A restaurant in Masham that opened last year has been included in the Michelin Guide‘s list of favourite new restaurants.

Where there’s Smoke is based on the Silver Street site formerly occupied by Vennell’s for 17 years.

Owned by Jon Atashroo and his wife Arlette, it cooks locally sourced produce over coals and embers.

Mr Atashroo began his career training at the Michelin-starred Aubergine restaurant in Chelsea and was head chef at the fine dining restaurant at London’s Tate Modern before moving to Masham to buy the couple’s first restaurant.

Michelin Guide inspectors were so impressed by what the couple and restaurant manager John Goodyear have created they included Where there’s Smoke in a list of 24 favourite new UK restaurants following anonymous visits.

The organisation said:

“Cooking over coals is the USP here – hence the name – and the lovely aroma will hit you the moment you enter this good-looking restaurant.

“It sits in a delightful market town, and the seasonal set menu is comforting, easy to enjoy and comes from an honest heart.

“The chef-owner is also a potter, so take time to admire his creations; oh, and the bespoke wooden table-tops, he made those too.”

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Mr Atashroo told the Stray Ferret:

“It’s great to be put on the map. It’s really exciting for us.

“We are only a tiny restaurant with 16 seats and a small team.”

He said buying his own restaurant had fulfilled a lifelong dream and Masham had proved to be a great location after living in London for 37 years. He added:

“We got the same accolade at the Tate but this feels more special because we have built this restaurant up from the ground.”

The 24 additions to the Michelin Guide precede the naming of the new venues to receive Michelin Stars, Bib Gourmands and Green Stars in March.

A fine dining restaurant in Masham has been sold to a former head chef at the Tate Modern in London.

Vennell’s, which is based in a Grade-II listed Georgian building on Silver Street, has featured in the Michelin guide, the Good Food guide and the AA Restaurant Guide for the last 14 years.

It was opened in 2005 by by Jon and Laura Vennell and has recently been renovated.

After confirming their decision to sell the property, the couple said in a statement it was “time to pursue our next adventure”.

Now, it has been sold for an undisclosed fee to experienced chef, Jon Atashroo, who is relocating to Yorkshire with his wife Arlette.

Mr Atashroo has rebranded the restaurant as Where There’s Smoke. It opened on July 7.

David Cash, director in Christie & Co’s hospitality team, which handled the sale, said:

“It is a pleasure to have acted for Jon and Laura in the sale of their business and family home. We always discussed that the most likely buyer would be a couple who could step in to Jon and Laura’s shoes and make the business their own.

“We are still seeing lots of demand for hospitality businesses, particularly where the property is freehold.”

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The owners of a fine dining restaurant in Masham have put the business up for sale after 16 years at the helm.

Jon and Laura Vennell opened Vennell’s Restaurant on Silver Street in 2005.

Since then the restaurant founders can boast 14 consecutive years in the Michelin Guide, the Good Food Guide and the AA Restaurant Guide.

Vennell’s is set in a large Grade II listed Georgian property, which has recently been refurbished. The restaurant is on the ground floor and there is accommodation on the first and second floors.

Inside the restaurant.

However, Mr and Ms Vennell have decided to move on and have listed the restaurant for sale at an undisclosed fee with Christie & Co. They said in a joint statement:

“Now in our 17th year as guardians of this amazing building, it is time to pursue our next adventure. The locals have always supported the restaurant on this site, which dates back to the 70s.

“The building, following an extensive renovation both inside and out this year is in exceptional condition, as is this business breaking all records in the last four months.

“The scope to run this restaurant more as a business than a lifestyle is massive.”

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David Cash, associate director in Christie & Co’s hospitality team, is handling the sale. He said Vennell’s was “a quality eatery and presents massive potential”. He added:

“Ordinarily town centre restaurants are held on a leasehold basis and rarely do freehold opportunities like this one present themselves.

“In addition, rarely do hospitality business premises come with such substantial living accommodation.

“Vennell’s presents an opportunity for an experienced chef to live and work in an immaculately presented property, which has seen a great deal of investment recently.

“Not only that, but they stand to benefit massively from the reputation that Jon and Laura have built over the past 16 years.