Food & Drink

We’re passionate about food

When you eat at The Shoulder of Mutton you’ll experience David’s great tasting and beautifully presented food. David has been cooking for over 25 years and he combines all this experience together with his love for the best quality local ingredients in the food at the Shoulder of Mutton.

Along with David there is a great kitchen team which includes Sherrie Gadd, finalist in this years PubChef Awards: Game Category, and together they produce food which you will want to return to time and again.

Back of House:

David Deacon, chef proprietor

David has over 25 years experience in the catering profession. He started his apprenticeship at The Majestic Hotel in Harrogate at the age of 16, gaining his City & Guilds 1, 2 & 3. He then went on to work in several prestigious hotels, namely The Grosvenor House Hotel in London and The Chester Grosvenor, where he was part of a Michelin star winning team in 1989. At the beginning of the 1990s, David returned to Harrogate to The Old Swan Hotel where he reached the position of Senior Sous Chef. The second half of the 90’s was spent with The Pelican Group where he was Senior Head Chef, opening the new concept Café Rouge brasseries in Harrogate, Leeds, York and Sheffield. In 2000, David joined the famous Bettys & Taylors Group, responsible for a team of 42 as catering manager of their flagship Tearooms in Harrogate. His final position before taking on The Shoulder of Mutton was lecturer in Food Preparation at Huddersfield Technical College. Along the way, David has passed his Intermediate and Advanced Food Hygiene certificates and is qualified to teach Basic Food Hygiene.

 

Sherrie Gadd, second chef

Sherrie has worked at The Shoulder of Mutton since she was 15, doing part-time washing up duties. When David and Kate took over in November 2004, Sherrie had moved on to food preparation on the starter and sandwich section, still in a part-time role as she was training to be a mechanic! David quickly saw her potential. Sherrie has a natural flair for cooking and presentation and a sponge-like ability to absorb recipes and methods. After the completion of her mechanics course, with encouragement from David she became full-time in August 2006 and has completed her first professional cookery qualification at Harrogate College on a day-release programme. Sherrie is now fully qualified and runs the kitchen in David's absence.

Front of House:

 

Kate Deacon – Front of House, Accounts, Payroll, Marketing, Administration

Kate’s career in hospitality began by accident when as a student studying for a degree in English and History, she took a summer job as a receptionist in a small seaside hotel in Exmouth. On completion of her degree, she spent a year in London at The Goring Hotel on reception before embarking on a post-graduate diploma in Hotel & Catering at Leeds Metropolitan University. From here she spent several years working at The Old Swan Hotel in Harrogate working her way up to Head Receptionist and also gaining experience in bar and function work because they were always short staffed! In 1994, the family business of landscape construction was in growth and her three brothers asked her to join the team in the office. Kate worked for them for 11 years, gaining invaluable experience in all aspects of running a business (payroll, VAT, accounts, administration etc). This experience has, of course, come in very useful at The Shoulder of Mutton.

Liz Richards, senior front of house

Liz has worked in hospitality since leaving school and is an expert silver service waitress due to her training at the prestigious Rudding Park House Hotel nearby. She has worked in a part-time position since we took over in November 2004 but became full-time last September, taking on a more senior role running bar and food service shifts. She is an extremely capable member of staff and her attention to detail and standards of cleanliness in service areas is impeccable. We are looking to develop Liz further with some external training next year.

We have 6 part time members of staff who help with food service throughout the week. They all live either in the village or on its outskirts.

Rosie, Denise and Holly

Just reading the menu can be a pleasure in itself; you’ll see traditional Yorkshire favourites such as Braised Shoulder of Masham Lamb, Freshly Battered Whitby Haddock and Waterford House Farm Ribeye Steak glazed with Yorkshire Blue cheese alongside classics such as Steak Pie with our own Short Crust topping and Confit of Duck. One of the things we are most proud of at the Shoulder of Mutton is being able to offer a full choice Coeliac menu of Gluten-Free dishes without making any compromises on the quality or value of the food. To accompany the food we have an unrivalled selection of Gluten-Free beers and some lovely desserts from the Gluten-Free Kitchen.

Simple Goodness From Fresh Ingredients

It all begins with the best and freshest local ingredients that it is possible to find working though a range of local suppliers, and at The Shoulder of Mutton local means local. Quality and consistency of produce is paramount to enable the production of the best quality dishes possible for you to enjoy. In order to achieve this David and the team have spent many hours building up a network of local suppliers who share the same passion for food as they do. More about these suppliers can be found in the suppliers section.

Everything at the Shoulder is freshly produced to order. This ensures the best quality results possible and the quality of food on guests’ plates is the key concern. It is because of this attention to quality that we can get very busy and it can mean that there might be a short wait for food but as guests agree, “The end product is always worth the wait”. The Shoulder welcomes feedback from customers and encourages all guests to take the time to fill in one of the comment cards. 

Relax and Just Please Yourself

With a well established menu and a number of regularly changing specials there is always a wide choice of traditional Yorkshire favourites and great seasonal menu dishes. The range of food on offer suits every occasion and appetite, whether it be a light snack, full lunch or a celebratory evening meal and there is never rush for you to finish; relaxation and enjoyment are what the Shoulder of Mutton is all about.

Beer and Wine

With great food goes great wine and beer.  The wine list at the Shoulder has been chosen with great care from around the world; it balances the well known with unusual and the traditional with the new, all at truly outstanding value. Follow the link to see our wine list.

The Shoulder is very proud of its heritage as a real Yorkshire pub and as such is determined to offer some of the region’s best real ales, in the finest condition possible. Kate and David are as passionate about their beer as they are about their food and the care and attention which they lavish upon them has been rewarded with the achievement of the ‘Cask Marque’ award; something of which they are justifiably proud of. Different guest ales are regularly featured along with local favourites such as Black Sheep and Tetley’s. For those of you wondering where to find a pint of Tetley’s as good you remember it; then your search is over – look no further than the Shoulder of Mutton.

Cask marque logo. To reserve your table, phone us now on 01423 871205 

Our Local Food Heroes (Local Suppliers – link – list and map of where they are)

Over the last 3 years at the Shoulder of Mutton we have found some superb local producers and suppliers to ensure all of our ingredients are of the best quality. Supporting Local Farmers and Producers is key to ensuring the very best of what Yorkshire has to offer. They’re very proud of what they produce and we’re proud of them too. You can visit some of our suppliers by clicking on their links below.