Harrogate barman admits stealing from employerUnlock February discounts with a Stray Ferret subscriptionHarrogate pub owner to open rooftop restaurant in LeedsEditor’s Pick of the Week: Gareth Southgate’s septic tank, clubbing in Ripon and ‘top sauce’ in HarrogateFrench chef dubbed the ‘culinary Pele’ dines at Harrogate pubYemi’s Food Stories: Three’s a Crowd pleaser in Harrogate

Yemi Adelekan is a food writer and blogger who was a semi-finalist in last year’s BBC TV’s Masterchef  competition. Every Saturday Yemi will be writing on the Stray Ferret about her love of the district’s food  and sharing cooking tips– please get in touch with her if you want her to review a restaurant, visit your farm, taste the produce you sell or even share a recipe.

 

I finally got a chance to visit Three’s A Crowd in Harrogate and for a weekday evening, the venue was buzzing with diners having a great time. People popped in for quick meals with friends and family; it was obvious the venue is popular with locals.

I started with Bonne Maman cocktail which had sea buckthorn – a new flavour for me – apple juice, lemon juice and strawberry jam. This was a delicious surprise with the slight bitter edge perfectly balancing the sweetness of the strawberry jam. This is definitely a mocktail to check out.

With two menus to choose from and the daily special which included beef wellington, crispy pork tonkatsu and Ramsden house made sausages with pomme puree, red onion gravy and bacon jam cabbage, there were enough options for all.

My starter was braised pork cheeks which was tender as can be, Bury black pudding, pearl barley stew and confit egg yolk with pickled shallots to cut through the dish.

This is a welcome autumn dish that is generously portioned with a good balance of richness, umami and sharpness from the rich dark sauce and pickled shallots which had some sweetness. The vegetables in the stew still had the right bite to them.

My main was the wild stone bass, chargrilled courgette, pickled mussels, fennel, and roast shellfish espuma. This dish had great smokiness to it that was reminiscent of cooking on open fire which I love. The char from the fish skin and courgette was beautiful; on the fish, you had the slightest bitterness and from the courgettes, you got the juices bursting with sweetness. The shellfish espuma was light and had the sweetness you would expect from it.

Wild stone bass, chargrilled courgette, pickled mussels, fennel, and roast shellfish espuma

This was a dish with character and imagination with the slow roasted caramelised tomatoes bringing in sweetness and tartness.

The lamb Henry would be right up the street of those who love classical cuisine with delicately sweet and juicy hispi cabbage, goats cheese croquettes with tang and crunchiness, rich dark sauce, smoky piquillo peppers and a sweet red pepper puree.

The lamb was tender with the fat well rendered and the exterior was crispy in a good way. The whole experience was reminiscent of eating a barbecue dish paired with classical flavours and techniques.

Dessert is meant to be the highlight of a meal as it is often the final and lingering memory the diner has and the saffron and wildflower honey crème brulee with malt crumble and Raspberry sorbet was a true highlight.

The sorbet was refreshing with malty notes that reminded me of the malt drinks of my childhood. I couldn’t resist sniffing the aroma of saffron coming from the crème brûlée and the taste of the wild flower honey could only be matched by the vibrant yellow colour. With a hint of bitterness, this is a dessert I can’t wait to eat again and attempt to recreate.

Saffron and wild honey creme brûlée

The restaurant features crowd pleasing menus such as fish and chips which was popular with diners and desserts including choux bun, sticky toffee puddings, panna cotta, chocolate mousse and cheese boards.

Three’s a Crowd was welcoming and I had a great time there. The manager on duty, Karol and his team offered prompt and friendly service and all hands were on deck as they made sure everyone was looked after.

Want a good value meal out? Restaurants across the Harrogate district will be offering discount deals this coming week, when Visit Harrogate Restaurant Week returns.   The deals run from Monday, October 9, to Sunday, October 15. 

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Business Breakfast: Harrogate law firm strengthens commercial team

The Stray Ferret Business Awards will be held on March 9 at the Pavilions of Harrogate. The event will be a celebratory night with prize draw and afterparty. Richard Flinton, the chief executive of the new North Yorkshire Council is the guest speaker. Early bird ticket prices are available until February 9 and available to buy here. Bring your team, network and have fun. 

Harrogate law firm, Berwins, has announced a string of appointments in its commercial property team.

Parminder Matharu has been appointed Team Leader, Khal Shahjahan joins the unit as a Senior Associate, and Jonny Noble has started as a trainee solicitor with the unit.

Parminder has experience of working on a broad spectrum of commercial property work, including secured lending and acquisition finance.

Khal, who has almost 20 years’ experience as a property lawyer, focuses on development and agricultural work.  Jonny will work as a Legal Assistant in Berwins’ Residential and Commercial Property departments.

The team is supported by Gayle Waring, who celebrated 23 years with Berwins in the summer.

CEO, Paul Berwin said:

“Berwins has a strong track record with supporting businesses, landlords, tenants and landowners in a range of commercial property matters. That record has been built both on the deep expertise within the unit and the levels of care it seeks to employ when delivering legal services.

“I’m excited to see the drive Parminder and her team have to build on those core ways of working, continuing to service not only existing clients, aided by Berwins’ growth as a rapidly growing regional presence, extend that into new and emerging markets.”

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The owner of Harrogate’s gastropub, Three’s a Crowd is set to open a second venue in Leeds.

John Quinlan has bought The Reliance on North Street. It’s understood the venue will change its name to Threes a Crowd and is currently closed for refurbishment. All current staff have been retained and ten new jobs have been created.

Three’s a Crowd opened on West Park in 2019.  The venue is to open in February.

 

Bring in the New Year with these 3 simple cocktails from Harrogate bartenders

After the headache of the last few months of 2021, I’m sure we could all use a strong drink when the clock strikes midnight.

Whether you’re isolating and planning to live it up at a virtual zoom party or you’re just chilling out on the sofa watching Jools Holland, we rounded up three simple cocktail recipes from Harrogate bartenders that will help you enter 2022 in style.

So get dressed up (or don’t) and raise a glass to better days ahead.

Pink 75 – Banyan 

Jack Whiting, bar supervisor, said:

“This is a nice one for New Year as it includes prosecco and you serve it in a champagne flute. You can garnish it with orange or put a flower in it, so it looks quite nice. I make it at home with my family all the time. It’s quite easy so anyone can make it.”

Pink 75

Ingredients

15ml Tanqueray gin

15ml Chambord liqueur 

15ml lemon juice 

15ml sugar syrup

Prosecco to top it up

Method

Add all the ingredients, apart from the prosecco, to a cocktail shaker with ice (about half the shaker) and shake. If you don’t have sugar syrup, you can make this by mixing sugar with boiling water and cooling it in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Pour through a strainer into a champagne flute and top up with prosecco.

Garnish with a slice of orange or a flower.

Espresso martini – Foundry Project

Jody Shearer, bookings manager, said:

“It’s perfect for New Year’s Eve as it is easy to make and the caffeine kick keeps you going through the night!”

Espresso martini

Ingredients

25ml Kahlua 

25ml Absolut vodka 

12.5 ml vanilla syrup or vanilla vodka for an extra kick

50ml freshly ground coffee

Method

Measure all ingredients into a cocktail shaker, add ice and shake.

Pour through a strainer into a coupe cocktail glass and serve with a coffee bean garnish.

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White Stray – Three’s a Crowd

Francesco Deleo, bartender, said:

“This is a good one for New Year’s Eve as it’s a nice looking cocktail and it’s easy to make. People love Kahlua and Frangelico. Your friends will be jealous when you make it. You also don’t need a cocktail shaker.”

White Stray

Ingredients

20ml Jack Daniels 

20ml Frangelico hazelnut liqueur 

20ml Kahlua

50ml (approx) double or squirty cream

Large marshmallow to garnish

Method

Pour the ingredients, apart from the cream, into a whisky tumbler, top with ice and stir.

Top-up with the double or squirty cream

If you have a chef’s blowtorch, use this to toast the marshmallow, if not use gas or a lighter, then serve it on top of the cream.

Francesco Deleo, bartender at Three’s a Crowd, makes a White Stray cocktail.

Harrogate pub owners say they followed rules after crowds gathered outside

The owners of Three’s a Crowd and the Coach and Horses on West Park Stray said they followed government guidelines when they opened over the weekend to sell take-out beer.

On Saturday afternoon crowds outside the two pubs led Harrogate police to urge the public to stick to social distancing as people blocked the pavements and were not keeping 2 metres apart.  It led to a large amount of concern on social media that people are giving up on the rules.

John Quinlan of Three’s a Crowd told The Stray Ferret that safety was their priority:

We worked with the North Yorkshire police to monitor social distancing and they were supportive and helpful throughout. Helping us maintain the safety of our guests within the boundaries of our pub.
The majority of our guests were sensible and followed the social distancing measures set out with only a few that decided to ignore these. With the Stray being closed directly opposite and people beginning to congregate we decided to close early and stop serving, asking people to disband.
Mr Quinlan said his staff had cleaned up the street and public bins of any litter afterwards. Three’s a Crowd did not open on Sunday.

Tables and chairs put on the grass verge of the Stray for drinkers at The Coach and Horses on Sunday

At the Coach and Horses, owner John Nelson, said the pub had opened up as a garden centre selling plants and refreshments with all proceeds going to local charity, Horticap. Mr Nelson opened the pub again on Sunday. Inside dozens of plants lined the one-way system that snaked through to the bar where staff served behind a plastic shield. Mr Nelson said:
“You can go to Waitrose and buy a can and sit on the Stray and drink it or you can come here and buy a drink and do the same thing. The only difference is that every penny we take is going to Horticap. Saturday was the first day and a one point it did get crowded outside. You learn – today we’ve put chairs up on the other side of the road so that the pavement outside is free and we’ve put an extra barrier outside.
I have a licence to sell beer either on and off the property- what rules am I breaking?”

Whether Mr Nelson will be allowed to keep his chairs and tables on the other side of the road though, remains to be seen.