A freshly-baked loaf of sour dough bread sits on the bar and after his warm greeting I ask to try a slice. It is very good –made from a mix of rye, wholemeal and white organic flour – a crisp crust with an open texture.

"My wife Elizabeth is responsible for the bread and makes a fresh batch each day," says Joe.

Not only is the bread good, Joe is an expert on sourcing and cooking local seasonal food and I am here to learn more.

"We have just started to use chickens from Goosnagh, a village sitting on the edge of the Ribble Valley in Lancashire," Joe tells me.

"They are bred by the renowned food heroes Johnson and Swarbrick and are the best local, corn-fed chickens you can buy."

Just by glancing at Joe's menu I know its February. I spot traditional Yorkshire rhubarb but with a twist.

Joe has created a fabulous rhubarb and buttermilk pudding which reminds me of silky, smooth panna cotta, but made with old-fashioned buttermilk. It is delicious served with tender, carmine- coloured, rhubarb.

"We love rhubarb and at the moment it is on the menu a lot."

I also like the sound of his seasonal rhubarb Pavlova.

Joe is very in tune with Yorkshire's fine ingredients as he has lived here since childhood and went to Ilkley Grammar School. He studied economics at Leeds University before deciding to become a chef and opening the Art's Café in Leeds.

Yorkshire is famous for its game and Joe's pheasant dishes are beautifully cooked.

Even Clarissa Dickson-Wright, the infamous Fat Lady, liked Joe's game pie when I ate it here with her. That is commendation indeed.


Grilled mackerel, roast beetroot and watercress

Serves 2 as a main course or 4 as a starter

2-4 small beetroot – either golden or red

60ml extra virgin olive oil

Few sprigs of thyme

1 clove of garlic

Zest and juice of 1 small lemon

Pinch of sugar

Salt and black pepper

Olive oil for frying

A bunch of watercress and some simple vinaigrette dressing

1 large mackerel or 2 small ones, filleted

Preheat oven to 200C/ 400F/ Gas Mark 6

Scrub the beetroot clean. Toss with 10ml of the olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Wrap beetroot in a foil parcel and bake in the oven for about an hour until just soft. Open the parcel and allow to cool. Slide the peel off the beets. Cut into wedges and leave to one side.

Strip the leaves from the thyme and chop finely with the garlic. Put the garlic and thyme mix in a bowl and add the lemon juice, zest, a pinch of salt, sugar and pepper.

Mix in the rest of the olive oil. You should have quite a sharp dressing; if not, add more lemon juice. Leave to one side.

Heat some oil in a non-stick pan. Add the beetroot and season with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar (do not overcrowd the pan, do two batches if necessary). Cook on the hob until nicely roasted, turn off the heat and leave in the pan for a few minutes while you cook the fish. Place the watercress in a bowl and drizzle over a little vinaigrette dressing.

Pre-heat an overhead grill to full power. Slash the skin side of the fish a few times and place on a grill pan, skin side up. Brush some garlic/thyme dressing over the fillets and season well with pepper and salt.

Place under the hot grill for between three and six minutes, depending on the size of fillets. If the skin starts to blacken, turn down the grill. Place the fillets on warm plates skin side up. Toss the roast beetroot with the watercress and place beside the fish.


Braised pheasant with red cabbage

Serves 2

50g butter

75ml red wine vinegar

500ml red wine

1 small red cabbage, finely shredded

Stock 300ml (any suitable fresh stock or use a chicken stock cube)

Bay leaf

Piece of star anise (fine without if you don't have any)

3 cloves

Salt and pepper

1 Bramley apple, peeled and sliced

1 oven-ready pheasant

Sprig of thyme

2 cloves of garlic unpeeled and smashed with something heavy

A few rashers of streaky bacon

Olive oil and butter for frying

Preheat oven to 170C/ 325F/Gas mark 3

To cook the red cabbage, put the butter, vinegar, wine and stock in a pan and heat until the sugar is melted. Add the bay, star anise, cloves, salt and pepper followed by the cabbage and apple. Give it all a good stir. Cover the pan and place in the oven for about 1¼ hr.

Now deal with the pheasant.

Stuff the cavity with thyme and smashed garlic. Season well, wrap with the bacon and tie with string. Brown the pheasant in a mixture of olive oil and a knob of butter. Turn the oven temperature up to 200C/400F/Gas mark 6. Remove the red cabbage from the oven. Nestle the pheasant in the red cabbage mixture and cover the casserole. Place in the oven for 20 minutes. Remove the cover and cook for a further 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the dish to rest for 10 minutes before serving. Carve the pheasant and serve with roast potatoes or spiky game chips.


Buttermilk puddings with rhubarb

Makes about 6 individual puddings

Vanilla pod

225ml double cream

80g caster sugar

1 strip of lemon zest

3 gelatine leaves

450ml buttermilk

1kg rhubarb

100g caster sugar

Split the vanilla pod and scrape out the seeds into a pan with 80ml of the cream, 80g caster sugar and lemon zest. Warm gently until sugar has melted. (Don't allow the cream to boil.) Remove from the heat. Soak the gelatine leaves in cold water. After five minutes, squeeze out water and stir into warm cream mixture.

Remove vanilla pod and lemon zest from the cream. Pour the buttermilk into a bowl and stir in the cream and vanilla. Whip the remaining cream until you get soft peaks and fold into the buttermilk/cream mixture. Pour into individual moulds (eg ramekins) and place in the fridge until set.

Cut the rhubarb in 2cm pieces, place in a saucepan with the remaining caster sugar. Cover and cook gently for about 15 minutes. The rhubarb should now be soft and beautifully pink. Leave
to cool.

To serve – dip each pudding quickly into a bowl of hot water. Place a small plate over the top and invert the pudding onto the plate.

Serve with the rhubarb and, if you have it, place a sprig
of fresh green angelica leaves on the top. My angelica is
just sprouting in the garden and it goes so well with rhubarb.

Joan Ransley is a member of the Guild of Food Writers.