A beautiful pub in Yorkshire has been awarded one of the highest foodie awards going.
The Punch Bowl Inn, North Yorkshire, was recently awarded an AA Rosette for its great quality ingredients, culinary expertise, and meticulous attention to detail - making it one of the best places to eat in the region.
This award is reserved exclusively for restaurants that showcase a real talent for their craft, with precision and a passion for excellence apparent in all of their dishes, and it's not given out lightly.
Known for its great pints and beautiful surrounding country views, the pub's Head Chef, Alex Wood is inspired by seasonal flavours and uses these to inform the menu at The Punch Bowl Inn.
Image: The Punch Bowl Inn
The village pub also takes pride in growing its own, fresh produce at the nearby kitchen garden in Mount St John estate in Felixkirk. The private, walled kitchen garden supplies seasonal produce all year round to the Marton-cum-Grafton pub.
Speaking about the prestigious award that has put The Punch Bowl Inn on the map, General Manager, Paul Neesam, said: “We pride ourselves on the provenance of our food so being recognised with an AA Rosette award is an incredible achievement for us.
"Alex is an accomplished chef who deserves to be recognised for the incredible dishes he creates, supplemented by produce from our kitchen garden.
Image: The Punch Bowl Inn
"The hospitality industry has experienced such a tumultuous time so it’s a real honour to be recognised in such a way. We are also hugely grateful to the local community in Marton-cum-Grafton for giving us their support and helping us to achieve this award.”
As well as a warm Yorkshire welcome, The Punch Bowl Inn offers a light lunch menu featuring the likes of gourmet sandwiches and light bites, such as haddock fishcakes with a lemon and baby caper beurre blanc and Yorkshire Wolds chicken breast with gnocchi.
Or for those looking for something a little more substantial, the a la carte menu packs a punch with sticky beer braised oxtail, Mount St John beetroot cured salmon, Yorkshire wagyu burger and Yorkshire reared free range duck breast with Chinese greens and a hoisin jus, amongst an array of other tasty dishes.
The dog-friendly pub is part of Provenance Inns, a group of seven sites based around Yorkshire.
Image: The Punch Bowl Inn
The group's latest acquisition is The Coach and Horses in Harrogate which is due to open in 2022.
Each pub has its own personality and prides itself on attention to detail when it comes to the food they serve.
Their passion for the county they call ‘home’ was most recently showcased in sales of their ‘Yorkshire Special’ – a chicken and chorizo pie with £1 from every pie sold donated to the Yorkshire Air Ambulance that ran for one month.
The group has managed to raise over £500 to donate to the charity. Paul concluded:
“We’re really proud of our Yorkshire heritage and this helps to inspire our offering. We hope that this AA Rosette award encourages more people to come and taste the delights on offer at The Punch Bowl Inn. They can be sure of a proper Yorkshire welcome and some incredible food.”
Meadowhall has just welcomed a brand-new JD Sports Store - and it is absolutely mega.
Trainer and sportswear lovers, this one's for you as JD Sports has just opened the doors to its newest store.
Located in Meadowhall shopping centre on the Lower Level of the High Street, the new store is almost triple its previous size and spans a whopping 29,225 sq ft.
Shoppers can now browse an ever bigger selection of clothing, footwear and sportswear from big brands like Nike, Montirex, New Balance, Adidas and Berghaus just to name a few.
Image: The Sheff
To make your shopping experience even smoother, the new store features self-service tills so you can be in and out within a flash.
To celebrate the opening, Chunkz and Kenny from popular Youtube collective Beta Squad officially opened the store today and held a meet and greet for fans.
Image: The Sheff
And the celebrations don't stop there, as from Friday 31 July - Sunday 2 August customers can get involved in JD's Spin-to-Win, with the chance to win gift cards, trainers and JD-branded merchandise.
Not only that, but Montirex will be hosting games all-weekend-long.
And if you can't make it that weekend, then do not fear. As on Friday 7 - Sunday 9 August, The Crep Protect truck will be rolling into Meadowhall giving out free goodie bags for customers who sign up to JD Status and follow Crep Protect.
Image: The Sheff
Sneaker Throne will also be offering a shoe-cleaning experience, with demonstrations showing customers how to keep their trainers fresh using products available in-store and goodie bags will be on offer which will also include tokens to play the Cop & Flop game.
So, what are you waiting for? We'll see you there for a fresh new fit.
Shortlist for 2026 Mercury Prize announced with several northern names making the cut
Clementine Hall
The shortlist for the 2026 Mercury Prize has officially landed - and it's another huge year for music from the north.
The prestigious annual award, which celebrates the very best British and Irish albums released over the past 12 months, has unveiled its 12 nominated records ahead of this year's ceremony in Newcastle this October.
Among the biggest talking points is a first-ever Mercury Prize nomination for music legend and northern icon Sir Paul McCartney, whose latest album The Boys Of Dungeon Lane has earned him a place on the shortlist.
Elsewhere representing the north, Newcastle jazz collective Knats have been shortlisted for A Great Day In Newcastle while jungle pioneer Nia Archives, who comes from Bradford, is recognised for her acclaimed album Emotional Junglist.
Image: Audio North
Another artist flying the Newcastle flag is JADE with her debut solo album That's Showbiz Baby!, whilst other notable nominations include Olivia Dean, RAYE and and the charity compilation HELP(2) from War Child Records.
The full 2026 Mercury Prize shortlist is:
Paul McCartney – The Boys Of Dungeon Lane
Olivia Dean – The Art Of Loving
RAYE – This Music May Contain Hope
Dave – The Boy Who Played The Harp
Florence + The Machine – Everybody Scream
Dove Ellis – Blizzard
Knats – A Great Day In Newcastle
Kojey Radical – Don't Look Down
JADE – That's Showbiz Baby!
Nia Archives – Emotional Junglist
Suede – Antidepressants
War Child Records – HELP(2)
This year's Mercury Prize ceremony will return to Newcastle's Utilita Arena on Thursday 22 October after the city successfully hosted the awards for the first time last year.
The 2025 event saw hometown hero Sam Fender take home the coveted prize for People Watching, and who knows - maybe The Toon will bag another prize for a hometown hero.
Georgina Pellant -
29th October 2021 
