The Cook in the North

The Cook in the North I'm Shaun, travelling private chef for hire in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Cumbria, Lake District & beyond. I come to your home or holiday cottage and cook

What a place to just sit and look.Up here all you can hear are curlews on the moor and sizzling in the kitchen.All you c...
19/06/2026

What a place to just sit and look.

Up here all you can hear are curlews on the moor and sizzling in the kitchen.

All you can feel is the gentle breeze on your face.

All you can see is Airedale - with views across to Malham Cove, the Yorkshire Three Peaks and the national park.

If you walk north from this spot the next town you come to is Hexham on Hadrian's Wall - nearly 100 miles away.

Relax and enjoy the view and a glass of wine while a private chef cooks dinner for you.

Now that's a holiday treat!

At Higher Scarcliffe holiday cottage in Broughton Sanctuary near Skipton, North Yorkshire

At the end of a tapas feast I love asking people which was their favourite dish. Cauliflower claims the top spot surpris...
19/06/2026

At the end of a tapas feast I love asking people which was their favourite dish. Cauliflower claims the top spot surprisingly often. Slow roasted in extra virgin olive oil, a sprinkling of sea salt crystals and a drizzle of maple syrup, it not only makes a great vegan alternative to other-first-place-contender pork belly but stands on its own as a super tasty seasonal treat. It surprises many diners - many of whom have never cooked it like that - and there's certainly none left over at the end!

Cooking in Kirkby Malham village hall for a local resident celebrating their birthday just a few doors down from their h...
17/06/2026

Cooking in Kirkby Malham village hall for a local resident celebrating their birthday just a few doors down from their home. Bringing crockery, cutlery, all the equipment I need and fresh local ingredients to cook from scratch, an early morning start meant everything was ready for lunchtime, when the family walked down the main street and friends arrived from Airton and Clitheroe to start the party!

Kirkby Malham, Yorkshire Dales National Park

When you're asked to cook again for someone, it's always nice to know they enjoyed the first (and increasingly often the...
15/06/2026

When you're asked to cook again for someone, it's always nice to know they enjoyed the first (and increasingly often the second, third and fourth) time so much. Rebecca organised a hen do in the Yorkshire Wolds several years ago, and when another foodie friend got engaged she knew who she was recommending to do the food at their hen party. The group were more than happy to cover the extra travel... Worcestershire is hardly the North of England but way back I did live in Pershore and worked in Evesham for a year, so have a valid passport to go south of Birmingham!

Tucked away down on the shore of Lake Windermere this is Hammerhole, where I was cooking for a ruby wedding anniversary ...
15/06/2026

Tucked away down on the shore of Lake Windermere this is Hammerhole, where I was cooking for a ruby wedding anniversary this weekend. An absolute pleasure... lovely family from Yorkshire, two ovens, a fabulous view, keen young helpers who got to stay up late to enjoy the meal with the grown ups (and helped season the veg) and this quiet spot by the water to cool off and enjoy the sound of the waves.

Hammerhole on the Graythwaite Estate, western shore of Lake Windermere.

As a thank you for being a school governor for nearly a decade I was treated to vouchers for our local theatre in Settle...
15/06/2026

As a thank you for being a school governor for nearly a decade I was treated to vouchers for our local theatre in Settle (the world's oldest music hall). I took my family to see the fabulous Gnoss - down from Orkney and stopping in the Yorkshire Dales on their whistlestop tour of England. A great night of live music!

Gnoss at Settle Victoria Hall Settle, Yorkshire Dales

Anyone remember the 90s Fairy washing up liquid adverts? The ones where the table just kept going on and on and on...Thi...
12/06/2026

Anyone remember the 90s Fairy washing up liquid adverts? The ones where the table just kept going on and on and on...

This table toight - cooking a tapas feast for 27 - brought back those memories. Though instead of being filmed outside on a street (because what target audience 90s family could seat all their relatives and neighbours in their house!) this was in a venue befitting such a table, in a mere side room at Colshaw Hall.

Preparing to serve a relaxed pre-wedding tapas feast before Izzy and Max's big day tomorrow at Colshaw Hall - Cheshire Wedding Venue near Knutsford, Cheshire.

Butternut squash with garden herbs: bay, sage, rosemary and fennel seeds, plus a hint of chilli flakes. Roasted with top...
07/06/2026

Butternut squash with garden herbs: bay, sage, rosemary and fennel seeds, plus a hint of chilli flakes. Roasted with top notch organic olive oil and served with crimson crisp apple, shredded broccoli tops, maple drizzled roasted cauliflower, courgette and fondant potatoes. All vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and delicious!

From this kitchen window high on the hillside in the Yorkshire Dales at you could see where many of the meal's ingredients were grown, including herbs freshly picked from my garden in Barnoldswick; spring greens and cauliflower grown in the glasshouses near Settle (who also stock their farm shop with other veggies - like the squash - from Manchester-based )

Cooking on location where All Creatures Great and Small is filmed. This is where Mrs Pumphrey lives after she moves out ...
06/06/2026

Cooking on location where All Creatures Great and Small is filmed. This is where Mrs Pumphrey lives after she moves out of the hall, with a sneaky peek of modern-day Skipton in the background down at the bottom of Airedale.

James (the developer from Manchester, not the vet from Glasgow) booked me to come and cook a meal for his mum's birthday - a surprise whilst they were out enjoying a canal boat trip. The family returned to their moor-top holiday cottage to find a private chef in the kitchen with dinner on the go!

This year's first outdoor strawberries have ripened in my kitchen garden this week. I've three raised beds packed tight ...
01/06/2026

This year's first outdoor strawberries have ripened in my kitchen garden this week. I've three raised beds packed tight with strawberry plants that do their utmost to escape every year - I try to return any escapees growing from runners but there are always some that make it out. This spring I've rogue strawberries in the lawn, on the paths, invading the herb garden, colonising a temporary soil heap and growing out of the house wall!

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Barnoldswick

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+447379818840

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