One of the privileges of running this site is to meet people at the beginning of their journey in the hospitality industry and see them grow to realise their potential. Over the years I’ve lost count of the number of well intentioned people opening concepts that are too ambitious, subtly flawed to remove viability or…
For the last half decade or so I’ve felt like I’ve known Leeds pretty well. Occasional invites have rolled in to tempt me over for a meal, or gigs crop up that I fancy a look at that also justify a pre-event feed. One way or another, I’ve been a semi-regular visitor for a couple…
Sometimes, though admittedly rarely, I really don’t know what to expect when I get invited to a new place to eat. My finger is generally firmly on York’s pulse when it comes to new openings but every so often something will sidestep into view that I’m not entirely sure what to make of. In this…
If you read this site even semi-regularly then you’ll realise I tend to be quite the sociable type. Between review meals, helping organise food festivals, keeping Baby Fork socialised and being an active participant in the York Bar Billiards League, I tend to have quite a few demands on my time and I thoroughly enjoy…
Periodically the cyclical world of Sunday supplement tag lines will blurt out the maxim that “Staying in is the new going out” with varying, generally minimal, degrees of justification. Right now though, we really can say categorically that staying in is most certainly the new going out in the extreme circumstances we find ourselves. Socialising…
Last week I was due to go out for dinner with a good friend who was returning to York for a week and I found myself with several considerations to reconcile into a dinner venue. The friend in question has impeccable credentials when it comes to cooking and eating so obviously I needed to take…
York has a broad range of activities that have the power to make you keenly aware of various elements of its history. The various museums dotted through the city do a fabulous job of imparting the weight of history that we enjoy, generally remaining lighthearted about it while still reverential on the more serious points.…
Gillygate seems to be becoming the default location for businesses moving on from Spark. Just Smile designs are about to take up a new spot on the corner with Bootham, Toner & Co have been there some time and Cardamom & Dill have plans to make the move imminently. Everett’s Coffee is just around the…
It’s always a privilege to get behind the scenes of a reputed local food producer. When the invite came for a tour of Shaws of Huddersfield it only took a couple of glances at the empty jar of their red onion chutney in my fridge to encourage me to accept. Other than knowing I like…
How many times have you been offered a sample of fudge as you enjoyed a mooch through York’s city centre? The friendly team from The Fudge Kitchen York always seem to be on duty to spread their sugary message outside their Petergate store, as they were on Kings Parade in Cambridge when I lived there.…