Why You Need to Visit The Plough at Wombleton
After 20 years together in hospitality (and with a considerable number of Michelin-grade restaurants under their belt), husband and wife team Richard and Lindsey Johns have started a new project in the quaint village of Wombleton
An inseparable team for two decades and counting, Lindsey and Richard know a thing or two about running a restaurant. Their first venture, Artisan in Hessle, earned a strong reputation for quality and rave reviews (including the approval of Jay Rayner). With each subsequent project, more recognition followed and when they left Yorkshire’s fine-dining scene in favour of refined gastro-dining, their loyal customers came with them. Unsurprisingly, when taking over The Plough around 18 months ago, Richard and Lindsey were confident they could work their magic all over again.
What was your vision for The Plough?
Lindsey: We wanted to continue serving our hearty meals in a really relaxed atmosphere. Eating out has really changed, and we’d always been classed as fine-dining during our first decade. It can put you in a box where the chef is limited on what he can and can’t produce. I think offering a good evening out doesn’t have to break the bank. The good thing about The Plough is we’re not far from our last venue in Hovingham. That’s only a few miles away and all of our customers have followed us up the road and pop in for a drink.
Richard: We’re all about our standards but just done without any of the faff. We never sit on our laurels and we always try to push forward. Even 20 years in now we’ve still got that passion for what we do – there’s life in the old dog yet! We took a lot of time coming into The Plough because we knew it was going to be starting from the beginning and we’d have to go through all the hard work again. We’re slowly trying to gain that recognition we’ve had at our previous places. There’s work still to be done!
Going into new projects, what lessons have you learned over the years?
Richard: It’s about being confident in what you do, and not being too influenced by whatever everyone is doing around you. It’s obviously important to keep your eye on what’s happening in the industry, but I think basically it’s just being confident in your own sort of style.
Lindsey: From my point of view, service is definitely a key factor. You can produce the best meal in the world, but there’s a personality there that has to come out so that people can relate to you and talk to you. If you have that relationship with the customer, they come back and that’s what it’s all about. I think it’s important as well that Richard and myself are hands-on operators. We actually run The Plough and work it in it as well. We’re using the building blocks of our experience to draw people to us – we’ve not just been doing this for five minutes, we know what we’re doing.
Talk us through the inspiration for the menu.
Richard: For as long as I can remember I’ve worked completely by myself in the kitchen and I’ve learned to work on the right side of possible. As far as the food is concerned, I work as seasonally as I can, and I work with a trusted network of suppliers. I don’t try to reinvent the wheel, I just try to polish it. I don’t want to overly challenge our diners, I think life is challenging enough! I think the best way I can describe our food is cutting-edge comfort food. Refined but robust food, and that’s been our ethos since day one.
Is there a favourite on the menu at the moment?
Richard: It’s an à la carte menu and I do change it around quite a lot, but the one winning item on the menu at the minute is a really lovely chunky piece of cod which is a hand-cooked fillet and as good as it gets. All the fish I use comes down from Hartlepool and our supplier Hodgson Fish. A lot of thought and effort goes into it, and again we get people coming back for it so it’s just nice to get a bit of recognition for what we do.
The Plough recently placed in the Michelin Guide, was that the goal?
Richard: The Michelin Guide has always been our benchmark for standards. If you’re going to be in any guide that is the guide to be in – no one is going to cry about having a Michelin star that’s for sure! If you’re going to ask me if I’d like a Michelin star, there’s no two ways about it. We did come very close to it at our first restaurant. But whether it happens or not, we’ll just keep on doing what we do, and if most people like it then great.
Where’s your favourite spot to eat out?
Richard: We quite often go up to Newcastle to 21. We’ve been there a lot of times over the last six or seven years and that’s a great place to go.
Lindsey: Locally we’ve got Mannion & Co which we really like in Helmsley. That’s just really good cooking, and they do an amazing breakfast. Going the other way, another of our favourites is The Westwood in Beverley.
Do you have a favourite ingredient?
Richard: There’s not one thing that stands out. Whatever comes through the door, as long as it’s really high quality, I like – and I get inspiration from lots of things.
What advice would you give to someone starting out in hospitality?
Lindsey: There’s ups and downs but just remain focused on what you want to do. Be your own boss and work hard.
Richard: It is a lot of hard work. It’s when things are down that it really carves out your character. Have a belief in what you do and stick with it.
