Two minutes with Shaun Rankin, Chef Patron of Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall
What can guests expect from Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall?
Shaun Rankin at Grantley Hall was curated with indulgence at the forefront, an opportunity to embark on a unique culinary journey that celebrates real food provenance. I wanted every aspect of the menu to reflect the natural landscape of Yorkshire. Guests can expect an immersive journey through the region's landscape, bringing together locally sourced ingredients, including produce from our very own Kitchen Garden. And as a nod to my childhood, we developed the Taste of Home menu to be a gastronomic exploration of modern British cuisine, complemented by wine pairings from our own Sommelier.
The 'Taste of Home' menu prides itself on locally sourced produce, especially ingredients grown on site in the Kitchen Garden - what's your favourite season for produce and why?
For me, each season presents its own joys and challenges and it’s why taking this approach to cooking is incredibly rewarding. Although hard to choose, my favourite season has to be spring – late spring, specifically, where the first harvests of asparagus become available to us and our woodlands are ladened with vibrant wild garlic once again. Spring almost feels like a much-anticipated exhale after the cold winter months, where not much is available to us in the name of fresh produce and instead, we rely on preserved ingredients to form the narrative for the menu. The arrival of March and April are a breath of fresh air for my creativity, and for that reason I find myself yearning for this season more than any other.
What drew you back to Yorkshire?
Although Yorkshire will always be ‘home’, I’d spent two decades in Jersey and London, with no immediate plans to return to the North. Around 18 months before Grantley Hall opened, I was approached by the Sykes family to become a chef consultant for the business, and it was their incredible vision that quickly had me sold. Within a few months, the chance to open my own restaurant within the business was presented to me. It seemed like the perfect opportunity to bring my Taste of Home vision to life, and with the Sykes family’s shared love for Yorkshire, the stars really aligned. Returning to my roots has been one of the best chapters of my career so far.