Profiles

With its thatched roofs, cricket pitch and duck pond, Harome is a beautiful old fashioned village, a piece of old England a few miles from Helmsley.

Snuggled in amongst the old-world charm of the village is the Star Inn. Its head chef and owner is Andrew Pern. He was born in Whitby and as a young boy moved to Sleights with his family. At that time he and his family used to visit the Star Inn at Harome regularly. “Mum and Dad lived by the salmon leap in Sleights,” he says, “so I was brought up with game from the nearby moors and salmon from the River Esk. Without knowing it I’ve been surrounded by good food all my life.”

The Picturesque Star Inn.

Andrew now owns a delicatessen, butchers, a lodge and the pub. But how did he go from being a young lad in Sleights to running a mini-empire in Harome?

Andrew in Cross House Lodge.

“I used to enjoy watching Keith Floyd on television; he was a bit of an entertainer. But I think it was just in me. My mum’s had Multiple Sclerosis since I was eight or nine years old. My family are from a farming background, so I was the youngest one and I just helped out and helped cook at home from an early age. It’s my vocation in life and is a hobby to me … it’s virtually all I can do anyway!”

After leaving Scarborough Technical College Andrew became the commis chef at the Millburn Arms in Rosedale. When he was in his early 20s, one of Andrew’s favourite chefs was Marco Pierre White. Andrew says “In his former days he had three Michelin Stars and the cooking he did then and the cooking we ate then was amazing. We used to save up all our tips and wages and travel to London to eat there. We learnt that way. The food Marco did then was absolutely amazing - it still is.”

After about five years he became Head Chef, but wanted a place of his own. So at the age of 26 he bought the Star Inn with his wife Jacquie. He says “We had very little money, so borrowed the lot, rolled our sleeves up and got on with it.”

 Twelve years later The Star Inn has had a Michelin Star for seven years and has three Cateys, which are the Oscars of the catering industry.

“We’re really strong on being part of the community. We’re a pub first and foremost, but we support the cricket team, the local hunt and the church. It’s all part and parcel of country life really, which is lovely.”

Andrew's Yorkshires.

Like most successful ventures The Star Inn is a partnership. Andrew, in charge of the grub, is half of a team. His wife, Jacquie, runs all front of house activities and shares responsibility for all aspects of the business.

As well as owning the butchers, a deli, the pub and Cross House Lodge, Andrew has somehow found the time to develop a range of sauces and chutneys and has written a book called 'Pudding and Foie Gras' “I did it in my spare time,” he says, “with an A4 pad and an HB pencil and 35,000 words later no one believes me. It took me two years to do it, though.”

Despite Andrew’s busy life he looks incredibly healthy and seems to have a supply of endless energy. “I shouldn’t look healthy,” he says, “I work 90 hours a week and have four kids, so I don’t know how it’s happened really. But we work with young people all the time and never stand still. I never think of it as a job. It’s a great way to live – there are worse places to be, I think!”