Harrogate’s award-winning ice-cream man keeps up the family tradition

This post is sponsored by C and M Ices

The ice-cream phenomenon, C and M Ices has scooped up a prime spot in front of the Victoria shopping centre. So instead of listening out for the familiar ice-cream van jingle, we will know exactly where to get our 99s and Mr Whippy’s come this summer.

Sid Taylor has ice cream in his blood and is the fourth generation of his family to win awards from the Ice-Cream Alliance.

Sid says:

“I was brought up on ice cream, I’ve been doing it since I was 14. I’m the 4th generation of C and M Ices from my uncle parking me up on a pitch in a Bedford van and leaving me there all day, to getting my own van and now being the flag bearer of the business. I cannot see myself ever doing any other line of work and wouldn’t want to. It puts smiles on people’s faces.”

The C and M van can be found every day except Sundays, weather permitting, outside the Victoria Shopping Centre from now until the end of summer. They serve ice creams, warm desserts, slush and cold drinks alongside their seasonal specials like Easter egg sundaes or fresh strawberries and ice cream, just in time for the nice weather.

Award-winning Ice Cream

C and M Ice is multi-award-winning, having been given over 50 awards for their quality. In 2019 and 2020 they placed 3rd in the UK & Ireland Mobiler of the Year category. They also receive awards for their soft-serve ice cream; with a Gold medal in 2021, and a Silver medal this year.

The company was established in 1889, and that pedigree shows in the quality of the ice cream they serve, as well as Sid’s own passion for his craft. Innovation is also a touchstone of the company, and customer favourites like ice cream served in half an easter egg, brownies, waffles, and fudge cake, means there is the perfect treat for you and your family, no matter your preferences.

Follow C and M Ices on their socials and visit them outside the Victoria shopping centre.

Stray Foodie: Taste of India in central Harrogate

This article is sponsored by Deliveree

 

Stray Foodie reviews are brought to you by Deliveree, and written by Michelin-starred chef Frances Atkins. Frances independently chooses which restaurants she will visit. This month, Frances visits Cardamom Black in central Harrogate.

 

 

 

Having spent four consecutive years in India cooking with some of the world’s greatest chefs at sophisticated dinners for charity, I came to marvel at the joy of their cuisine.

The combination of texture, colour and warmth is unique. Personally, I tend to err away from very hot and spicy foods, having considered them in the past to kill flavour. I have been wrong. It is all about technique and I would go so far as to say there isn’t another country that produces such flavour in their food made from very little.

So it was with great pleasure that I dined at Cardamom Black in Harrogate with friends. I was at first in awe of the size of the menu! Suitable for everyman’s palate but hard to execute, but they did it.

Whether you want a quick curry after a good night out, British style or you are wanting a more academic supper, it is there for the asking. Being into the creation of Vegan and Vegetarian food at the moment I decided to go with their sensational platter of vegetables. Stuffed, fried and unique – all my party had a great time sampling these delicacies.

My friends had two chicken dishes, one mild and one hot, they were very different and once again all down to the seasoning. The preparation of the rice to accompany them was sensational. One with Lime and Coriander and one with Tamarind. Beautiful flavour. The only slight difficulty I might have had was getting all these flavours together to compliment the chosen dish. It took some degree of concentration.  Having said that, the true Indian style of service was friendly and informative and made you feel at ease.

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I listened to another guest on the night we were there who boasted he had tried every dish on the menu!  He must have been going there for a very long time and he was a very happy man! 

Like all my Indian experiences, Cardamom Black reflects colour, warmth and happiness.

Well worth a visit. All taking place in a converted Methodist Church and theatre. It certainly takes central stage in Harrogate.

Star Rating: 4. This is a place to watch!

Stray Foodie reviews are written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years. Frances now runs Paradise  at Daleside Nurseries.

 

 

Want the best of what the Harrogate area has to offer in your pocket? Download our app so you never miss a thing.

 

The cool Harrogate bistro, inspired by fashion photographer’s childhood dream

This article is sponsored by Fashion House Bistro

With a delicious seasonal menu serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, fresh coffee and fine wines, there’s plenty to love about Fashion House Bistro.

David Dresser’s dream of opening a restaurant was born whilst he was in sixth form, growing up and working in his father’s pubs.

He put his dream on hold to become a successful fashion photographer, working all over the world with the likes of All Saints, Sonneti Jeans, Lewis’ and Laura Ashley.

Then in July last year, David decided to return to his childhood dream and channel his passion into creating the Fashion House Bistro on Swan Road.  The walls pay homage to David’s photography career and other artists regularly host their work.

“Opening a restaurant has been something I’ve been contemplating for many years, in fact ever since a sixth form classmate at Granby High School suggested it!

“Working for my father as a teenager gave me an early insight into the hospitality trade and what was needed to run a successful business.

“It also taught me that to achieve this you need a number of key ingredients, namely the right product at the right price, and a great team to deliver it.”

The Food & Drink

The most important part of any restaurant is the food, and the Swan Road venue is no different. Head chef Richard Fagg has cooked up a spectacular breakfast and brunch menu, which includes classics like the FHB breakfast and beans on toast, and customer favourites like steak & eggs, eggs benedict, and American-style buttermilk pancakes.

The main menu offering includes quality burgers, freshly made pizza, and a new ‘small plates’ menu which includes Cajun Buttermilk Chicken, Spicy King Prawn Skewers and Szechuan pepper squid.

Experienced baristas are on hand to ensure your caffeine fix is perfectly attended to. Or, if you’re looking for something a little stronger, the bistro boasts an extensive menu of international beers, fine wines, and cocktails.

Get £25 worth of Fashion House Bistro’s delicious food for just £15 with our special offer!

Events

From Halloween costume competitions and Christmas party packages, live music sessions to Caribbean tasting sessions, the Fashion House Bistro team certainly know how to throw a party.

You can find details of the latest events on the Fashion House Bistro website.

 

Visit Fashion House Bistro on Swan Road for breakfast, lunch or dinner – and enjoy a drink or two in between! Open 9am-late Tuesday – Sunday.

Stray Foodie recipes: Pappardelle Pasta with herbs

Stray Foodie Lockdown Recipes are written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years. This week, Frances shares her pasta recipe.

“I’d love to see how you make the recipes your own – let me know by using #StrayFoodie or tagging @thestrayferret in your social media posts.”

 

A few days to go before hospitality can return to their INSIDE venues and their various creative enterprises. How exciting! Unfortunately due to the pandemic this will be the ‘survival of the fittest’ all jockeying for position. I for one am looking forward to visiting the plethora of local establishments opening up fully and supporting restaurants again.

This week’s recipe is my last for a while as I will be busy enjoying other people’s food as well as producing my own! It’s for a simple Pappardelle Pasta with handfuls of these wonderful herbs that I am surrounded by, chickpea, artichoke puree and pesto.

Once again it is the sort of recipe you can use your own interpretation of – such as, if you don’t like artichoke you can use tomato with spicy sausage and parmesan shavings.

With the flavour of these herbs, this dish is sensational. I have used meadowsweet, chives, pine buds, pea shoots, all the good things that are in the garden at the moment.

The pesto is made with lovage but you can decide which herb you would like to use for your pesto. This dish is all about seasonal inspiration and that is what is going to be so exciting in the weeks to come when we can try out all the new dishes from our local chefs, both simple and sophisticated.

For the Pasta, you will need:

Mix together in your processor.

Knead well and rest for an hour.

Roll out thinly or put through your pasta machine.

Cut into half an inch strips.

Plunge into boiling, salted water for 4 minutes until transparent. It is important the pasta still has a bite to it and is not overcooked.

Drain off the water and let stand for a couple of seconds.

Mix in the pesto and scatter your selection of fresh herbs over the top. The heat from the pasta should stimulate the flavour of the herbs.

Add the cooked chickpeas, artichoke puree and any other flavours you might wish to use.

For the Artichoke Puree, you will need:

Wash and peel the artichokes, this is sometimes a little tricky due to the knobbly surface but persevere.

Cover with boiling water and a little knob of butter until well cooked.

Drain well and put through your blender with a little grated nutmeg and a teaspoon of cream.

Season to taste.

This puree is a great natural flavour enhancer for other dishes, such as fish, chicken or vegetables.

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This is Frances’ last recipe for the time being — she is to return to monthly restaurant reviewing for the Stray Ferret now that indoor dining has returned. Will she be visiting your favourite restaurant? Make sure to watch out for the next Stray Foodie in a month’s time. 

Stray Foodie: Chicken & Oregano Patties with Mozzarella, Asparagus & Broad Beans

Stray Foodie Lockdown Recipes are written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years.

“I’d love to see how you make the recipes your own – let me know by using #StrayFoodie or tagging @thestrayferret in your social media posts.”

 

At this time of year when our weather seems to be cooler than expected, I am always delighted to see the resilience of oregano and experience the delight of this flavoursome herb.

Oregano is a flowering mountain herb related to marjoram, sometimes referred to as wild marjoram. It is a perennial and seems to be fairly resistant to our climate even though it has Mediterranean origins. Like most herbs, its flavour is in the leaf and can sometimes be more powerful dried than when used from fresh. It has warm, aromatic and sensual flavours and its leaves are just stunning when put through mixed salads. I love this herb and grow it in abundance.

This recipe is for Chicken and Oregano Patties. Once again this recipe can be built on and extended to suit your individual requirements.

For 4 Starter Size Portions, you will need:

Frances’ chicken and oregano patties

Method:

Bone out the chicken thighs and mince (or very finely chop) the chicken, ham, anchovy fillet, breadcrumbs, onion.

Mix well and add the lemon zest, pepper and the herbs.

Separate the egg, whisk the egg white until stiff, mix the yolk into the chicken mixture and lastly add the whipped egg white. The whipped egg white ensures that the patties are light and soft when cooked.

With a little flour, shape into small, round patties.

Put the olive oil in a small roasting pan, heat through and place the patties in the roasting pan. Give them a good shake so they don’t stick!

Put them in the oven on 180c – 200c, dependant on oven variation, for 20 – 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven, take out the chicken patties and keep warm.

Place ½ pint of chicken stock in the still warm pan. Reduce by half with a squeeze of lemon juice and pour over the Chicken Patties.

Serve with sliced Mozzarella, Broad Beans, fresh Asparagus and Lemon Zest.

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Stray Foodie recipe: Mushroom Tart with Lovage

Stray Foodie Lockdown Recipes are written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years.

“I’ll be bringing you some of my favourite recipes each week. I’d love to see how you make the recipes your own – let me know by using #StrayFoodie or tagging @thestrayferret in your social media posts.”

 

There used to be a time where, when dining in expensive and elegant restaurants, the waiter would provide you with a stool to sit your grand handbag on! In certain circles it was, of course, most important that the handbag was an exclusive design. With times changing and with outside dining only at present, restaurants are using every inch of fresh air space that they have. When all the excitement has died down will your designer rug replace the handbag stool?

These are exciting times in the hospitality industry, apart from restaurateurs fighting for survival and needing all the support they can get, and Café culture is developing in all shapes and sizes. I am so looking forward to sampling some of these imaginative venues and I am sure great seasonal offerings will blossom out of this.

Seasonal Lovage

Fresh asparagus is now beginning to appear alongside the first shoots of lovage. Lovage is such a valuable addition to the garden: it is a fiercely strong perennial whether wild or cultivated, and when in flower, its seeds make a great garnish. Its leaves are a terrific flavour and its roots braised in a cream sauce make a fabulous accompaniment. It is a very English plant with great historic culinary interest. Beware a little goes a long way!

For a warming and delicious dish to eat late at night after the pub, try an asparagus and lovage soup, followed by a delicious mushroom tart. Make the soup using just the stalks, and keep the tips to garnish the tart along with bacon or salad.

 

 

Morel Mushrooms

For the Mushroom Tart you will need:

Method:

In a small saucepan melt the butter and soften the shallots until translucent over a medium heat.

Slice the flat mushrooms and add them with the morel mushrooms to the pan and cook for 5 – 7 minutes until the pan is almost dry.

Add the cream to the pan and reduce the volume by ¼ over a medium heat.

Allow to cool slightly.

Add 18ml of the juice from the dried mushrooms and the 5 egg yolks and blend until smooth.

Place the mixture into your pastry case and bake in the oven for 5 -7 minutes until set at 150c.

Frances’ mushroom tart

These can be made in advance and heated through, making them very versatile with whatever you serve with it at that time of night!

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Stray Foodie recipe: watercress is a hard act to follow

Stray Foodie Lockdown Recipes are written by Michelin-starred chef, Frances Atkins. In 1997, Frances opened the Yorke Arms near Pateley Bridge, where she was the owner for 20 years. During her ownership, she held her Michelin-star status for 16 of those years.

“I’ll be bringing you some of my favourite recipes each week. I’d love to see how you make the recipes your own – let me know by using #StrayFoodie or tagging @thestrayferret in your social media posts.”

 

This common Brassica I always feel is somewhat overlooked, yet it has amazing health benefits and is packed with nutrients. It is high is antioxidants and its taste outshines lettuce when used as a salad base.

We love to use watercress as a great base or accompaniment for many of our dishes, especially this time of year when spring is in the air but the temperature is still a little contrary!

We have a great fondness for wild watercress which is super healthy and can be found by streams and water edges with slow flowing water. Always check that it is wild watercress and wash thoroughly!

This week’s recipe is for a watercress mousse. Not only is this a delicious way of serving this great leaf, it also lends itself to many green additives: as you will see in the photograph, we have put it with artichoke, spring onions, asparagus and added a little pickled dragon fruit for interest! It sits in a chilled watercress soup/ sauce. This list of things you can build on with this dish makes it both very versatile and very healthy.

Watercress Mousse

To serve 4 small starter portions you will need:

Method:

Wizz the watercress with the white wine and water liquid in your food processor.

Fold in the light cream cheese.

Add the salt and mustard powder and then the mayonnaise.

Soften 2 leaves of gelatine, add them to your mixture.

Leave to set in your round moulds.

Watercress Soup / Sauce

You will need:

Method:

Sweat off the shallot and celeriac in the olive oil and cool.

When soft, blitz with the watercress.

Add a pinch of nutmeg.

Add the liquid and yoghurt.

Correct the seasoning and chill.

This is served cold and is simply delicious with the mousse that sits in the centre of the bowl.

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