dry ingredients into a bowl and follow the instructions. Add honey, olive oil and an egg. Knead. Leave. Shape. Leave. Bake. All done. In a couple of hours I had a perfect batch of little breadcakes – the honey and oil in this particular recipe gave an interesting sweetness that was wonderful straight out of the oven. Split, buttered and served with slices of Parma ham, it was a real simple, yet utterly delicious treat. And the house smelled great for days…
Who knows, I might even try this breadmaking lark again!

Grains2mill
North Yorkshire
BD23 5JJ

http://www.grains2mill.co.uk/

Michael Jackson Passes Away at 65

Michael Jackson – for many of us known simply as ‘The Beer Hunter’, has sadly died, aged 65.

Micheal has been a massive inspiration to all of those who enjoy beer as the artform that it is; it is down to Michael and his cult TV show ‘The Beer Hunter’ that a lot of realised that there was more to Ale than being something your granddad drunk. He championed Belgian beers when many of us were still messing about with piss-poor lager; he championed the grand English pub when many of us were drawn to flashy bars. He was a font of knowledge on the subject and cared not for trends and fads. He was interested in only ‘the good stuff’, and passing that wisdom on.

Today we have lost one of the best food writers around; he can rest assured that his teachings have reached far and wide.

"Hello, my name is Michael Jackson. No, not that Michael Jackson, but I am on a world tour. My tour is in pursuit of exceptional beer. That's why they call me The Beer Hunter…”

Anchovy & Feta Spaghetti

God - i tell ya - Broadband, although usually very good at keeping us all hooked up and sharing our secrets, has not been my friend this past month. Apologies to all those who come by here regulary - i'm not ignoring you. An upcoming upgrade of the entire 'The Good Stuff' office should mean Autumn goes a bit smoother!

Anyway -

I'm glad Rick Stein has been championing Greek Food in his latest series. As you know, i am a huge fan of Greece and its food, which, in my humble opinion, doesn't get enough credit. So here i a quick recipe for a greek - inspired pasta. Make sure you use fresh anchovies - plump and white/silver, as opposed to those brown, salty things you get in jars. Costa's Greek Deli in Kirkgate Market does great cretan ones.

Anchovy & Feta Spaghetti

You will need;

1 Tomato - large and ripe.

Olive oil

50g Feta Cheese

2 cloves of Garlic

Parsley, Oregano

Spaghetti or Tagliatelli

Ground black pepper

1. Cook your pasta!

2. At the same time - chop your garlic and your tomato. If you want to take the skin off, fine - i don't, personally.

3. In a heavy - bottomed pan, lightly simmer the chopped tomato and the garlic until broke down and a sauce has formed.

4. Add the Anchovies, chopped however you want them.

5. Season the sauce - but don't add salt, the fish will have enough.

6. Toss in your cooked pasta, coat, and serve topped with cubes of feta cheese.

There you go - easy. Serve with a glass of dry white wine.

Closures, Closures, Closures....

I noticed a worrying trend in our cities’ food news the last couple of weeks – despite it being a very ‘Leeds is now’ time for the city, two long-standing establishments have had to close this month.
Firstly, a simple change of location cost Beano Wholefoods dearly. Beano had been around for nearly 30 years – which makes it all the more shocking when you consider the power the whole ‘Organic’ ethos has these days. However, Beano did not fit in the council’s plans for the fast-developing Briggate and moved it down the road. And that’s it – a move of only 300 yards results in such a drop in trade that Beano simply no longer exists. As you would imagine, a void is now present for those wanting vegan or more ehtically-produced foodstuffs. it would seem people are happy to buy 'Fairtrade' - as long as they can get it from a supermarket.

Also, Dino’s – the Italian under the Railway Station on Bishopsgate, have thrown in the towel after another long 15 years in the Leeds food scene. The manager is blaming the explosion in restaurants in Leeds in the last few years as being so detrimental to the trade that he can no longer go on. Telling ,perhaps, but one has to wonder what other long-standing restaurants in the area such as Bibi’s, Da Marios and Salvo’s are doing in order to survive. I’m of the belief that Leeds is big enough for all these places, but the closure of Beano’s is a real shame.

Leeds Food & Drink Festival 2007 - Preview

After a lost weekend in Dublin courtesy of a Stag I know, I return to Leeds to find the Food & Drink Festival preparations in full swing. Again, it starts on a weekday but I’m sure during it’s five day run there will be at least once chance to take a mosey on down. So what’s going on?

A quick flick through the brochure gives me an idea of some highlights. The always affable and almost-so-Yorkshire-you-can-taste-it pairing of Brian Turner and James Martin will have a large crowd, not least among the mothers of Leeds. For those with Gallic leanings, Raymond Blanc will be appearing on the 10th, ahead of the opening of much anticipated ‘Brassiere Blanc’ in Leeds later this year. No doubt that one will have food writers up and down Yorkshire in a cold sweat for at least, ooh - the opening weekend.

Apart from the celebs – who really need no introduction – personally I’ll be looking forward to demonstrations from two establishments close to my heart; Thomas Danby College, one of the unsung heroes of Leeds of providing training and vocations for chefs, bakers and butchers-to-be are putting in a couple of appearances. Thomas Danby work hard; very hard. Go see them. Also, a paella cook-off (gotta love a cook-off!) courtesy of La Tasca sounds good, as does the tapas and wine tasting event held by Sandinista – another bona fide ‘The Good Stuff’ hero when it comes to smart, affordable tapas with no pretension. Shepherd’s Purse Cheeses are also helping out the ubiquitous Olive Tree demo so make sure to pick up some of their wares.

Finally, some excellent ideas – Kirkgate Market will be offering various food tastings throughout Saturday, and a string of restaurants in Headingley will be offering ‘Menus for £10’ – great idea, especially when you consider Headingley is home to the peerless Salvos and Brett’s fish and chips – amongst others.
So that’s my rundown of the highlights – there’s more to the Leeds Food Festival than Harvey Nichols, you know. Shame there’s nothing highlighting the excellent pubs Leeds has to offer – an ale trail, perhaps next year? One can hope, eh?

The Leeds Festival of Food & Drink,
8-12 August,
Briggate and surrounding environs, Leeds.
http://www.leedsfoodanddrinkfestival.co.uk/

Leeds Brewery

Although Leeds has no shortage of beer lovers, you'd think that a company called 'The Leeds Brewery' would have popped up by now - and only recently, it has.
I've not had a chance to sample any of thier frankly delicious-sounding brews yet, but rest assured i'll be keeping an eye out. Thier website is fresh, smart and displays an obvious love of the beer - despite the fact that they are a young company. and that is refreshing to see.
When there's not much happiness about the word 'Leeds' at the moment (I'm referring to my beloved Leeds Utd), it does wonders to see a pump clip with the words "Leeds Best' on it.

And as Morrisey sang, "Now my heart is full..."

Let's hope this local firm is a resounding success.

www.leedsbrewery.co.uk

I's Pies

My partner likes to bake, and so the household is generally filled to the rafters with all sorts of baked treats. I’m not complaining – although it does no good for my expanding waistline, it’s good to have home-cooked flapjack at any time of the day. So, we don’t buy sweets often; but we had to make an exception when we came across an I’s Pies stall at the Leyburn Festival Of Food and Drink.

Everything looked so good, but we opted for the Blueberry Crème Brulee Tart - and we were glad we did. Light, crumbly base, a smooth, vanilla-loaded crème brulee topping shot through with big, purple-bleeding blueberries. Washed down with a cuppa, the pie didn’t last long at all. Perfection – we should have bought cratefuls of the things.

A quick look at the company’s website has all the tell-tale signs of a great producer - local ingredients, passion for food, and a simplicity to the approach that we should all be taking for granted. When was the last time you saw ‘Roasted Beef Bones’ on a list of stock ingredients for a Beef pie? It should be everytime; but it’s not. Hand-chopped meat - not processed? Surely not!
Independent Foods are sure to become bigger with quality produce like this; give them a try.

www.independentfoods.co.uk

Spanish Pork & Beans

This is a recipe that just hit the spot on a sunday morning late lunch. Hearty and really tasty, I came upon a version of this recipe years ago on a Keith Floyd program - he cooked it at the side of the road in Spain, so from then on its simply been 'Spanish Pork and Beans' for me.

Be sure to use good quality sausage and black pudding though. It will make a difference - I used plain pork links from The Yorkshire Dales Meat Company.

Ingredients:

Olive oil
Butter Beans (tinned)
Tinned Tomatoes
Some Chorizo or Bacon
6 Pork Sausages
1 Onion
3 Cloves of Garlic (chopped)
1 marinated Pepper.
Some good black pudding (a few slices)


1.Heat the oil in a large pan or stockpot, and soften the onion. Add the Garlic, and then the sausages. Continue to heat slowly until the sausages have slightly browned.

2.Add Chorizo or bacon, and again cook gently until cooked through. Add the Black pudding and gently fry through.

3.Finally, slice up your marinated pepper and add. If using fresh, then add at stage one and soften with the onions.

4.Pour in your tomatoes and beans. Add salt (pinch) and a good grind of black pepper. Stir and then leave to simmer until the sausages are cooked through. 30 mins should be good.

If, like me, you like the black pudding a little crispier, then fry separately and add at the end, almost like croutons! The black pudding really adds a savoury edge to this tomatoey dish so don't be tempted to omit it. If you want things a litte spicier, douse with tabasco.

Spotlight on...Yorkshire Deli

Two blogs have been really catching my attention recently - Stonch's homebrewing adventures over at Stonch's Beerblog - and the ongoing birth of Yorkshire Deli in Ilkley. Ian Taylor is starting out on that road that many of us desk-bound foodwriters daydream of - taking the plunge and opening a business of our own.
Remarkably, Ian has managed to find time to answer a few questions for The Good Stuff.

The Good Stuff: Yorkshire Deli has obviously been on the horizon for some time – do you recall the exact moment when it turned from a dream into a living venture?

Ian Taylor We (my wife and I) had been looking for a business to buy for some time so that I could escape my previous employment which had become a nightmare. I guess the moment that Yorkshire Deli the concept was born was about a year ago when we went to look at a local deli which was for sale. While we waited for the accounts to come through after the viewing we created the Yorkshire theme in our minds, given the growing demand for local produce it just made sense.

Unfortunately - or perhaps fortunately! - that business was not making any money so we dropped it, but realising how disappointed we were to have to do so, the Yorkshire Deli idea became the dream and we then sought a suitable business to adapt it to. I guess the point that that became a living venture was last November when we viewed and had an offer accepted on the tea-room business we eventually bought to turn into the Yorkshire Deli Cafe.

How did ‘giving up the day job’ feel at the time?
Wonderful. I had been effectively in the same job for 17 years and a series of mergers had meant that I went from being a number two in an organisation to a virtual nobody, with complete idiots being parachuted in over my head just because they were in the correct, tiny, extreme political faction with absolutely no grip on reality. When this happened again a couple of years ago to the point that I was constantly having to train and cover up for the mistakes and inadequacies of the imbecile who was supposed to be my boss, I vowed to get out, and to finally achieve that was an immense relief.

I should say that there were a few people who I was sad to leave behind and that I hope I'll keep in touch with, but not many, and they know who they are.

Now that you’re up and running, what are you enjoying the most about being the owner of a deli?
It's immensely satisfying when you are complemented over something you have created yourself - the homemade cakes, scones and daily lunch dishes that I cook all seem to go down very well. I also love being an insider in the catering world, learning constantly from other producers and business-people, and I had better say that I enjoy being part of a team with our excellent staff who are great fun to be around!

If we had £5 to spend in Yorkshire Deli, what would you recommend we spend it on?
If you were there for lunch, I would say spend an extra 75p and go for my dish of the day, which this week could have been a Lamb, Orange and Fennel Spring Stew, or Chicken with Tarragon and Spring Vegetables, for example, served in a giant Yorkshire Pudding.

If you are there for a snack, for just £2.95 you can get one of our Yorkshire Cream Teas - a pot of Yorkshire Tea, homemade scone, Organic Yorkshire Clotted Cream and local farm produced pure fruit jam and butter - we deliberately kept the price low to try - a little cheekily - to compete with a rather more famous tea shop nearby! You'd need more than your fiver for a cream tea there!

Or if you are in our retail area - a bottle of Wharfe Valley Rapeseed Oil perhaps, or some Angel Chocolate - handmade in Swaledale, or a couple of bottles of Copper Dragon Golden Pippin Ale (we have just got our alcohol licence by the way!).
5. What’s in the pipeline for the upcoming year at Yorkshire Deli?
More and more home made food, and more local produce on the menu and for retail sale. Later in the year there'll be wine tastings and other themed events.

We may also expand the cafe seating area into our mezzanine floor, and we also open our online shop on our website http://www.yorkshiredeli.co.uk/ very soon.

Who are your ‘Food Heroes’?
Keith Floyd, Anthony Bourdain, Rick Stein and Gordon Ramsay are my favourite chefs, and I have a soft spot for Nigella too! But the true and in many cases unsung heroes are the armies of local producers out there who devote themselves to quality food and drink, and who I want to help support through my endeavours.

...And you personal favourite places to eat and drink?
Locally, the Angel at Hetton takes some beating, along with The Far Syde in Ilkley. Our regular haunt is The Fleece in Addingham, which as well as being one of our local pubs, serves top quality food with a menu to cater for all appetites and budgets.

If I could do it all again, the only thing I would do differently is….
Do it sooner!

Food, Drink and Sex...

One phrase I am probably over-using at the moment is Food Porn. It’s even appearing in Good Food and I love it. I love it! It’s the perfect example of how obsessive we foodies can be.

Hell, even one glance around the bookshelves of your highstreet booksellers, groaning with fat, glossy, cookbooks can tell you that food has gone a bit, well, porny. If the Moro cookbooks are not a thing of beauty then I don’t know what is. And the shrink-wrapped, limited edition, heavier-than-the-Rosetta Stone French Laundry cookbook?

Well, that just takes it one step further. That’s hardcore.
Does this make us all perverts? Does this make UKTV and The Food Network our Playboy and Spice channels? Does this make Gordon Ramsay (he who is everywhere) Hugh Hefner –and if so, what does that make Nigella Lawson? Does a cooking break in Tuscany now have the same snigger-inducing credentials as residential Tantric Sex Camp?
Next, we’ll be needing credit card info to log onto the Good Food website, and food photographers will be moonlighting for Escort Magazine.

I guess it could explain the ramblings that erupt from my mouth upon entering food festivals, and those fevered, panic-induced buys (Honey – Look! Olives soaked in honey and vinegar with parmesan cheese – gotta have it, gotta have it…), whilst elbowing other greasy -fingered, foodporn-glazed zombies like myself out of the way. Come on, we've all sunk to this level.

We’re all addicts, and we love it. Now excuse me while I tend to my ‘secret stash’...