Mustard's, Sowerby Bridge: Restaurant tasting menu is seventh heaven

Every aspect of life as we know it has been impacted but the hospitality industry has been hit particularly hard and for many of us it’s been a constant worry.

I grew up in a busy country pub and my life has been formed by it, connected one way or another to food and drink. I’ve shed a tear for every restaurant, café and pub that have closed in the last two years; part of our history, our culture, our identity gone forever.

And it’s not just the neighbourhood places. Big hitters like restaurateur Tom Kerridge recently went on record saying the energy bill at his pub has increased by 600 per cent, from £60,000 to £420,000.

Kerridge has warned that the “ludicrous” energy prices mean that the hospitality sector is facing a “terrifying landscape”. He revealed that one of his pubs previously had a monthly electricity bill of £5,000, which will rise to £35,000 in December when its current contract ends.

We all know what this means. Kerridge might have the wherewithal to hold on to his empire, but there will be many modest operations that don’t.

So it’s with no small amount of joy that I embrace the opening of new places, though how they’re doing it is beyond me; the hike in rent, utilities, staff wages (when you can even recruit) and ingredients.

Manchester-based journalist Ed Ceasar’s recent feature for the New Yorker about the fragile economics of running a restaurant today is sobering: “In a country where eating out is seen as more of a luxury than a necessity, it is one of the first expenses that people forgo in hard times.”

In the teeth of this storm, ex-Design House chef David Duttine and his partner Patt Thanapoon have bucked the trend and opened a tiny, stylish restaurant on the high street in Sowerby Bridge.

The building has had various lives including an Italian and a Chinese place, which for one reason or another didn’t work out. Forever to be Hebden Bridge’s plain sister, what Sowerby lacks in beauty it makes up for in a kind of no-nonsense, gritty post-industrialism and there are places to find good food: Engine’s gloriously global offer goes from strength to strength, Gimbals, once everyone’s favourite eatery in West Yorkshire is now a fabulous take-out, food shop and deli, and Cork and Rind sell excellent cheese and wine.

There’s good beer to be found at the friendly Hogs Head and historic Puzzle Inn – so plenty of reasons for food and drink lovers to find the town. Even so it’s not naturally the first place you’d head to for a top shelf tasting menu, something my plus one and I agree on. Our expectations, is has to be said, are low-ish.

It turns out we’re seven shades of wrong. Alongside the tasting menus (7 and 10 courses, £40 and £60 respectively) is an a la carte, so there’s a lot going on, and with just Duttine in the kitchen he’s got his work cut out. We choose the 7 course, me the vegetarian/vegan option and a toothsome little celeriac broth amuse bouche kicks things off nicely. Next up, a raviolo freighted with feta and fragrant with thyme, acidity coming through with pickled shallots - and it’s a real looker.

From the vegetarian taster comes squash fritters (airy, buoyant and full of flavour) and ‘textures’ which aren’t easy to make out although the dish as a whole is satisfying. I’m not a fan of ‘textures’ as a thing but I can see why chefs do it.

Yorkshire duck leg is off the bone, moist and rich with a canny Asian twist by way of a pokey pepper jam and hoi sin and some crunchy pak choi, whilst mushrooms on toast are so much more than the sum of their parts, with excellent homemade brioche and nutty, earthy, pungent wild shrooms – certainly a contender for dish of the day.

Plus one would argue that his hake wins; ‘best fish dish I’ve had this year’ he announces. ‘His fish cookery is faultless - crispy skin and spot on cooking of the flesh. Nice hit of umami from the miso’ and as this is a man who eats in all the best places, I believe him.

We do agree on the joy of seeing a pithivier on a menu, and this one, stuffed with gamey game is no exception – with perfect pastry and sweet root veg it’s autumn on a plate, the little white jug of gravy completing the picture.

My lentil and root veg shepherd’s pie doesn’t quite hit the same spot and is a bit clunky – but the pork fillet with Calvados and tart damson isn’t – far from it – it’s a lovely cut and nicely plated up with a finger of perfect crackling. There’s more Asian vibes going on with the miso and beansprouts: a winner.

To finish, a classic crème brulee, perfectly executed with exactly the correct degree of shatter.

This is accomplished, imaginative and intelligent cooking at a keen price. As we ate, drank, gossiped and laughed through the evening we counted our blessings, and it underscored the fact that eating out isn’t just to save effort in the kitchen. It’s the stuff of life. Arguably there’s never been a tougher time to start a business – so please dear reader, support your local restaurant/pub/caff while you’ve still got them.

Mustard, 5 Wharf St, Sowerby Bridge HX6 2EG t: 01422 553700. Hours: Wednesday to Saturday 5 – 9; Sunday 12 – 7; Closed Monday/Tuesday.