It was a lovely wedding. The family were enjoying a superb meal in the restaurant and it was time for the dessert. All was well until the fourth table when I led the girls out carrying three plates of creme brulee. I don’t know how it happened but I disappeared under the table with an almighty crash. The next thing I knew I was being told not to move by a sea of concerned faces. I was so not going to get up anyway, I was covered in creme brulee. Meanwhile the head chef first aider had been summoned by a waitress : “An old lady’s collapsed in the restaurant.!” Right! I felt like hanging up my apron but then they clapped and cheered when I dared go back in again(showered and changed I might add) so how can I let my public down?! Thank you to the bride and groom and their understanding wedding party. You know who you are!! I am being retrained….
July weekday lunches
For all our online subscribers and those on our email VIP club, a 2 course lunch from our daily set lunch menu is yours for £10! 3 courses for £12.50. Please mention the offer when you book. Tables of 1 up to 6 please!
Reasons to come to the Old Deanery
This is an great career, looking after a hotel and restaurant, meeting new guests and old friends every day of the week, entertaining them as though it were my home – which it is really – I hardly see my own! I am always interested in why people have chosen to come here and there are so many: a lovely couple were celebrating the anniversary of their engagement – he proposed at Fountains Abbey and had a meal here to celebrate that night – many years ago now, but how nice to be able to celebrate with them again.
Many of you come to see how the restaurant has changed since Louis was the famous[ maybe that should read, infamous!] owner from 1949 to 1966. He taught a generation of young men from a wide area of Yorkshire how to appreciate wine and fine dining, it seems! The stories people tell about the way he flouted present day food safety rules or threw out guests for infringements of his rules would make a great book.
A growing number are staying here because it is halfway between Scotland and all parts South. I wish I could advertise that somewhere. Anniversaries are a major draw along with special birthdays: if its not that then it may be the first night in months or even years that a couple manages to get away from their children for a night to completely indulge themselves. I have been fascinated to meet a couple who were married here in 1957 and appreciated their photographs very much.
Some people have stayed with the ambition of seeing all the Cathedrals in England, others to attend a concert in the Cathedral or spend time visiting all the great gardens in the vicinity. Others to watch their horse run at Ripon or one of the other local race courses.
Thanks to you all and long may it last!
Music at the Old Deanery this Summer
To make your dinner even more of a pleasure, and to please me! we are serving up music in the bar on the following nights: In July: Friday 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th and Thursday 30th. In August: Friday 7th and 21st and on September 4th! That’s the plan so far but if you all enjoy it we shall carry on into the Autumn season. It really relaxes me when we have a busy night. I’ve found that being in charge of the restaurant and waiting for the first table to arrive is pretty much like waiting for the curtain to rise on a play, and sometimes you just know you are going to forget your lines!
John Tunnard will be playing his own brand of cool jazz sounds in the bar from 7 pm so book early for dinner or just come along for a drink and enjoy the Old Deanery’s relaxed atmosphere at it’s best.
Book as soon as you can for the two Jazz Barbecue Sunday lunches in the garden with a jazz trio: Sunday July 12th and August 9th with music from 12.30 and the barbecue at 1.00. £25 per person and half price for children 12 years and under. Talk to me if you have little ones who won’t eat for England! If it rains we go inside so I have to limit numbers. [deposit needed for these last two events of £10 per person please]
We ARE in The Times Gastro pub offer!
First I said we were in it (against all the odds, not being a pub for one!) then we discovered we weren’t..now I see we are, according to the map on www.timesonline.co.uk/gastropub. So, what is the deal? You collect 4 tokens as usual and then you qualify for the following: At lunch on Mondays to Wednesdays till the end of June order one 2 course meal from our daily set menu at £12.50 and get another at £6.25. Order a three course meal from our set menu at £15.50 and get another at £7.75.
At dinner Monday to Tursday buy one 2 course meal for £26.50, get the second at £13.25 or a three course for £31.50 and get the second at £15.75. This is a joint Rioja/Times promotion so you can also order a 125ml glass of Rioja for £3 and get another free!!
If your email address is in our VIP Lunch Club then you can claim the offer too. Ask reception if you are a member. (If you join now you can be eligible for the next offer – not this one!) Look forward to seeing you all this summer, in or out of the garden.
