My Yorkshire: Stephanie Moon

What is your first Yorkshire memory?

Going to Hellifield auction mart with my Dad selling cows from our farm.

What is your favourite part of the county?

Brontë country – mean, moody, and magnificent.

What is your perfect weekend out in Yorkshire?

Well, there is a great one coming up, the Malton Food Lovers Festival, showcasing Yorkshire produce. I am demonstrating alongside some fantastic chefs, including Rosemary Shrager and my two Great British Menu buddies Andrew Pern and Tim Bilton. That is about perfect for me.

Do you have a favourite walk or view?

I love walking around Fewston reservoir on the Skipton road from Harrogate where there is some fantastic foraging too. But there are so many great spots in Yorkshire where I go foraging... read the wild cooks blog for those top tips.

Which Yorkshire sportsperson past or present would you take for lunch?

Years ago, I cooked a goats’ cheese salad and a lamb main course for Dickie Bird and Geoff Boycott – does that count?

Which Yorkshire screen star would you like to take for dinner?

The double act of Harry Gration and Christa Ackroyd. Harry because he is a serious dude and Christa because I once judged a Deliciouslyorkshire pork products competition with her and she was great fun to work with.

If you had to name your Yorkshire hidden gem what would it be?

Mother Shipton’s cave as it is only a short journey from home, and it also has a lovely walk by the river. I would love to have a kitchen knife petrified in the famous well.

What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity?

For me it is the food – it’s a real chef’s dream. Yorkshire is a garden of wonder. We have it all from coastal seafood to daleside lamb, seasonal asparagus to rhubarb from Wakefield. What more could you want?

Do you follow sport in the county?

Being consistently the last to appear in Settle High School cross country runs, sport has never been high on my list of priorities.

Do you have a favourite restaurant or pub?

After the Clocktower at Rudding Park? I had a lovely meal the other day at a local bistro in Harrogate called Sage. The service and food were equally good and it is so difficult to get these both right.

Do you have a favourite food shop?

Fodder in Harrogate – it’s a showcase for regional food set up by the Yorkshire Agricultural Society and is next to their offices behind Sainsbury’s. It ticks all the right boxes.

How do you think that Yorkshire has changed, for better or worse since you have known it?

Definitely for the better. I look at the students I teach part time at Leeds City College. I envy them their opportunities to work in brilliant food places so close to home. I think these days people have a real pride in Yorkshire and their heritage.

Who is the Yorkshire person you most admire?

The Calendar Girls – they took a conventional idea stripped it bare and sent it global! They have true style and what they did took guts, Yorkshire Grit at its finest.

Has Yorkshire influenced your work?

If you snapped me in half like a stick of Scarborough rock, it would read Yorkshire Food in the middle. It is what I do.

Name your favourite Yorkshire book,

Yorkshire Pudding by Elaine Lemm, which also contains my recipe for Yorkshire pudding!

Favourite author:

Emily Brontë.

Favourite artist:

David Hockney. He’s bright, bold and beautiful.

Favourite performers:

I saw a local band down my local pub a month ago called D-Nile – they were great.