James Mackenzie
James Mackenzie
James Mackenzie champions refined, modern British cuisine, shaped by the local traditions and ingredients that make the glorious Yorkshire counties so special.
James Mackenzie, who grew up in Filey on the North Yorkshire coast, started his career in the kitchen at just thirteen years old, before going on to train at Scarborough Technical College (now Yorkshire Coast College) and various top kitchens around the country. He returned to Yorkshire in 2002, as head chef for Andrew Pern at The Star Inn in Harome, North Yorkshire – still one of his favourite places to take his children on a rare day off.
James Mackenzie’s hearty food – designed for customers with appetites – showcases traditional British ingredients, flavours and dishes, particularly those from the surrounding environs of Yorkshire. With the sheer breadth of high-quality ingredients being made in the vast surrounding counties, it is no wonder that James Mackenzie places this bounty at the centre of his food. From fresh fish and seafood from the eastern coastal waters to game and beef, born of the land, not to mention the hand-made cheeses and charcuterie crafted by local artisans.
This focus on local suppliers is stressed in his first cookbook, On The Menu: Seasonal Recipes for a Culinary Life, which was released in 2012. Here he sings the praises of James White, a nearby butcher who supplies the Pipe and Glass, his South Dalton pub, with its pork. He writes: “Not only is he a brilliant and passionate butcher, but all of the meat he sells he also slaughters in immaculate whitewashed buildings immediately behind the shop…This is truly amazing in this age of stringent health and safety laws…All of the meat has been cared for through every stage of life and death.” For James, fantastic food means the simple things done really, really well. "If you have great produce and treat it with respect, the quality shines through and the taste will be at its best."
His drive to source the perfect ingredient even led him to make his own beer – Two Chefs Ale. Together with Andrew Pern, his old friend from The Star Inn (plus a little help from the Great Yorkshire Brewery), they made two session ales. As well as selling these beers in their respective restaurants, these traditional British flavours also made it into the food – including in his Two Chefs ale bread. “We cook with it, we make gravy with it, we braise beef in it, all sorts," James says.
As well as championing suppliers, James is enthusiastic about both his young kitchen brigade and future generations of workers. “Treating your staff well” is extremely important to him, “everybody not working 100 hours each a week and being fair to them…you get a lot more out of people like that”, he says. But it is those young people who haven’t quite made it into the kitchen that James also focuses on. To this end James and wife Kate run their own competition, The Golden Apron, for teenagers who may be considering a career in the kitchen but are put off by old stereotypes.
Having first taken over the Pipe and Glass in 2006, James and Kate earned it a Michelin star in less than four years, which it still holds. James can often be spotted giving demonstrations at food festivals and events, and appearing on TV shows.
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