A fine dining restaurant in Leeds has been named the best in England this week as it was handed the prestigious gong at the Food Awards England 2022.
Run by former Masterchef finalist Jonathan 'Jono' Hawthorne, the New Briggate restaurant Chef Jono at V&V took home Fine Dining Restaurant of the Year at a glitzy awards ceremony.
Offering a modern British dining experience with a focus on seasonal produce and creative cooking, throughout the week it offers its signature tasting menu - an eleven course feast featuring the likes of 'ramen broth' with hen's egg, seaweed and corn, Gressingham duck, and 'mushroom tiramisu'.
Priced at £70, a matched wine pairing is available for another £70 on top.
San marzano tomatoes dressed in a tigers milk dressing and finished with some pistachio and salty cheese. / Image: Chef Jono at V&V
On Sundays, the restaurant serves a slightly different tasting menu geared towards everyone's gravy-soaked favourite: Sunday lunch.
Priced at £40, this seven-course Sunday tasting menu starts with an amouse bouche, moves to a celeriac veloute with langoustine oil and fennell Pollen, then on to traditional(ish) starters, a main of roast aged beef with Yorkshire pudding and red wine sauce, followed by a pre-dessert, a dish of potato, rhubarb tarragon and, finally, cheese.
The beef and Yorkshire pudding main from the Sunday roast tasting menu at Chef Jono at V&V. / Image: Chef Jono at V&V
Sharing the news to its social media pages on Wednesday, the restaurant wrote of its delight at landing the title of Best Fine Dining restaurant in England.
It said: "Bringing it home for Leeds last night. Thank you to everyone that has supported us our guests, our supporters and of course, our team.
"We are truly humbled and proud of everything we have accomplished. Congratulations to all the winners last night."
Chef 'Jono' Hawthorne trained at top restaurants in Denmark and Australia as well as at Ilkey's Box Tree.
He appeared on Masterchef: The Professionals in 2020, and after making it to the finals made the decision to reopen Vice and Virtue using his own name.
Chef Jono at V&V was not the only Yorkshire restaurant to take home a gong, either.
Other local eateries to pick up awards in the regional section included Sheffield's Amigos Mexican Kitchen (Best Mexican Establishment North), Ilkley's The Box Tree (Restaurant of the Year Yorkshire) and Holmfirth's Philomena Foggs (Café/Bistro of the Year Yorkshire).
In Halifax, Kiplings Restaurant took home Best Indian Establishment North and Best Indian Establishment Overall Winner.
The Food Awards said the awards "recognise the success of local professionals and establishments that continue delivering great flavours and experiences to their customers."
Feature image - Chef Jono at V&V
Leeds
Local children across Leeds to sell school-grown fruit and vegetables at Kirkgate Market
Children from schools across Leeds will swap the classroom for market stalls this summer.
And that's because they'll be selling fresh, school-grown fruit and vegetables to the public in support of a great cause.
Children from seven local primary schools have spent the past few months growing produce from seed with support from expert gardeners as part of Young Marketeers, a food education programme run by charity School Food Matters with funding from The National Lottery Community Fund and Lord Barnby’s Foundation.
Now, they’ll harvest and sell their produce to shoppers, putting their new gardening, teamwork and marketing skills into practice while learning more about where food comes from.
Image: Supplied
The Young Marketeers Leeds Market Day will take place on Friday 10 July from 11am - 1pm at Kirkgate Market.
Visitors can expect to find the children selling a colourful selection of seasonal produce, such as chard, courgettes, lettuce, microgreens, potatoes, radishes and runner beans.
Stephanie Slater MBE, Founder and Chief Executive of School Food Matters, said: “Food education is a vital life skill, and hands-on experiences such as growing and selling fresh produce can help children build a real connection with food and where it comes from.
"For 15 years, our Young Marketeers programme has been giving children the chance to learn new skills, work as a team and take pride in what they’ve grown. Market Day is a celebration of the value of food education and a moment for hundreds of enterprising young gardeners across the country to shine.”
Money raised from sales on the day will be donated to Incredible Edible Leeds, a not-for-profit organisation which supports over 20 areas of Leeds to run food growing projects.
Last year, Young Marketeers reached 120 schools in 14 cities across England.
Trains from Leeds ‘extremely limited’ amid record-breaking heatwave
Daisy Jackson
‘Extremely limited’ train services are running across Yorkshire this week as the country melts in a record-breaking heatwave.
Northern has reached out to passengers to warn that a ‘significantly reduced’ number of trains are operating in and out of Leeds.
They’re urging people to avoid travelling at all unless your journey is ‘absolutely essential’.
And if you do have to travel, they’ve warned of ‘significantly longer waiting times, busy trains and short-notice cancellations’.
The disruption is set to continue all day today and into tomorrow, Friday 26 June, as temperatures up north are forecast to hit 34ºC and an Amber weather warning for extreme heat covers much of the country.
Northern has assured passengers that they ‘are doing everything we can to keep people moving as efficiently as possible’.
Passengers are encouraged to check their journey before setting off, carry water, and avoid peak times where possible.
If you chose not to take a planned journey, you can claim a full refund on your ticket, or travel on another day using Northern’s ticket easement.
You can see the full travel advice for Northern HERE.
Northern said in a notice to passengers: “Due to the continued extreme heat, we have significantly reduced the number of trains running on routes in and out of Manchester, and services remain in high demand. This will now continue into Friday, 26 June.
“We strongly recommend customers consider whether their journey is necessary and if customers do choose to travel this week, they are advised to prepare for significantly longer waiting times, busy trains and short-notice cancellations.
“We would ask all customers to only travel if your journey is absolutely essential and to check your full journey before setting off.”
Georgina Pellant -
9th June 2022 
