Region’s culinary star keeps rising as restaurant lands top accolade

YORKSHIRE’S cuisine has landed the latest in a string of accolades after one of the region’s top restaurants was named third best in the country in a prestigious list.
The Yorke ArmsThe Yorke Arms
The Yorke Arms

The Yorke Arms at Ramsgill in Nidderdale has been handed third spot in Sunday Times Food List, which is based on 80,000 reviews by 9,000 diners.

Head chef Frances Atkins is the highest-ranked female chef on the list and is one of only a handful among the 100 top restaurants named.

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The accolade is the latest for the restaurant sector in Yorkshire which boasts more Michelin stars than any county outside London.

The Yorke Arms was ranked 28th on the same list last year.

It was again awarded a star in Michelin’s 2014 guide published in September alongside The Pipe and Glass Inn in South Dalton, near Beverley, The Box Tree in 
Ilkley, The Black Swan at Oldstead, between Thirsk and Helmsley, and The Old Vicarage in Sheffield.

Last week Michelin also praised the quality of pub food in the region, with eight listed among the judges’ favourites, and 39 included overall.

Ms Atkins, who began her career at the Box Tree, has held a Michelin star continuously since 2003.

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She uses fresh, seasonal, organic, local produce at the Yorke Arms to deliver dishes which have been hailed by national food critics. She is the highest-ranked female chef since The Sunday Times list was launched in 2010.

Top of the list is Gidleigh Park on Dartmoor in Devon followed by the Andrew Fairlie restaurant at Gleneagles, Scotland. Half are in London, although the capital has just one nomination in the top 10.

Two in five of the restaurants – among them the Yorke Arms – serve British cuisine, with a quarter providing French food.