Butchers Arms named Britain's Top Gastropub
Seeing off competition from across the UK, the Butchers Arms, in Hepworth, near Huddersfield, was crowned Best Gastropub at the Great British Pub Awards - the Oscars of the licensed trade.
Owner and chef Tim Bilton collected the award from comedian Lenny Henry at the ceremony in London's Hilton Park Lane Hotel.
"I'm absolutely thrilled. It's a terrific honour," said Tim. "When I took over the Butchers Arms I set out to make this Britain's finest dining pub - to have achieved that in two years is an amazing achievement.
"The award is a tribute to everyone who works flat out to make our food so special, including my staff, the Yorkshire producers who supply such wonderful ingredients, and the customers who have supported me from the off."
Tim won over the judges thanks to his passion for great food made from seasonal produce grown and reared on his doorstep.
"Ours is a local pub in every sense of the word," he said. "Most of the ingredients used in our dishes come from a few miles of our front door.
"Pheasant, partridge and other game is from the village shoot. Beef and lamb comes from farms just up the road. As well as sourcing fruit and veg from local growers, some is from villagers' allotments."
Having trained under Raymond Blanc at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons in Oxfordshire, Tim went on to be head chef at Bibis in Leeds.
His creative and contemporary cooking impressed the judges on BBC2's Great British Menu earlier this year.
Among the most popular dishes at the Butchers Arms are Yorkshire asparagus with a soft poached duck egg and hollandaise sauce, and braised slab of Givendale beef with balsamic onions, crispy pancetta and parmesan mash.
"To be named Britain's best gastropub shows how far we've come since that rainy February day when I first walked in to the Butchers Arms, then closed and looking sorry for itself. But I sensed the potential immediately," said Tim.
Competition judge Ian Moss is marketing controller at Budweiser Budvar which sponsored the award. "It was hard to select a national winner from the short-list of excellent pubs, but The Butchers Arms stood out," he said.
"It has everything you look for in a great gastropub: delicious and imaginative dishes, prepared from fresh, local ingredients and beautifully presented. Most importantly, Tim has retained the informal, welcoming atmosphere of a pub rather than a restaurant."
Tim recently opened a second pub, The Kaye Arms at Grange Moor near Wakefield, together with his senior chef Chris Kelly. "This is a very exciting time for us," said Tim. "We could be on to another winner.
"The Butchers Arms award proves that nothing in Britain beats a great Yorkshire pub serving the best Yorkshire food."
For more details about the Butchers Arms, Hepworth, see: thebutchersarmshepworth.co.uk
