TASTE OF HEAVEN:

Behind chintz, class act creating memorable meals at Sheffield’s Old Vicarage.

HE drive from Exit 31 of the M1 to Ridgeway isn’t one of the Great Journeys of the World. In fact from the roaring Parkway it’s a gloomy crawl up to Manor Top and through Deep Pit, dodging trams and on this particularly grey day, lethal pockets of fog; a potentially tricky trip if you’re not local.

Sheffield’s suburban sprawl suddenly ends in a serene, green village; turn into the Old Vicarage’s sweeping tree lined drive and the memory of the concrete chippies and endless betting shops I’ve just threaded my way through is already old. If a building’s appearance gives a clue to the dishes being prepared within, then I’m in for quintessentially English food, rib-sticking rather than refined.

I’m routinely clueless, but today my miscalculation pushes the outer limits of being wrong.

I’m uncharacteristically early too, and a smiling, smartly dressed young man heaves open the vast gothic door and a warm, golden glow dispels the ambient murkiness of the day. There’s a lot of chintz in the comfortable lounge; oils in rococo frames, oak panelling, slightly fading upholstery; Midsomer meets Brideshead.

Chef/owner Tessa Bramley has been in residence here since 1988, held a Michelin Star for 14 years, has an unbroken entry in the Good Food Guide for the last 25, is the author of a number of cookery books and has made countless screen appearances. So she should know a thing or two about cooking. Her right hand in the kitchen is Nathan Smith, who knocked on the door looking for a job nearly 20 years ago and never left. Tessa is happy to tell anyone who’ll listen that they stand shoulder to shoulder, that they think the same way.

Settled by a charming picture window overlooking a scrubby winter lawn, the genteel, elegant dining room is all napery and gleaming glass and, with my blunt preconceptions, I expect a pink prawn cocktail to come my way; instead, an immaculate amuse of butternut squash with truffle: silky, with a creamy gold concentration and an unnecessary but welcome film of truffle oil.

Next up, saddle of hare wrapped in sage and pancetta served on a little stack of creamy leeks. It’s a darkly dangerous and compelling dish with perfect crunch in a salad which takes the edge off the