Star performer: Andrew Pern

Chef Andrew Pern has had highs and lows over the past few years. But as Amanda Afiya discovers, the launch of the Star Inn the City in York marks a brilliant new chapter in the Yorkshireman's life

It's a building that somehow symbolises the life of its chef-director Andrew Pern. The heart of the building, a grade II-listed property, is decorated in the style of Pern's Star Inn at Harome - a delightful nod to the great gastropub he created with his former wife, business partner and the mother of four of his children, Jacqueline. In bold contrast is the modern, imposing, glass-encased extension and the restaurant's main dining area.

The union of the two structures is emblematic of the ebullient chef's past and future, the great Star Inn brand that he has worked
tirelessly to create over the past 17 years and the exciting future that lies in front of one of Yorkshire's finest chefs and his new partner Francesca, the mother of Pern's fifth child (she also has a son from a previous relationship).

While a little complicated, it's an amicable affair - the Star Inn at Harome and it's neighbouring Cross House Lodge is now solely owned by Pern, and the Pheasant hotel, also in Harome, sits with Jacqueline. Although neatly segregated, they continue to be fully supportive of each other's businesses.

"We're still friends," explains Pern. "It makes sense for us to recommend each other. If we've got weddings, the Pheasant is a good overflow. In the master plan, that's what we bought it for, to be honest. At the Star Inn, we do a larger volume of meals, and we're more well-known, so people stay at the Pheasant and eat with us. People are pleasantly surprised - Jacquie obviously did the interiors at the Star and it's carried on at the Pheasant so they are connected visually - it's a good mixture, really."

It was at Harome's famous Star Inn that the Star Inn the City was born. "It came about over a sherry tasting," explains Pern. "Andrew Firth of Firth & Co, the wine merchants, introduced me to Mike Green of GEM Construction, the owner of a large construction company here in York. He had this site with a syndicate, with nobody to run it, and Firth said 'why don't you ask Andrew? He's one of the most well-known people in the area'. And basically, after that sherry tasting, this happened."

"This" is a 138-seat restaurant, split over two floors. The large Garden room seats 80, while the River room, where we are sitting for our interview, seats 30. A private dining room above us seats 20, while a chef's table for eight, sponsored by farmers and butchers R&J, sits proudly facing the kitchen service window.

With views of the River Ouse and the manicured gardens of the museum, it's easy to forget you're in a bustling city. "It's a lovely corner," says Pern. "In its own way, it's like coming to our own little green patch of the city, so it fits very well with us bringing a little bit of the countryside to York." Added to that, its advantageous south-facing location means it has the lion's share of the sun. "Sitting here by the river, you could think you're in Paris," says Pern, ever the romantic.

Although Pern is usually heavily hands-on, he will not be cooking at the Star Inn the City, and so Justin Brosenitz, his partner and fellow director, is critical to the smooth running of the operation. "We went to Scarborough Tech together," says Brosenitz, who grew up around the industry. "James Martin was there as well. Nobody knew how successful some of these people were going to become - we were just boys having fun - but obviously the lecturers were very good at what they did."

"We've been mates for a long time and always wanted to do something together," adds Pern. "He's more of a city boy and I'm the country mouse, so the collaboration has worked well. We're not used to having bouncers on the door in Harome on a Saturday night," he laughs, "and the volume of people here in York has always appealed to me - doing what we do in Harome but having a bigger shop window and flying the flag for Yorkshire."

PERFECT PITCH

In contrast, Brosenitz is completely at home with big numbers and more spirited crowds. After completing his cheffing qualifications, he moved on to the hotel management side of things at Scarborough Technical College (now Yorkshire Coast College), and then went to work for Bass Taverns as a licensed house manager running a series of restaurants, pubs and bars. But their friendship at college and love of rugby on and off the pitch meant that Brosenitz and Pern never worked or lived far apart.

"We kept in touch," says Brosenitz. "We have been in a few close situations together and have done a few little projects over the years, but we had always talked about doing something bigger together.

"We've been down the line a couple of times, but the projects haven't been quite right for us, but when we were approached to do this, it was a no-brainer really. You look at the vicinity and the outlook, and there's not only the volume of local people but the tourist situation as well. We thought we could add something to the York dining scene - there's quite a lot of branded outlets and restaurants in York - but nothing quirky like us."

Feeling that there was a gap in the market for something "higher end", but with a country feel, they brought in designer Rachel McLane, who was also involved at the Star Inn at Harome. The warmth of the original Star Inn is conveyed with rich, sumptuous fabrics in the bar area, River room and hunting lodge-styled private dining room, while the Garden room, glazed on three sides, with wood-panelled banquettes, rattan dining chairs and a mixture of white, starched, tablecloth-covered and bare, stripped, wood tables, is decorated with an assortment of foliage and peppered with retro-style tassled lampshades.

The project, which cost £2m, allowing £500,000 for interior design, is a celebration of local handiwork. McLane is based in Malton, glassware comes from Rosedale-based Gillies Jones, and the tradesmen are all from the surrounding area. This ethos is mimicked in the staff, where the majority of the 30 waiters, six barmen, hosts and a dozen chefs hail from York. Chef-manager Matt Hunter is a former Northcote and Star Inn chef, while Mike Cushing worked at York's Living Room for nine years before joining the 'Inn crowd'.

Such experience ensures that Pern is not required at the stove. "A lot of our chefs have worked at high-volume places, and we've got some from Harome who are used to the attention to detail. It's a good mix, so if we can get something half as good as Harome, I will be pleased. At the moment, from what I have seen, the food has been no different to Harome, which is even more pleasing."

Just days after opening last month, the restaurant welcomed tourists from the USA and the Far East. "You wouldn't get that in Harome," says Pern, "we're just not on the tourist trail. We get a certain amount of people who come on a bit of a pilgrimage to Harome, but this is so much more accessible. People can hop on a train in London and come to York for lunch."

MASS APPEAL

Like Manchester, York and nearby Leeds have had troubled gastronomic pasts. Many people in the city were sorry to see the closure of J Baker's Bistro Moderne this summer, which was preceded by acclaimed chef Anthony Flinn shutting his doors at Anthony's in Leeds just a month earlier.

"They were doing very individual food, but what we are doing is food that appeals to the masses," says Pern. "Up to 35,000 people come to the York races on any given race day, and with hog roasts and oyster and Champagne bars on the decking outside it's going to great - it's going to be massive," he beams. "It's a big change from when we opened Harome 17 years ago - we didn't know if anyone was going to walk through the doors. But we've come on, and the name has developed."

Early reviews seem to suggest that the pair have pitched things right. Writing in the Yorkshire Post earlier this month, restaurant critic and former chef and restaurateur Elaine Lemm said: "Over the years, I have watched many chefs attempt to replicate Andrew's way of putting seemingly straightforward ingredients together in a dish and creating a sensation. None can do it as well as he. This menu here did not disappoint and frankly, I could have eaten every single dish on there."

The Guardian's Marina O'Loughlin appears to concur: "Tweeness aside, this is a lust-inducing cracker of a place, a posh gastropub with wit", she says.

As the reviews suggest, there's nowt more Yorkshire than the menus at the Star Inn the City. With a note at the top asking customers to 'refrain from wearing the bread basket' (a flat cap), diners are led into a loud and proud list of dishes, rammed full of local produce: Barnsley chop, local estate shot red-legged partridge, Barncliffe brie and Scarborough woof (Atlantic wolffish).

"I've always said we've got a great pantry on our doorstep in Harome; here in York we're right slap-bang in the middle of everything. We've got Ilkely, the produce of the Dales and West Yorkshire rhubarb - we're a bit more central, if you like. The main thing was to try and make something for York and Yorkshire that the locals and tourists alike would appreciate."

SHOOTING FOR THE STARS

Not surprisingly, Pern is reluctant to talk on the record about the Michelin star that the Star Inn in Harome lost in 2011, having been among the early gastropub pioneers to receive one in 2002. But suffice to say, if only for personal pride, he and "brilliant" head chef Steve Smith would be keen to see its return, which is probably why Pern won't be found on the stove in York. "We've got to get bedded in here, but the main aim is to get the Michelin star back at the Star," he concedes.

Unfortunately, the loss of a star coincided with the filming of series six of BBC2's Great British Menu, and it was hard not to notice that Pern was out of sorts when it aired. "It's not my scene," he says. "They asked me four times, and I gave in on the fourth time. I'd just written my second book, Loose Birds & Game, and we'd not had the Pheasant that long.
Everybody bar me wanted me to do it."

Was it a pleasant surprise? "It was exactly what I thought it would be - very contrived, very produced, very scripted, a bit false. You do the screen test - you know what I'm like, a bit of a jolly, confident sort of person, talk to anybody - but you get there and they try and set you up for the audience rather than the food. That day I had just lost my star, I didn't know if I wanted to be a cook any more to be honest - I thought I was going to be a landscape gardener, something like that… I was on my way down to the filming when I found out, from a customer, that I had lost my star - it was a major kick in the teeth. And then to be told where to stand, what to say - it just wasn't me. I just wanted to be at home with my babies - or sat in a dark room - rather than being on national TV with all the expectancy.

"I sort of fumbled through and won the North-east heat, and got quite close to the banquet with my pork main course. They all loved it - it was a contender - but Mr Kerridge beat me on that one. It was lovely to represent the North-east and say that I've done it, and if I had been in a better place I would have been all-singing and dancing. If I had done it the following year, it would have been a different story. And you know what to do when you've done it two or three times, you can see that."

You would be forgiven for thinking that TV isn't on Pern's radar any more, but he's still very tempted if the right thing comes his way. "I'd love to do some TV bits and bobs; in fact, I've spoken to James [Mackenzie of the Pipe and Glass Inn] about doing something together. We do the Two Chefs beer together, which is really popular in town here, and a lot of shows - Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Rick Stein, Tom Kerridge's Proper Pub Food - are southern based. But I like their style - it's how I would be. When you look at all the produce here in Yorkshire, supplying loads of Michelin-starred places, to do something along those lines would be quite nice. Something Rick Stein-esque, traveling around the county. Maybe one day."

Back in York, with covers running at about 250 a day, Pern and Brosenitz are hopeful that this figure will rise to 500, maybe more. "It's all things to all people," concludes Pern. "It's a destination sort of place. You can come for special occasions, you can pop in for a coffee, a pint. The best thing I heard last night was the sound of rattling dominoes - I thought 'the Star has come to town'. They've got it, they've really got it. It's not contrived, it's not stiff and starchy, it's us. I was so happy, I felt like crying."

ON THE MENU AT THE STAR INN THE CITY

Starters Chicken liver pÁ¢té with sloe gin jelly, York ham, treacle toasts, £8 Carpaccio of Hambleton beer-fed Dexter beef fillet, corned beef fritter, horseradish salad cream, ale syrup, £14 Cassoulet of Hodgson's of Hartlepool smoked haddock, haricot beans, herb crust, £18/£15

Main courses Ripley Estate mallard breast, confit leg, citrus forcemeat, anise carrot purèe, mulled brambles, sauce Yorkshire, £17
Harome-shot roe deer cottage pie with thyme and celeriac mash, Brussels sprouts and bacon bits, £15 Deep-fried breaded Scarborough woof with marsh samphire, North Sea brown shrimps and Yorkshire caviar (mushy peas), £14

Desserts Spiced apple 'n' Wensleydale 'upside down' Lowna Dairy curd cheesecake, £6.50 Mulled poached pear with cinder toffee ice-cream, bramble 'biscuit', £6.50 Harome honey 'quaking pudding', granola nuts and forgotten fruits, £6

Roast Whitby cod with flat-leaf parsley mash and a creamed marinière of North Sea mussels

Ingredients(Serves 2)20g butter, plus extra to brush the cod
50g finely diced shallot
1 thin leek, sliced into rounds
1 small stick of celery, peeled and chopped
150ml white wine
Juice of 1/2 lemon
250g mussels, cleaned and debearded
100ml double cream
2 cod loins (200-250g each)
30g flat-leaf parsley, chopped
300g mashed potato, warm

Seasoning A few dill and chervil sprigs
A little steamed marsh samphire
Green herb oil

METHOD
Melt the butter in a medium-sized, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the shallot and cook gently until soft. Add the leek and celery, cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the white wine and reduce by half on a fast boil. Add the lemon juice and cleaned mussels, then cover with a lid and cook for around 4-5 minutes, gently shaking the pan occasionally. Add the cream and simmer, but do not allow to boil. Reduce by half and check the seasoning.

Place the cod on a non-stick baking tray and brush with butter. Season well, and place in a preheated oven at 180°C for 7-10 minutes, depending on the shape and size of the cod.

Just before serving, fold 30g of the chopped parsley into the mashed potato (to keep the vibrant, fresh colour).

Pipe the mash on to each plate. Place the fish against the warm mash and, with a large spoon, add the moules marinère around the edge of the dish, finishing with one mussel placed on top of a dot of mash. Return the sauce to the heat for 2-3 more minutes to adjust the consistency and pour over the cod.

Garnish with the herbs and samphire, and drizzle a little herb oil around the edge of the plate.