My Yorkshire: Nigel Brown

What's your first Yorkshire memory?

Growing up in Driffield, where my parents used to run a restaurant called The Four Winds back in the Seventies and Eighties. I can vividly remember collecting the bottles in the morning after the night before, and stacking them back into the crates. There were always tons of small Britvic bottles, and sometimes there'd be the odd coin or two in the pile.

What's your favourite part of the county – and why?

It's in North Yorkshire, and it's all around the village of Brampton, which is a tiny community, and it has a stream running through it, and a lovely bridleway that takes you through people's gardens and past wonderful fields. There are ducks on the water, and horses with their heads over the gates. At this time of year, the snowdrops and daffodils are wonderful. It's the sort of place that, if anyone from Hollywood saw it, would be used as a film set for the "typical English village".

What's your idea of a perfect day, or a perfect weekend, out in Yorkshire?

My brother Paul runs a game shoot on a family estate in North Yorkshire and my idea of heaven is to be invited up there in the late autumn, early winter, on a bright and crisp day, and to go out with the gun party, or with the beaters, and just to taste the fresh air.

Do you have a favourite walk – or view?

There's the road from Sherburn to Foxholes, and from it, if you park up and get out of the car, you can see – way in the distance – the steam from the engines puffing their way along the North Yorkshire Moors Railway. There's a spectacular view for miles around, and

in winter there are a lot of terrific slopes for sledging.

Which Yorkshire sportsman, past or present, would you like to take for lunch?

I'm not really a sporting person, but I would like to get in touch with David Byas, Yorkshire's former captain, and to suggest he gets a team together, and I get one together, and that we have a match. We'd sell the tickets and give the proceeds to the Haitian Earthquake Appeal. I'd be making the sandwiches in the pavilion.

Which Yorkshire stage or screen star, past or present, would you like to take for dinner?

There are so many people around today who think that they are stars, or celebrities, when they are here today and gone tomorrow. But Dame Judi Dench can turn her hand to anything, is always different in everything she does, so she is the one for me.

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

There's a tiny little nine-hole golf course at Sawden, where (as I recall) you put a fiver in the honesty box to get yourself a round. It's quiet, it is peaceful, and it has the added attraction of having a splendid pub, The Anvil, nearby.

What do you think gives Yorkshire its unique identity?

A combination of the people, and their heritage. It's the largest county, and I always think that if we told the rest of the UK to get lost, we could quite easily stand alone, because we have just about everything that we need. Doing the job that I do, of course, I am so pleased to be able to use so much home-grown produce in my kitchens. There's very little that comes from "outside", and I'm very proud about that.

Do you follow sport in the county, and if so, what?

I used to enjoy a game of golf a few years back and that's one thing that I might take up again if I ever get any leisure time to do the game justice. My brother is left-handed, I'm right-handed and I used to store my clubs with his. Then he moved house and in the clear-out, sold the lot.

Do you have a favourite restaurant, or pub?

Winteringham Fields, which is just over the border into North Lincolnshire. It's world-class, the cooking is inspirational and Lisa and I had our wedding dinner there in a private room. Happy memories and superb food.

Do you have a favourite food shop?

Back to Brampton and Glave's the butchers. Small, friendly, family-run, and their meat is wonderful. All perfectly hung. Their pies are out of this world, and I cannot sing their praises too highly.

How do you think that Yorkshire has changed, for better or for worse, in the time that you've known it?

Yorkshire is like a very good red wine that has been left to mature and now it is particularly robust. And who wants to be associated with a place that doesn't develop and change, and which just stagnates? In my own field, the standard of food has gone up by leaps and bounds. People are realising that they don't want "two for one" and "boil in the bag" any more. They want good, fresh local produce, cooked on the premises. Don't get me going about that sign you see which says "Home made", because so often it isn't. And it should be.

Who is the Yorkshire person that you most admire?

Guy Fawkes and Amy Johnson. The first because he wanted to change things and the second for her spirit of adventure and her bravery to tackle the unknown.

Has Yorkshire influenced your work?

Absolutely, because nearly everything in my kitchens comes from Yorkshire (or Lincolnshire) and it affects the way I cook and prepare. I can't work without it. I do like a good haggle and a barter, by the way, and I'll often argue a few pence with my suppliers. It's part of the enjoyment of the job.

Name your favourite Yorkshire book/author/artist/CD/performer.

It would be the late and very wonderful Brian Glover, who was an actor, wrestler, wit, raconteur, performer and a total all-rounder. He could do everything from sitcom to Shakespeare. He is sorely missed.

If a stranger to Yorkshire only had time to visit one place, it would be?

I'd take them up to Rosedale Abbey in North Yorkshire, and then we'd go off to Hutton-le-Hole, and round off the day with an afternoon tea and then a nice pint somewhere. I'd take them in my pride and joy, my 1971 Austin Healey Sprite two-seater sports. She's teal blue, and I love her. She comes from the days when Britain still built motor cars.