Filed under: Yorkshire Dales Food, beer | Tags: ale, arms, beer, best, bitter, brewery, dark horse, elslack, hetton, skipton, tempest, Yorkshire
Following my recommendation of the wonderful creamy Hetton Pale Ale, I spotted Hetton Best Bitter in the Tempest Arms at Elslack when dropping off my Chutney Competition entry last night and thought it rude not to try it!
This is another great beer from the tiny Dark Horse Brewery at Hetton in the Yorkshire Dales near Skipton and well worth seeking out to try.
Hetton Best Bitter, 3.8% abv, Dark Horse Brewery, Hetton is a lovely pint, great condition was served in a branded glass and has a nice sharp dry bitter taste, a great mid brown colour, this is a real session beer that leaves you wanting more!
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- Hetton Best Bitter, Dark Horse Brewery
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- Hetton Best Bitter, Dark Horse Brewery
The Tempest Arms at Elslack is now firmly on my “must visit soon” list as they have a great selection of beers and a fantastic, varied menu of local produce including Bolton Abbey Lamb, Homemade Game Broth, Yorkshire Puddings as a starter, Game Pie, Breast of Partridge, Cornbeef Pie and Roast Belly Pork to name a meaty few.
Beer on tap at the Tempest at the time of my visit in October 2009 included :-
- Hetton Pale Ale, 4.2%, Dark Horse Brewery, Hetton, Skipton
- Wainwright, 4.1%, Thwaites Brewery, Blackburn
- Landlord, 4.3%, Timothy Taylors Brewery, Keighley
- Theakston Best Bitter, 3.8%, Theakston, Masham
- Hetton Best Bitter, 3.8%, Dark Horse Brewery, Hetton, Skipton
- Moorhouse’s Elslack, 4%, Moorhouse’s, Burnley
Filed under: Events, Food, Yorkshire Dales Food | Tags: arms, awards, british, chutney, elslack, festival, Food, great, homegrown, homemade, pub, skipton, tempest, year
The Tempest Arms at Elslack hold an annual chutney festival and this years event will be on the 17th October 2009 from 10.30am. They quote the ethos of the festival as “Impress us with your scrumptious, ‘finger-licking’ chutneys. Help us promote a British Tradition – whilst supporting freshly grown produce and no waste approach to eating – the only additives permitted are ’sunshine & rain’.”
I have applied for an entry and have been sent a very smart label to apply to my jar, any type of chutney is permissible so long as it is your own homemade produce. I have a couple of different versions made up now and need to decide which is going to make my entry, simple homegrown beetroot & apple chutney is in pole position at the moment.
Homemade Beetroot Chutney
If you would like to enter contact Anne at the Tempest Arms on 01282 842450 for an entry form or see website for more info www.tempestarms.co.uk Entries to be completed and returned with your “Chutney Contributions” by Wednesday the 14th October 2009. Terms & Conditions: All exhibits to be made by the exhibitor and must be homemade, We trust you!!! No M&S contributions please!!!
The Tempest is a gem of a pub on the outskirts of Skipton and was recently nominated in the Great British Pub Awards in the “Best Food Pub” category. Following regional judging The Tempest Arms has been named as the Best Food Pub in Yorkshire and went on to win the National Award at the Finals in London on the 9th September, praise indeed.
UPDATE 18/10/09
My homegrown beetroot chutney didn’t win! and I don’t have the full results but a spicy pear chutney from Relish Deli in Grassington did win Best in Show! congratulations…..
Filed under: Pies, Yorkshire Dales Food | Tags: drake, fruity, macefield, pear, pie, Pies, pork, skipton, stilton
Always dangerous when I’m passing a good butchers and I see PIES! popped into Drake & Macefield in Skipton to admire the new display counter!! not really, I could sense pies! and spotted a couple of slightly different pies at the back of the display “which are those I enquired?” “Pork, Stilton & Pear” was the reply, nom nom one I haven’t tried, so here it is, great firm pastry but not too hard, the warm contents oozing and dripping down the paper bag as I bit into a perfect looking pork pie but with just a hint of Stilton and a lovely fruity aftertaste, very nice for a change but you couldn’t live off em!!
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- Drake & Macefield Pork, Stilton & Pear
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- Drake & Macefield Pork, Stilton & Pear
Filed under: Eating, Yorkshire Dales Food | Tags: bruschetta, deli, emporio, fagioli, Food, italia, italian, pasta, ristorante, skipton, spinach, vegetables
Emporio Italia has been open in Skipton for a while now but I have only just got around to visiting, we tried it for lunch and it’s fantastic, great fresh authentic Italian food served with a smile. We sat outside on one of the 5 outdoor tables and enjoyed some sunshine and watched the world whizz by! The restaurant is at 3 Mill Bridge, Skipton just opposite the Castle pub at the top of town near the Church.
We drank authentic Italian coffees and perused the menu with a complimentary dish of olives and oil drizzled breads.
As it was supposed to be just a light lunch we opted for “Bruschetta Mediterrania” – Bruschetta topped with sauteed Mediterranean Vegetables served on a bed of spinach and the “Pasta & Fagioli soup” which was both tasty and wholesome, a good selection of beans and finely cut veg with flecks of ham, quite delicious.
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- Bruschetta Mediterrania
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- Pasta & Fagioli Soup
Service is excellent but as all dishes are made from scratch so don’t expect fast food, more importantly this is very good slow food, just relax and enjoy. Other dishes seen eaten but not tried included a great looking tomato & spinach pizza, salads and a good selection of cured meats & roasted aubergine in the deli counter.
Emporio Italia also sell various Italian Deli items and is well worth a visit, menu changes depending on the chef and what is seasonally available.
Emporio Italia, 3 Mill Bridge, Skipton, North Yorkshire BD23 1NJ Tel 01756 793357
Filed under: Food, Yorkshire Dales Food, cheese | Tags: Angel, broughton, bull, carleton, cheese, crowdie, Farm, goats, hetton, skipton, Yellison
Stephen Akrigg and Harry Metcalfe of Yellison Farm, Carleton, Skipton produce excellent Cheese, have just been on a farm visit and watched Harry preparing a fresh batch. They were also testing some new shapes for the cheese in homemade plasticine! I tried the semi hard hand rolled log, that was the cheese not the plasticine and it is without doubt quite delicious. The soft semi hard cheese is hand rolled in logs and rounds for savouries, hoping to try a few recipes soon, maybe starting with a simple red onion & goat cheese tart?
They also produce “Crowdie” a soft spreadable cheese ideal for desserts and dips that comes in tubs and again it is a delicious soft cheese, very mild with a Philadelphia texture.
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- Yellison Goat Cheese & Chorizo
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- Crowdie
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- Draining the whey
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- Splitting the curds & whey
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- One of the Yellison Goats
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- testing different cheese shapes
You can buy Yellison Farm Goat Cheese from Verdes Deli in Skipton or try it locally at The Angel, Hetton or The Bull @ Broughton.
Yellison website or follow Yellison Goat Cheese on Twitter.
Filed under: Food, Yorkshire Dales Food, butcher | Tags: butcher, drake, gravy, kidney, macefield, pie, pork, pudding, settle, skipton, Steak, steam
Drake & Macefield Butchers in Skipton & Settle produce my favourite Sausage Roll, they are very popular and always run out when I arrive so tried the pork pie and I spotted one last lonely Steak & Kidney pudding, had to try that as well and they were both excellent. You must try the Steak Pudding, full of steak and some nice chunks of kidney, enrobed in a rich meaty gravy and a light herb suet crust, steam over a pan of water for 20 minutes and make some rich gravy to go with it, fantastic!
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- Drake & Macefield Pork Pie
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- Drake & Macefield Steak & Kidney Pudding
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- Drake & Macefield Steak & Kidney Pudding
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- Steak Pudding Dinner
Filed under: Eating, Food, Yorkshire Dales Food | Tags: amuse-bouche, Angel, black pudding, breast, chicken, cornfed, crab, dinner, foie gras, hetton, inn, North Yorkshire, pig, ravioli, restaurant, scallops, skipton, suckling, whitby
Surprise dinner for the birthday girl last night at The Angel Inn, Hetton, Nr Skipton, Yorkshire Dales.
The last few times we have been to the Angel have been for bar meals and the service has been disappointing but we tried the restaurant and A LA CARTE menu last night and all was forgiven, back to the usual quality service and excellent food.
We arrived on time (unusually for us!) and we were immediately shown to our table, 2 glasses of the Wine Cave Rose Champagne Cuvee Brut Bernard Remy ordered and arrived quickly while we perused the menu.
The Food:-
Selection of fresh warm bread rolls including walnut and Parmesan in brown or white.
To start I went for the WHITBY CRAB RAVIOLI with fennel and ginger cream and the better half had the old Angel favourite of ANGELS BLACKPUDDING with seared foie gras, artichoke veloute, grape and walnut salad both dishes were fantastic and my crab ravioli was particularly good!
An amuse-bouche of Cheese with an onion marmalade was served between courses, I didn’t quite catch exactly what the waiter said it was but I know it was tasty!
The main courses, CORNFED CHICKEN BREAST with spring asparagus, peas and beans, truffled pomme puree served with Albufera sauce. SEARED LOCH FYNE KING SCALLOPS WITH CRISPY YORKSHIRE SUCKLING PIG with apple and cauliflower, pomme puree and a red wine reduction. Both very well put together dishes with excellent taste combination’s and they looked fantastic.
The Beer:-
did you really think I wasn’t going to try the beer! Dark Horse Brewery, Hetton Ale was on hand pull and as it’s brewed all of 500 yds down the road from the Angel thought it rude not to try it! The sprinkler had been taken off to wash but the friendly bar staff were more than happy to oblige, replace and pour a pint, again an excellent creamy and very local pint!
No room for pudding so just had the coffee and sweet things which included a mini doughnut and soft vanilla fudge, a very enjoyable evening and I would heartily recommend The Angel, great service and top food.
Dinner is served Monday to Friday 6pm to 9pm and to 9.30pm on Saturday, The Angel Inn Website
The Angel Inn, Hetton, Restaurant
Filed under: Eating | Tags: best, challenge, kendalls, mushy, pateley, peas, pie, pork, skipton, stanforths
In the interest of research I have decided to willingly face the grueling task of endlessly testing and tasting the best of the best, Great British Pork Pie.
UPDATE:
Stanforths – Mill Bridge, Skipton
These pies are superb and world famous but you must observe the strict Skipton Stanforths pie eating ritual’s, that is, you must purchase and consume your pie immediately! the pie must be hot/warm! you must assume the position or posture for hot pie eating, bent forward slightly to prevent pie juice sloppage, tie and shirt stains et al, best eaten while walking along the canal tow path. A moist, peppery pork pie baked on the premises regularly throughout the day, Delicious.
The Celebrated Pork Pie Establishment
I will start with the Yorkshire Dales and my first report will be on those scrumptious pie makers from
T Kendall & Sons – Pateley Bridge
Well the various Kendall pies have been scoffed tested with the following observations:-
- Pork & Mushy Pea Pie – excellent pork and the green of the mushy peas looked well in the top of the pie but doesn’t taste any different to a normal pork pie, excellent all the same. 99p
- Pork & Apple Pie – very nice combination of excellent solid pork filling with very little jelly and a nice sweet/savoury mixture. 99p
- Pork, Stuffing & Apple Pie – or Farmhouse Pie, lovely layered effect when the pie is sliced, good short pastry, just enough apple and a nice layer of stuffing between two layers of pork, lovely stuffing flavour, excellent pie. 99p
- Pork & Pickle Pie – nice pickle smell, pie qualities as others but with a nice sweet chutney/pickle flavour, yummy… 99p
- Steak Plate Pie – a big family pie and full of big chunks of quality steak, no bits of fat and very good gravy and pastry. £4.75 excellent value easily feeds a hungry family of four.
General observations on Kendall’s of Pateley Bridge Pies, Very well filled, solid, no air space, very little jelly with a thin, crisp short pastry. Also additional fillings added subtly to the pie rather than completely smothering the quality pork pie, all made and baked on the premises with meat from own on site butchery.
The 10 year old assistant tester gave the pork & pickle and pork & mushy pea pies a thumbs up and said “100%, 5 stars and 10 out of 10″ ! great praise indeed… He wouldn’t touch the ones with Apple “coz that’s minging”!
The Fabulous foursome
Filed under: Beer Blogs, Eating, Yorkshire Dales Food | Tags: bistro, brewery, copper, dragon, fishcakes, golden, lunch, pippin, skipton, thai
Copper Dragon Brewery Bistro
Having visited Skipton’s newest visitor attraction a couple of times, I decided it was time to try out the new Copper Dragon Bistro for Lunch.
An extensive menu including locally sourced produce and a specials board that featured Special Seafood Salad, BLT club sandwich, Thai fishcakes along with the regular menu items such as Jumbo Haddock & Chips (The chips are nice thick brown home made ones!), Yorkshire Gammon, Steak & Ale Pie, Local Pork Sausages incorporating 1816 beer somehow (will have to find out more!) and a selection of hot & cold Sandwiches, steak & sticky onions, Pippin Yorkshire Rarebit, Wensleydale, Beef or Prawn.
I tried the Thai fishcakes served on a bed of salad with a Mayo dressing and added a portion of the homemade chips. Excellent homemade fishcakes with a lovely delicate Thai flavour.
To drink: nice cup of Tea! but would recommend the Copper Dragon Golden Pippin, refreshing blond ale with a citrus note, perfect with fish, 3.9%abv will return without the car for a more comprehensive beer review !
Copper Dragon Bistro Skipton, Thai Fishcakes
Lunch is served at The Copper Dragon Bistro, Snaygill Industrial Estate, off Keighley Road, Skipton from 11.30am to 3pm. Fantastic brewery Malt smell as we left, they must have been starting a brew!
