Forge at Middleton Lodge: Chef Jake Jones talks about embracing the estate-to-plate green ethos everyday

Forge at Middleton Lodge, in North Yorkshire, prides itself on having sustainability at the forefront with their estate to plate method.

This was recognised on a national scale when the restaurant was awarded the Michelin Green Star at the 2024 awards.

This award is to highlight restaurants at the forefront of the industry when it comes to their sustainable practices.

It is this ethos that first attracted Forge’s head chef, Jake Jones, to the restaurant.

Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, the 32-year-old chef, who was raised in York, said his days consists of foraging on the estate before heading to the kitchen to make the Michelin-quality dishes.

After an early start Jake does the usual checking deliveries and catching up with his local suppliers - then the excitement for him kicks off.

He said: “I walk around the garden this time. This time of year, there's not a huge amount, but during the summer months we'll have meetings with the gardeners on a regular basis and we'll plan menus from that.”

This is where the estate to play ethos comes into play for Jake.

“Then we'll pick vegetables and I'll go through my senior team on new dishes, what's happening in the future, and plan for the future months.

“And then we do trial dishes from there. During the afternoons, I try and do a little bit of foraging.

“Currently we're collecting birch sap from the trees to reduce the birch sap syrup. And then we'll do seasonal plants from there and then it is service.”

Initially built in 1780, Middleton Lodge is a 200-acre, privately owned country estate.

Inspired by the historic self-sustaining agricultural methods, the owners have restored each area of the estate in a responsible way which cares for the environment.

Jake added: “We try to be as self-sufficient as possible and so everything that's grown here, we use everything during the summer. I'd say it's probably 90 per cent of homegrown produce.”

Forge wasn’t the only award winner at the Michelin Awards 2024, Jake was given the Young Chef of the Year recognition.

Michelin Inspectors identified him as a “chef to watch, who has successfully made his restaurant his own”.

Jake told The Yorkshire Post winning the Young Chef Awards is a “dream come true”

"I’m thrilled to win such an amazing award,” he added, “I’m overjoyed to receive Michelin’s Young Chef of the Year award within a year of opening Forge.

"I’ve worked closely with the estate owner, James, and general manager, Glen, to develop the Forge experience. I’d like to thank them and the kitchen, front of house, and gardening teams who have helped make this possible.”