They’re back, by George
empty when we arrived. It’s still a work in progress. There’s loads of rhubarb, a jungle of Jerusalem artichokes, lots of tomatoes, courgettes and a massive herb bed. We also grow flowers for the bar.
“There’s a load more to go in, this year has been a bit of a challenge because of May when the weather was rubbish so we have a lot of winter greens to grow such as Brussels and cavolo nero.
“There are five bee hives. The honey is delicious, really floral. It’s lovely around here because it’s all meadows. We use the honey in desserts and with cheese.”
The pub features in all the best foodie guides – Hardens, the now defunct Good Food Guide, and the ultimate food bible, the Michelin Guide.
Concise menus offering a good range of dishes with well-judged combinations and a modern edge is how the Michelin Guide describes The George, which has been awarded one of its Michelin Plates since 2016.
The owners would like to take it a step further towards a revered Michelin star – something sadly lacking in Derbyshire at the moment, while bordering Nottinghamshire boasts two Michelin-starred restaurants and Leicestershire has one. “We have been in Michelin Guide since 2016 and have improved our scoring and recognition,” said Siobhan adding they would “definitely” like a star and one of the new additions, a green star awarded for restaurants making the biggest strides to protect the environment.
Siobhan said: “A green star is something that I think we could do fairly easily in theory as we are meeting that criteria already so it’s just a case of getting that recognition. We do loads of stuff around waste. We have gone from three or four industrial sized bins to one now. It all goes back into the garden.
“That really matters but the feedback and general buzz about the place tells you all you need to know as well, the direct feedback from our customers and suppliers, people we are dealing with on a regular basis.
“Your food guides are a confirmation of that. We get repeat customers all the time and everyone who comes here is amazed by what we do. We are getting compared all the time to some recognised and seriously good food places and lots of people make comments like ‘gosh can’t believe you haven’t got a Michelin star yet,’ so it’s at that level.”
Even before the Penrose-johnsons took over, The George had pivoted from a pub to a restaurant, when it became obvious beer sales were not enough to sustain the business.
Siobhan said: “It’s not a pub anymore, that’s something that can be quite contentious and has been in the past. The prior owners made the decision to make it a destination dining place. I think it’s a sign of the times.
“In this village, like others in the Peak District, most of the houses here are second homes or holiday homes. That’s why it needed to be a destination place because there isn’t a local population. It’s not like the old days where we could exist on lots of beer drinking.”
“Years ago, it could exist on beer sales but not any more. What we are doing is trying to preserve the business and the building and the best way of doing that is progressing and enhancing the food offer.”
The couple went from diners to owners in August 2017 but not without experience in the industry since Graham previously managed the restaurant at Peak Edge Hotel and helped a friend at a Wirksworth pub.
The George was their “little idyll”. Siobhan said: “It was that place you want to pop to and you know you’re going to have a nice evening.
“We were looking anyway, keeping our eyes open. It was serendipitous because we came here for dinner, went home and had a look around and saw it and we guessed it was a confidential sale but we knew straight away it was here. We made contact with Emily who owned it at the time and it went from there.”
The restaurant is family friendly but you won’t find burgers or chicken nuggets on a kids’ menu.
Siobhan said: “Children are welcome... we will make a few tweaks if we can. We have found families come in with their kids who are 10 and 12 years old and they love it. It’s so nice to see children enjoying it and trying stuff and getting into it. Sunday is a really nice family day.”
We have been in Michelin Guide since 2016 and have improved our scoring