A taste of Pernshire

Having received their first Michelin star in January last year, Jacquie and Andrew Pern didn't rest on their laurels, but set about acquiring former farm buildings across the road from the deceptively modest, 14th-century thatched longhouse that is the Star Inn.

Now, as well as the pub, they have an eight-bedroom retreat, a deli giving guests and diners the chance to take away a little of the "Pernshire" experience, as well as another thatched cottage available to lease at the other end of the village.

But we'll come to that. The real business of the day for the chefs who had gathered from across the North of England and Wales for Chef Eats Out - run in association with British Meat Foodservice - was the chance to indulge themselves in delights from the kitchen of the Star Inn.

The emphasis on local produce, for which Pern is famous, was immediately obvious. Elliot Wilson, barman and resident chewer of the fat, mixed the arriving guests sloe gin cocktails, such as the flip - sloe gin shaken over ice with half a measure of sugar syrup and poured over a beaten egg, with a sprinkling of nutmeg - made with gin produced in nearby Eddlethorpe. The guests then got going on a glut of village canapés, including delicate wood pigeon with a tangy beetroot jam, and Yoadwith Mill smoked trout fritters.

With that and other introductions from Jacquie Pern over, the guests hurried to the dining room, where they sat down to hear a talk by Nigel Brotherton from Moorsfresh, an organisation dedicated to supplying local Yorkshire produce to hospitality operators in the region. A run-through of the menu from Pern himself followed.

The spirit Pern conveys in his cooking is best summed up in a starter that has become a mainstay of his menu - foie gras with grilled Malton black pudding. "This is what we think of as ‘rich man, poor man' food - the black pudding is local but the foie gras just gives it a bit of a nudge," he said. Add a scrumpy reduction and you get a feel for Pern's love of using humble British ingredients in a more classical mould.

The course was partnered with a local cider, Kingston Black Burrow Hill Dry. The day's wines and cider were chosen by Jacquie Pern's sister, Susie Barrie, who works as a wine journalist and consultant. She talked the guests through her choices, which had been themed to steer diners away from more conventional varietals.

The cider was a surprising choice, but showed the Star's ability to give a sophisticated edge to its rustic reputation. It makes flavours novel by putting them in a different context - with a healthy dollop of humour.

Next up was a rich scampi soup. "I was born and bred in Whitby, so I thought I'd better put on something local," laughed Pern. To everyone's amusement, the nuggets of Scarborough woof (catfish to you and me) were brought out wrapped in newspaper cones, and we were all invited to dip our fingers in to grab a crisply battered, chunky goujon of woof.

That spirit continued with an amuse-bouche of peppered pineapple sorbet with aged York ham. "It's a classic combination, but I wanted to make it a bit more snappy - because I thought ‘It's going to be in Caterer - they'll think it's just ham and pineapple!'," explained Pern. No one was complaining, though. The ham was thick with flavour, as powerful as anything Continental, and the presentation was clean and precise.

For the main course, Pern served up tail fillet and braised shin of beef sourced from a farm just across the road. For many, the highlight of the dish was Pern's bone tower, a section of the cow's leg bone, washed and dried, then used as a receptacle for holding a risotto of fresh horseradish. It was a touch much admired by the visiting chefs.

The meat, sourced from the village farm, also offered a nice contrast between tail fillet and the cheaper cut of shin. What was surprising was how many guests enthused over the shin - all soft, flaking flesh - rather than the fillet, itself a fine cut of tender meat.

Pudding was parkin, a traditional cake that used to be served on Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes came from York). Pern makes the dish with ginger and rhubarb, which gives plenty of zest, and served it with rhubarb ripple ice-cream and rhubarb schnapps - "which I wouldn't have if anyone was driving", he advised. Fortunately, a plate of Yorkshire cheeses kept people in their seats just a little longer; the offer included a delicious marinated and grilled Grosmont goats' cheese.

And to emphasise the main drift of the menu, we finished with petits fours inspired by Yorkshire, including chocolates filled with Eddlethorpe sloes, which had made an earlier appearance in the sloe gin flips.

What everyone needed was a walk - but not too long. Fortunately it was arranged for us to do a lap of the kitchen (complete with a face-to-face encounter with the fanged catfish) before heading just across the road to the newly opened Cross House Lodge.

This is a rustic retreat for modern times. As welcoming for traditionalists - glowing wooden styling, heavy drapes and roaring open hearth - as it is for the city evacuee - plasma screens, spa baths and open-plan kitchen - the lodge has eight rooms (a number chosen with shooting parties in mind), each individually designed by the Perns.

The result is a homely den that doesn't feel like a hotel at all, but - much like the Star Inn's bar over the road - an extension of your (albeit fantasy) front room. Add to this the open-plan kitchen with a counter facing the main lounge and the Piggery, a large round dining room with a single circular table to accommodate all the guests, and this would be the perfect place to rent en masse.

The final stop for some very impressed guests (no time to inspect Black Eagle Cottage five minutes across the village) on the Pernshire tour was the Corner Shop, opened as part of Cross House Lodge. The shelves are crammed with local chutneys and jams, the chilled cabinet packed with local cheeses and meats, giving everyone the chance to take a little bit of the Pern experience home. Which is what all the chefs did, leaving with a hamper of venison sausages, cured Yorkshire ham, sloe-filled chocolates and pure comb honey.

Menu
* A plate of village delicacies: carpaccio of roe deer, wood pigeon with beetroot jam, Marwood's quail eggs with wild garlic mayonnaise, Yoadwith Mill smoked trout fritters
* Grilled Malton black pudding with pan-fried foie gras, apple and vanilla chutney, baby spinach salad, scrumpy reduction
* A little cup of scampi soup with deep-fried Scarborough woof, home-grown nettles
* Peppered pineapple sorbet with aged York ham
* Roast tail fillet of Harome reared beef with braised shin, risotto of fresh horseradish, root vegetable and Theakston juices
* Parkin with rhubarb ripple ice-cream, hot spiced syrup, rhubarb schnapps
* Plate of local cheeses: marinated and grilled Grosmont goats' cheese, Byland Blue with poached pear, Hawes Wensleydale with apple crumble, Cotherstone with Yorkshire Brack, Mrs Bell's blue cheese rarebit
* Coffee or Yorkshire tea with "Yorkshire petits fours"

Wines
Kingston Black Burrow Hill Dry Cider
Pinot Gris Reserve 2000, F E Trimbach, Alsace
Parducci, Mendocini County, 1999
Escudo Rojo 2001, Baron Philippe de Rothschild, Maipo Valley, Chile

The Sponsor
British Meat Foodservice is delighted to sponsor Chef Eats Out, which provides a unique forum for caterers from all sectors of the industry to meet, exchange ideas and experience for themselves how red meat dishes are being incorporated into the menus of some of the country's best restaurants.

Andrew Pern's roast tail fillet of Harome-reared beef provided an excellent example of the way in which quality beef can be used with great creativity and imagination.

The fact that Pern includes details of the origin of the meat on his menu shows he takes great pride in the quality of his ingredients.