Rhapsody in blue
Andrew Pern is a firm believer in using only the most local of produce when he cooks. The chef-proprietor of the appropriately named Star Inn in Harome, North Yorkshire, which gained a Michelin star in January, puts his fondness for local goods down to growing up in the Yorkshire countryside in a traditional farming community.
"I always had good food as a child. We had a dairy and arable farm in the Esk Valley, on the edge of the Yorkshire Moors, and lived off the fresh produce," he explains. "I think people in the country still tend to associate with the food that surrounds them, not with Oriental or Pacific Rim ingredients. That's why people visit the countryside for weekends and on holiday, because they want to sample local English produce. So, at the Star Inn, that's exactly what we give them."
Pern buys nearly all his ingredients from local suppliers. Duck, hen and guinea fowl eggs come from someone in his village, as does honey. "Beef, chicken, duck, roe deer, fallow deer and all game - partridge, pheasant, pigeon and so on - come from small local suppliers, who take a pride in their products," he adds.
The cheese used comes in the main from Shepherds Purse Cheeses, a supplier based just 10 miles away in Newsham. Pern raves about much of the company's produce, including Mrs Bell's Blue and Buffalo Blue. But it is the Yorkshire Blue that he claims to be particularly passionate about.
His love for this cheese comes from both its flavour and versatility. He describes its taste as similar to Roquefort, and says he finds it a very useful ingredient when Anglicizing French dishes.
"Yorkshire Blue has a lovely rich taste. It's slightly sharp and salty, although not quite as salty as Roquefort, and its texture is wonderfully soft and smooth - creamier even than the French cheese. What's more, it's very adaptable. I can cream or crumble it in cooking, as well as serving it to be eaten on its own as part of a cheeseboard."
He adds: "I also think it's a wonderful cheese because of its name. Diners in Yorkshire aren't as adventurous as elsewhere and wouldn't dream of trying Roquefort. But because it is called Yorkshire Blue, they're willing to give it a go."
Starters, mains and even desserts on the menu at the Star Inn often incorporate the cheese. For instance, Pern is currently serving a starter of spiced poached pear with creamed Yorkshire Blue, seared celery salad and roast hazelnut pesto.
"This is an adaptation of one of Shaun Hill's dishes at the Merchant House," Pern says. "I sat next to Shaun at the Catey's last year and found him really interesting. I now use his books as a source of ideas, along with many other titles."
Another example of Yorkshire Blue's adaptability can be found in a main course of pan-fried Ryedale roe deer with a deep-fried Yorkshire Blue beignet, bubble- and-squeak r"sti and elderberry juices (see recipe link below). It also makes an appearance in a best-selling dessert - fresh figs with (melted) Yorkshire Blue, port wine syrup and oatcake biscuits. "And I use Yorkshire Blue crumbled and melted as a topping for Whitby cod fillet or local beef fillet, to give both dishes a fuller, richer, more robust flavour," Pern says.
Andrew Pern's cheese supplier - Shepherds Purse Cheeses
Shepherds Purse Cheeses was founded by Judy Bell in 1987 as part of a diversification scheme on her family's farm.
She had previously spent time working for an osteopath and claims to have become aware of a "surprising number of clients with an intolerance to normal dairy products".
She says: "Although sheep's milk products were being offered as a viable alternative for allergy sufferers, they were very difficult to find." So she decided to produce hand-made ewes' milk cheese on her family's farm.
Bell brought her first cheese to market in July 1989 at the Great Yorkshire Show and since then her company has gone on to produce seven cheeses, which now include cows' and buffalo milk varieties.
The following are Shepherds Purse's most popular cheeses:
Yorkshire Blue - this cows' milk cheese was launched by the company in 1994 as its first move into non-sheep's milk cheese. It was the first blue cheese produced in Yorkshire since the 1960s and its recipe was developed from the traditional blue Wensleydale recipe.
Milk is sourced from dairy herds at the northern end of the Vale of York, and the cheese is matured over eight weeks, achieving a smooth, creamy texture. The cheese was named Champion Blue at the 1996 International Nantwich Cheese Show.
- Mrs Bell's Blue - made with ewes' milk from local flocks in the Vale of York. Each individual cheese is matured over a 10-week period to create a creamy, smooth texture and complex blue flavour with a subtle aftertaste. BBC Good Food Magazine voted this Cheese of the Year in 2000.
- Yorkshire Feta - another sheep's milk cheese, Yorkshire Feta is less salty than traditional imported feta. It is matured over a minimum 14-day period and is presented in a wax coat. It is a semi-soft, creamy cheese with a piquant, slightly acid and salty flavour.
- Buffalo Blue - launched at the British Cheese Awards in Stow-on-the-Wold, Gloucestershire, in September last year, this is a creamy and moist blue cheese made from buffalo milk.
For more information on Shepherds Purse Cheeses, call 01845 587220.
Andrew Pern - a culinary biography
Andrew Pern, 32, was born in Whitby, North Yorkshire, and broke new ground in his family by opting to become a chef instead of going into farming.
He went to college in Scarborough to learn the basics of his craft, and then got a job in the kitchen of the Milburn Arms hotel in Rosedale Abbey, North Yorkshire. He remained there for six years before buying the Star Inn pub in nearby Harome in 1996 and setting up on his own.
The Star Inn has family resonance for Pern - his parents and grandparents were regular diners at the pub in the 1970s - but when he took over in June 1996 it was completely run-down and had been empty for 10 months.
"We moved in [Pern and his wife Jacquie], gutted it, put in a new kitchen, and opened just nine days later," he says. "It was our aim from the beginning to be at the top of the tree for food and we've worked very hard to do that.
"In 1998 we were awarded a Bib Gourmand from Michelin and were thrilled. Then last year, when the Stagg Inn [in Titley, Herefordshire] was awarded a Michelin star, we saw the possibility that we might be able to work for a star in the future. We were overjoyed when we got one in January this year."
In terms of inspiration for his dishes, Pern admits to being an avid reader of cookery books and learns from going out to eat. "Having worked in only one place prior to becoming a chef-proprietor, I've obviously got limited experience to draw on, so have had to learn as I've gone along, picking things up from other chefs," he says. "I've been to Paul Heathcote's [in Longridge, Lancashire] and Le Manoir aux Quat'Saisons [in Great Milton, Oxfordshire] and I've adapted the dishes I have tried there to a pub environment."
