Beverley Chef Has A Christmas Story To Tell – In Food!

Beverley chef John Robinson likes his food to do the talking and this month it has a very festive story to tell.

John, who runs Whites in North Bar Without, Beverley, specialises in offering surprise tasting menus; a concept that has proved so popular it has won national acclaim from food critics like Jay Rayner and has made Whites the only restaurant in the town to feature in the Good Food Guide.

For the past five years John has come upon with a Christmas theme for his tasting menus, which are on offer throughout December, up to Christmas Day. It means nine courses all helping to tell a particular Christmassy story

Previous themes have included things like the 12 Days of Christmas; think partridge croquettes hanging from a mini tree that was brought to the table with pear salsa; think a smoked salmon mousse with gold leaf and caviar in the shape of a gold ring, or Lord Randall’s pudding to represent the lords-a-leaping part of the story.This year diners can look forward to sumptuous dishes based around the story of The Nativity; but just what remains a closely-guarded secret. “If you think about dishes based around hay, stars and kings etc you will be on the right tack but the point is that this is meant to be a surprise menu that delights out customers so we can’t give too much away,” says John.

“My festive tasting menus have become massively popular since I started doing them and people come back year after year so the challenge becomes harder each time to dream up dishes that will delight and amaze,” says John.

“We are only a small restaurant; we only seat 20 so places are extremely limited and already we are filling up fast.”

The tasting menu for nine courses is priced at £50 per person, although on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday evenings Whites also offers a four-course version at £25 per person.