Yorkshire Tasting Menu, Dough Restaurant

If you haven’t been to Dough in Leeds, then you should because it’s really amazing. Luke (who is clearly a totally awesome chef) creates beautiful dishes. He is also very helpful and supportive to offaltarians like me who don’t know what to do with trotters.

The idea of the Yorkshire Tasting Menu was/is (I believe it happens every year) to appreciate the beautiful bounty of Yorkshire, my adopted county. (A Lincolnshire tasting menu would be haslet and/or chine and/or sausages, Brussel Sprouts and Margaret Thatcher’s toenail-clippings.* I am glad the last prime minister to be born in Yorkshire was Asquith and he was Liberal.) At £58 for seven courses, including booze , I a) got a right bargain and b) was pickled by the end of the evening.

I loved eating here and can’t recommend it enough. I’ll be visiting again as soon as I can. The food was beautiful and I got some lovely ideas for combinations to try at home. The picture is followed by the dish and the accompanying alcoholic/non-alcoholic drinks. We really liked how much attention was given to the booze-free boozes (though a little explanation of why the flavours were chosen, like what happened for the boozes wouldn’t have gone amiss). There’s nothing much else to say, other than to reiterate that it was EXCEPTIONAL and repeat the menu with some increasingly fuzzy bad phone pictures.**

Canapes – hot dog, sausage roll, pork pie, chorizo – porkalicious!

(Leeds sparkling rhubarb Prosecco/Rhubarb lemonade)

Leeds yellow tomato Bloody Mary gazpacho with Artisan bakery olive bread

This was amazing. I don’t like tomatoes and would have NEVER chosen this. It was probably my personal highlight in a night of amazing food. This proves that Luke can clearly make everything delicious – so if you visit don’t let your previous tastes inform your choices.

Whitby crab cake – tartar sauce – pea puree – garlic chunky chip

(Ilkley Brewery Mary Jane/Sparkling apple and elderflower)

Faggots in Leventhorpe red wine – piccalilli – Yorkshire blue – celeriac puree

(Black Sheep Yorkshire Square/Red grape juice)

Allotment blackcurrant and gin sorbet

East coast mackerel – cauliflower and cheese cake – Roundhay rhubarb coulis – feathering late asparagus

(Leventhorpe Seyval Blanc 2009/Orange and cherry lemonade)

Confit of Thirsk lamb leg chepher’s pie – wrapped in filo pastry – Fountain’s Gold cheddar – yoghurt and mint sauce – beetroot salsa

(York Brewery Yorkshire Terrier/Strawberry and kiwi juice)

Warm Yorkshire parkin – Yorkshire tea ice cream – dark chocolate crisp – cherry sauce

I accidentally ate all of mine before thinking that I should take a picture. Yorkshire tea ice cream is BOSS!

(Homemade Vodka iced cherry tea/Homemade ginger beer)

*This is sheer flippancy. Lincolnshire grows and produces loads of lovely food. Don’t be put off visiting – no one has cannibalised Maggie (yet)! Also, I am not a Tory and do not think by eating any part of Margaret Thatcher that I will become one. I’m civilised. I know I’d have to eat her brain, not her toenails.

**This is no reflection on the restaurant and more on my crap phone and unsteady hands.