November was a busy month here in Malton.

As well as the Malton Food Tour, which is developing nicely (more of that later), a new tasting menu was launched by Dan Graham at the Talbot’s Wentworth Restaurant and a new Antiques, Gifts & Lifestyle Fair took place at the Milton Rooms. The fair was the idea of Angela Egan and with a full house of traders it was a great first event. Thank you Angela and our market managers Andrew Riley and Caroline Anderson for all your hard work in putting on this top event.

I love this time of year because the combination of cold nights and a log fire make it such a good time for rich food. Naturally I’m biased but I love shopping in Malton and suddenly with the colder weather it seems totally acceptable to go for more butter, cream, meat and booze! At home I’ve been cooking with shin of beef, experiencing the joy of sardines - I have them with fresh pasta, the Sicilian way and learning how to make a marmalade pudding. Haxby Baker’s bread is always in my shopping basket, as is a selection of lovely fresh herbs from Paley’s and all the different types of lentils and pulses you can think of from Scoops.

A couple of weeks ago I led a food tour around Malton, which I’ve got to tell you about:

Kicking off with a beautifully made caffeine hit at Roost Coffee & Roastery we also tucked into a delightful clementine brownie from Yo Bakehouse. Next door at Bluebird Bakery we had a spinach roll plus lemon drizzle cake, then the eight food tour guests tucked into Aldo’s beef ragu with fresh tagliatelli at Passione Della Pasta. On the way into town we had a shot of whisky and gin at Macmillan’s before heading for Costellos to try their new beef wellington pie. Next we sampled handmade chocolates at Mennells before our stop at Brass Castle for a brewery tour and tasting. And there was more! We learned to roll our own butter at Butterbees, (this was hilarious), then it was back to The Talbot to try some of Dan Graham’s fine dining expertise with a heavenly cheesecake desert from his new tasting menu. To finish off we returned to Talbot Yard for a gelato from Groovy Moo.

After 3 hours, the walking tasting tour of Malton had taken us across town and we had visited some of the best places on the local food scene. The idea is to take guests behind the scenes of a selection of Malton businesses, tasting and sampling as we go. Bookings for our 2017 tours are now open, so if you fancy joining us or giving a loved one a truly wonderful experience please book now. It would make a top Christmas present! You can find all the details at www.maltonyorkshire.co.uk

And in other news, Christmas is coming - I hate to admit it but with Malton’s new foodie outlets turning their attention to all things festive, plus the Christmas Food Market coming on Sat 10 December, even I have got a bit excited!!