Yorkshire Councils Spurn Local Producers?

My eye was drawn to this story in today's Yorkshire Post suggesting that several Yorkshire Local Authorities are failing to procure significant amounts of local produce for their own internal use.

I'm a passionate believer in supporting local and independent producers, but I'm also acutely aware that the  contribution I can make as an individual and a small business is miniscule compared to that of, for example, large public sector bodies. And at a time when consumers are showing more and more interest in the provenance of their food, it would be surprising if local authorities were not alive to the trend and were seeking to source produce within their own boundaries, wouldn't it?

Yet it appears that not only are several Councils procuring up to a third of their food from abroad, some - reportedly including Calderdale and East Riding - did not even record information on where their food came from, and indicated that it was not a factor they considered when selecting suppliers.

The Yorkshire Post article was put (I hesitate to say cobbled) together from responses to requests made under the Freedom of Information Act, and the problem with such journalism (I hesitate to call it lazy) is that you only get the answers to the questions you ask. If you scratch down beneath the surface of this story however, there is a mine of more interesting angles to be followed, surely?

For example, how much of the procurement process is actually carried out in house or has it been contracted out to private sector suppliers motivated only by bottom lines? What quality criteria are used when selecting suppliers and produce? What do the local producers themselves think of the problem and what moves have been made by them or their representative bodies to persuade public authorities to buy local? There is a lot more to this story than the simple regurgitation of raw statistics and huffy-puffy Yorkshire Post Comment suggests, and its a shame that the opportunity wasn't taken here to explore it.

Wharenui, Main Street, Haworth

Haworth Main Street is contradiction of a place. As the picturesque, cobbled epitomisation of "Bronte country" it has adorned many a postcard and chocolate box since the scribbling siblings themselves no doubt walked its length. Yet despite (or perhaps because of) its historic place in the English literary landscape, it remains an astonishing contrast of the tacky and the post-modern, with its cheap exploitative souvenir peddlars and empty junk shops standing alongside contemporary galleries, delicatessans, Cath Kidston-themed tea-rooms, and restaurants that eschew gravy for 'jus'.

It is also contrastingly either heaving or dead, depending on when you visit. The Main Street traders admirably organise several successful themed weekends to draw in the punters, and most of the half-dozen or more serious eating places are recommendable in their own right, yet one feels Haworth's proximity to the grim urban sprawl of Keighley will always hold it back.

A recent 1940s weekend, blessed with good weather, had the street thronging with enthusiastic locals and tourists dressed up in the Dunquerque spirit. Visit on a wet week night in November, however, and you may well not encounter another soul, save the ghostly presence of Anne, Emily and Charlotte which inhabits every nook, cranny and shop window.

I digress. An evening visit to Wharenui, tucked away at the less touristy bottom end of the street, had been on the cards for some time. I was looking forward to it, mainly because it was to be an enjoyable night out with good company, but not least because the place has been temptingly available to buy for quite a while, and had made the (apparently) successful transition into the kind of cafe-by-day-bistro-by-night that had been my own dream just a couple of years previously.

Wharenui is a Maori word meaning (depending on who you believe) either 'Big House' or 'Meeting House'. This isn't a big house, at least not until you get to the four bed-roomed private accommodation upstairs - the building is two 280 year-old weaver's cottages combined. But it is a convivial meeting place - the low ceilings, bare stone walls and small 20 cover eating area, along with the  industrious though not intrusive hum of kitchen clatter, make for a relaxing, laid back atmosphere

Menu items carry New Zealand placenames and my 'Lindis Pass' - Chicken Breast with Cranberries and Brie wrapped in Parma Ham was superb. I rarely - if ever - order chicken in restaurants (and did so here only becaue the beef special had run out - a little disappointing so early in the evening) but this was delicious - the sweetness of the cranberries ably complementing the savoury brie and salty ham. I recall a perfectly passable brulee of sorts too.

I hadn't set out to blog the night, so further recollections of the others' food are sketchy, but there were no complaints, and to be honest it was as much the service, the attention to detail and the genuinely welcoming personalities of owners (at least of the happy couple that I assumed to be the proprietors) that really won me over. Very good value too - three of us ate and drank well for £60, then hobbled over the cobbles for a couple of beers and a toast to the spirit of Cathy and Heathcliff.

Wharenui is at 27 Main Street, Haworth, West Yorkshire, BD22 8DA. Tel 01535 644511. www.wharenui.co.uk Closed Tuesday and Wednesday evenings.

Bible Bashing

Every day at the cafe we get together and read The Bible.

As everyone who knows me picks themselves up off the floor, I'm referring to The Soup Bible, which has become an invaluable reference source for our regular search for tasty new soups for our specials board.

We must have tried getting on for half the 200+ recipes from this book now and - even though we are doubling or trebling-up each time, adding bits here and cutting corners there - every single one of them has been very well received, economical and simple to make and, most importantly, deliciously flavoursome.

Our policy is that all our soups are vegetarian and gluten free, which still leaves us with a vast choice. Whilst the most popular soups remain the classics such as Carrot and Coriander, Leek and Potato, Cream of Celery, Mushroom, Rustic Vegetable, we also experiment to use up surplus ingredients such as Wensleydale and Yorkshire Blue cheese, each of which go with any of several different vegetables - Broccoli, Cauliflower, Leek for example - to make lovely creamy combinations. Our soups are freshly made every day, and I always look forward to the mid-morning aroma of freshly chopped coriander or roasted tomatoes filling the air.

We started off making soups as a winter option only, but found that they are in demand all year round, and in the constant search for new ideas, The Soup Bible is where I turn for daily inspiration.

Yorkshire Producers #4 – Henderson’s Relish

Henderson’s Relish is a condiment, not unlike Worcestershire Sauce, which has been made in Sheffield for over 100 years and would have adorned every dining table in South Yorkshire in the days when dinner was dinner, tea was tea and lunch was for southerners. Here’s the story of how it became lodged in my consciousness.

I’m not from Sheffield, although I have spent a lot of time there over the years for different reasons. My then girlfriend went to University there, so many weekends and several summers were spent very enjoyably doing nothing much around the city. Years later, I was to spend more time in Sheffield through work, sometimes spending three or four days and nights a week there while based in London. As a result, I’ve some very fond memories of the place, and am drawn back there regularly.


Despite this experience, the existence of Henderson’s Relish completely passed me by until early 2007, when I was about to open the Yorkshire Deli and began to blog about the experience. The very first email I received - in response to an early blog post asking for suggestions for products to stock in the retail side of the business - was an enquiry as to whether we would stock Henderson’s Relish.


Some urgent googling soon educated me as to its prominence in South Yorkshire life, and further enquiries of wholesalers secured supplies of the condiment to sell in the café and online. To this day it remains by far the biggest selling product on our online store, and every week we ship it far and wide to exiled dee-dahs* across the globe.


Henry Henderson first began making his relish in the late 19th Century. Its success was immediate, and the business was sold to Yorkshire chutney manufacturer Shaws of Huddersfield in 1910, but retaining its inidividual identity. In 1940 Henderson’s was sold on - it is thought because Shaws feared the scarcity of some ingredients during and after the war - and became an independent limited company with Mr Charles Hinksman as Chairman and Managing Director. Although the business had moved premises on two or three occasions to allow for expansion, it has remained in its current premises since the 1960s, less than half a mile from where Henry Henderson first produced his relish.

In 1991, Dr Kenneth Freeman, nephew of Charles Hinksman, took over the company, and he remains in charge to this day. Henderson's is fiercely proud and protective of its local roots, and has only recently been taking tentative steps to distribute beyond South Yorkshire and a few neighbouring counties.


Previously used primarily as a condiment to add flavour to meat dishes and fish and chips, but always splashed into stocks and gravies by knowledgable locals, Henderson’s has also recently become well known as a cooking ingredient. It has been famously mentioned on a couple of occasions on prime-time TV cookery shows (after which by the way my sales always go through the roof!) and is useful as a vegetarian alternative to, say, Worcestershire Sauce, although most Henderson’s fans will tell you there is no comparison!


Henderson's remains staggeringly popular. From time to time rumours of the imminent closure of the business sweep Sheffield, causing shelves to empty and sheds to fill up with cases of the stuff, for fear of being without. But these rumours are always groundless.

In 1998 a charity book “Recipes to Relish”, was published including contributions from many local chefs and other Sheffield-born “celebrities”, including Sean Bean and Peter Stringfellow. The book is now out of print and mint condition copies change hands for silly money on ebay and Amazon, so I bought a not-so-mint one for sensible money!


I’m going to be trying out a few of the recipes from the book and will reproduce the successful ones on here. In the meantime, I’m collecting more Henderson’s recipes, historical anecdotes and experiences and would love to hear from anyone with a recipe, a tale to tell or a memory to recall.

Buy Hendersons Relish from the Yorkshire Deli Online Shop Here

*Dee-dah - a native of Sheffield

The Bull at Broughton

The Bull at Broughton, near Skipton, North Yorkshre is one of those landmark pubs that we pass regularly but rarely enter - its quite close to home, on the doorstep of the impressive Broughton Hall Estate, and on the busy east to west A59 road between Yorkshire and Lancashire, but at a point where the traffic is normally travelling too fast just to stop on a whim.

However the 18th century alehouse has recently been taken over by the renowned small chain Ribble Valley Inns - their "Three Fishes" pub in Whalley, Lancs can proudly claim to have been voted "UK Pub of the Year" in Publican magazine within a year of opening in 2004. I have also personally experienced excellent food and service at The Highwayman near Kirkby Lonsdale (just a couple of miles from the infamous Fenwick Arms, scene of one of Gordon Ramsay's worst nightmares!). There is also a close link to the Michelin-starred Northcote, near Blackburn, Lancs, through their chef Nigel Haworth who is co-proprietor of RVI.

So the portents were promising for our first visit to The Bull since its refurbishment. It re-opened its doors in June 2009 revealing a much-needed lighter decor in the low-ceilinged building, and the trademark RVI 'local heroes' paraphenalia - portraits of the exclusively local suppliers who contribute to the menu - adorning the walls.

Whilst we were not disappointed, neither were we completely bowled over by the overall experience. The pub was quiet for a Sunday afternoon in August, with several waiting staff apparently twiddling their thumbs - although it has to be said still ready to provide excellent service where required. Our orders were taken quickly and the food arrived in fairly reasonable time, but I wouldn't wanted to have waited too much longer especially given how quiet the place was.

The menu takes some reading. The descriptions are elaborate to the point of being impenetrable, and surprisingly, for a Sunday afternoon, there was (as far as I could see!) no roast dinner option - not that I would have ordered it, but I'm sure many of their target customers would. There should be something for most palates and appetites, however - game options, nibbling platters and steaks abound, although we didn't set out to have a full blown dinner and struggled - well, failed! - to find anything on the menu light enough for our mood. Sandwiches for example, are not available on Sundays or in the evenings, so we ended up eating more than we really wanted to, which is clearly the intention, but is a little annoying.

My first choice would have been the Wild Rabbit Faggots, but unfortunately they were unavailable, so instead we ordered "Battered Deep Fried Scarborough Woof, Marrowfat Peas and Real Chips cooked in Dripping" and "100% Chargrilled Minced Hellifield Highland Beef Steak, English Muffin, Real Chips Cooked in Dripping, Tomato Relish and Pickles".

Yes - that's right - fish and chips and burger and chips.

And that I think sums up my overall impression of The Bull. I hesitate to compare a place that uses fresh local ingredients and obviously cares about service and quality to a nondescript national chain but I just can't get the phrase "Posh Harvester" out of my mind!

That's not really fair. It wasn't that bad, but the formulaic, insincerely scripted service, the far-too-elaborate menu descriptions, and the in-your-face emphasis on the local provenance of the ingredients that left me with the impression that they were just trying a little bit too hard, and that naturally makes me suspicious! But there was absolutely nothing wrong with the food, the service was excellent, and the beer (I chose the refreshingly drinkable Hetton Pale Ale from the nearby Dark Horse Brewery) superb.

So maybe - definitely - it deserves another try. There is certainly enough choice on the menu - not forgetting the regularly changing specials - to justify a further visit, and there's a very pleasant rear seating area which is sufficiently sheltered from the traffic. But most compelling of all, one of the most carniverous of my fellow Yorkshire bloggers has recommended the rabbit faggots, so that's good enough for me!

Thanks for Finding Me

Hi and welcome to my new blog, The Yorkshire Foodie. All the posts which pre-date this one will have been imported from my previous blog - The Yorkshire Deli - which is the name of my deli-cafe and online shop. The simple reason for the change is that its possible that some people will be foolish enough to want to pay me to write, so I now need to keep the two ventures completely separate, although there will still inevitably be some overlap and blatant cross-promotion.

It's been a while since I've been able to immerse myself in the world of food blogging, and I'm really looking forward to getting into it again, finding out who is still around from my last foray two years ago, and meeting the new kids on the block. Please let me know of any recommendations for new sites of interest.

Please bear with me while I populate the blog with widgets, gizmos, links and actual posts.

Please update your links if you used to link to Yorkshire Deli - and thanks again for finding me here.

Ian