Flavours Of Yorkshire. Chef Shaun Rankin Interview, Grantley Hall

What ingredients transform a meal into an experience?
With Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall.

In 2009, the nation tuned into BBC Two’s Great British Menu to watch a chef from Yorkshire execute a perfect – and now famous – treacle tart. The following year, that same chef launched his own TV series, Island Feast, which quickly propelled him to culinary fame.

But Shaun Rankin had already been making waves in the restaurant world for years before landing on our screens. Having polished his skills at London’s prestigious Mayfair Hotel, he spent many years as a chef in the Channel Islands, where in 2005 he was awarded his first Michelin star.

The following year, he was named British Chef of the Year by The Independent, and in 2013 he opened Ormer in St. Helier to instant critical acclaim and a host of accolades, before returning to our screens in 2017’s Masterchef series.

Throughout his illustrious career, Shaun has worked as both a chef and a consultant, possessing a rare combination of boundary-pushing culinary innovation and unrivalled business expertise.

It’s a skill set that’s put him firmly in demand with some of the country’s most renowned eateries, so in 2017, it seemed only fitting that he was approached to lead an ambitious new project that would take him home to his native Yorkshire.

Shaun was brought in as a consultant during the restoration of Grantley Hall near Ripon, as it was being reimagined as a destination venue for the 21st century. Its owners wanted to create not only a luxurious five-star hotel, but also to three separate restaurants to give guests a wide range of choice.

“I’ve opened seven restaurants and hotels from the ground upwards, but this project was certainly on a bigger scale than anything I’ve done before,” Says Shaun.

“Through my background in designing restaurants and dining concepts, I’ve been involved with a lot of different projects that helped me understand all the different elements that go into creating somewhere that people really want to be, and I’ve been able to use all that knowledge at Grantley.”

Shaun knew that Yorkshire was already home to some exceptional restaurants, so a big part of his role was to create a concept that would help Grantley Hall stand out as being different. Working closely with the owners to understand their vision, Shaun has diligently guided them through the process of bringing that vision to life.

“The owners knew they wanted a fine dining offering, a traditional restaurant and a restaurant that served pan-Asian cuisine, so a huge amount of thought went into each of those spaces and how we could create experiences and menus that would be unforgettable,” says Shaun.

Building three restaurants from the ground up isn’t for the faint hearted – but it’s been a role Shaun has relished. Everything from Grantley’s conceptual interior design and the logistics of the kitchens and back-office operations to the procurement of ingredients and the development of menus and recipes bears Shaun’s mark.

Today, each of Grantley’s spaces – Bar & Restaurant EightyEight, Fletchers Restaurant and Norton Bar & Courtyard and the venue’s eponymous Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall fine dining restaurant – offer something exceptional to diners, while overnight guests can enjoy Grantley’s 30 acres of parkland, Japanese gardens, thermal spa and gym facilities, 18-metre pool and, of course, exquisite bedrooms. The Hotel was awarded coveted Five Stars by the AA in 2020.

“It’s been remarkable journey and I’m so excited to be a part of it,” says Shaun. “One of the biggest benefits for me is being able to discover and share some of the incredible produce we have available, both here in Yorkshire and across the UK, which is something I’ve always been really passionate about.”

Shaun has always put sustainability at the forefront of his creations, but while it’s a topic that’s frequently discussed in the hospitality industry, there are few who ‘walk the walk’ to the degree that he has.

“We don’t bring tuna up from London to Yorkshire, we don’t have foie gras on the menu, we don’t import cheeses from Italy and we don’t use olive oil,” says Shaun. “In fact, we don’t buy any produce from outside the UK, and that includes lemons, limes, pineapples, mangos and bananas.

“There are certain things we still need to source from outside Yorkshire, like the shellfish we get from Scotland, but the great majority of our ingredients are sourced from Yorkshire farmers and producers within a 30-mile radius of Grantley Hall.

“It’s very important to us that we’re continually reinvesting in the local farming community, and that we’re growing and making as much as we can in-house.”

Shaun’s focus on local produce also led him to create a kitchen garden at Grantley, where his team grow many of the ingredients that will be used in that evening’s menu. The aim is to always make use of what’s locally available throughout the seasons; in December, for example, local chestnuts are used to create dishes such as sweet chestnuts with mushroom ice cream.

In the kitchen, Shaun relies heavily on the larder he’s created and the staple ingredients he works with daily; local rapeseed oil, English salt, good quality dairy produce and the oils and apple cider vinegars he uses to prep, pickle preserve in-house.

This dedication to seasonality and sustainability translates into a series of thoughtfully crafted and highly inventive menus at Shaun’s fine dining restaurant.

Guests who sample his Taste of Home menu, for example, are served a nostalgia-inducing 10-course feast that whisks them through dishes designed to reinvoke childhood memories and a sense of wonder, as well as celebrating the best of Yorkshire’s produce.

Bread with butter, dripping and beef tea might be followed by scallop with sea buckthorn and lovage, and goats cheese with spruce honey, beets and a flapjack.

Shaun’s signature Sunday Lunch menu, meanwhile, serves up quintessential classics with an imaginative twist. Starters might include a slow-cooked duck egg with Jerusalem artichokes or a lobster ravioli with crab bisque, while mains include 60-day dry-aged Angus beef with traditional Yorkshire puddings, or pork belly with hispi cabbage and sage.

“We really do put our heart and soul into every dish we create, but the concept of visiting Grantley is about more than the food; it’s the entire experience, from the moment you arrive until the moment you leave – and the memories you take away with you,” says Shaun.

“It’s very important for us and for the customer that everything works together seamlessly; we know that if the Grantley Hall experience is great but the food isn’t, that will have an effect on them – and vice versa. That’s why we’ve designed every aspect of the experience to work perfectly in tandem.”

When guests arrive at Grantley Hall’s grand entrance gates, they’re warmly greeted and directed to the reception, where they’re welcomed by the concierge and shown to their room, if they’re staying overnight.

When it’s time for lunch for dinner, guests settle into Grantley’s exquisite Norton Bar, enjoyig a specially created cocktail, and for those diners fortunate to dine at Shaun Rankin’s, an expert sommelier will serve champagne from a handmade trolly. In the winter, guests might cosy up by the large, open fireplace to enjoy homemade charcuterie made freshly in the kitchen, accompanied by a seasonal aperitif.

Shaun Rankin at Grantley hall was awarded a coveted Michelin Star in the delayed Michelin Guide 2021 announcement made on Monday 25th January. Shaun Commented:

“We are absolutely delighted to have been recognised by Michelin being awarded a Michelin Star.
Such an achievement for our team and suppliers after undergoing such huge turmoil in the past year, as has the rest of the industry and nation – we are now all desperate to re-open and welcome customers back.

Whilst any accolades are an honour, they are not a right to any chef. To me the focus will remain on the customer, the flavours and memories. If we get those ingredients consistently right, then accolades such as a Michelin Star is just an added bonus.

Whatever happens in the coming weeks, the health and well being of my brigade remains paramount, and we all hope to return to some form of normal very soon.”