Where There's Smoke, Masham: Restaurant in Yorkshire Dales added to Michelin Guide less than a year after opening in former Vennell's building

Where’s There’s Smoke, which specialises in modern British cuisine and ‘cooking over coals’, opened in the former Vennell’s premises on Silver Street in July 2022.

It was featured in the January additions to the Michelin Guide, alongside Allium at The Vices in York, which is a converted police station.

Inspectors said: “Cooking over coals is the USP here – hence the name – and the lovely aroma will hit you the moment you enter this good-looking restaurant. It sits in a delightful market town, and the seasonal set menu is comforting, easy to enjoy and comes from an honest heart. The chef-owner is also a potter, so take time to admire his creations; oh, and the bespoke wooden table-tops, he made those too!”

Said owner is Jon Atashroo, a keen ceramicist who has worked in several Michelin-starred restaurants in London and was head chef at the Tate Modern. He and his wife Arlette bought the Grade II-listed Georgian building from Jon and Laura Vennell, who ran Vennell’s, which also featured in the Michelin Guide, for 17 years. They source local ingredients from the Masham area – their charcuterie supplier, Rowan Simms, is a pig farmer on the Swinton Estate – and hope to eventually serve meals on crockery Jon has made himself.

Michelin inspectors were also impressed with Allium – where the dishes include squirrel – which also opened in 2022. The 14-cover restaurant is part of a concept called a ’private house hotel’ which has suites, a wine shop and a bar. Its owners are developer Moreno Carbone and sommelier Daniel Curro, both Italians.

Inspectors said: “It’s clear that the owners here are passionate about service, design and food. It took them four years to renovate this red-brick Victorian police station and it’s clear that no expense was spared nor corner cut. It now provides a very intimate dining experience where the chef prepares a balanced and very seasonal set menu that seamlessly blends the modern with the traditional.”

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