Real food at an early age
Bridlington youngsters take fun lessons on food at The Pipe and Glass Inn


“Miss, do you know what this is? It’s a mint leaf – I’m taking it home for my mum.”

Nineteen pupils from Bridlington’s Bay Primary School have temporarily taken over the herb garden at The Pipe and Glass Inn, enthusiastically picking, sniffing and tasting a wide variety of herbs, both common and unusual.

They’re absorbed in the sensory experience, breaking off occasionally to tell James Mackenzie their own stories and opinions: “James, James – we have a big lavender bush outside our front door. It smells lovely – but we have to be really careful of the bees.”

And: “If I’ve only learned one thing today, it’s ‘never, ever eat fennel’.”



His mother’s knee

James is a strong believer that it’s important to teach children about ‘real’ food from an early age – he started learning how to cook at his mother’s knee. 

Today’s visit includes a look at the wine cellar. “I think a lot of kids these days think alcohol is just about getting drunk,” he says. “It’s really important that they learn that having a glass of wine can be one of life’s great pleasures, and that they don’t have to go over the top in the process.”

The children are also introduced to a selection of cheeses, including Shepherds Purse Yorkshire Blue. There are squeals of disgust when James explains that the blue element is, essentially, mould, but quite a few of the children are still brave enough to try it – and some of them even like it.

They’re asked to identify a range of vegetables that they might not usually see in their school dinners, including celeriac, mooli and heritage tomatoes. And they smell and taste some of the spices that James uses in his recipes, including vanilla, cinnamon, juniper, cardamom, cloves and star anise.

Bubbly Kyle, whose one ambition in life is to be a chef, and who has clung to James like mace to a nutmeg, prompts concern when, despite strict instructions to spit out a clove after chewing it, he instead swallows it. But he’s none the worse for the experience, and later has to be hauled away from the homemade biscuits that the Pipe staff bring out for the group.



But the highlight of the morning is when James reveals the contents of a mysterious polystyrene box which has been lurking on a nearby table. It’s full of live langoustines – a little drowsy from the chiller, but still lively enough to give a nasty nip to anyone who picks them up. The children are gentle with them: perhaps more because they’re wary of their sharp little pincers than through any reverence for nature, though.



Homemade biscuits

The morning rounds off with a tour of the busy kitchen, followed by squash for the children, and coffee for the accompanying adults – delicious chocolate and orange-and-hazelnut biscuits for all.

Chattering enthusiastically, the children head back to the bus waiting to take them back to Brid. Chair of the governors, Eileen Johnston, is smiling broadly.

Busy kitchen
“We really want to get the children interested in ‘proper’ food,” she says. “We’ve been doing all sorts with them at school – a lot of cooking, growing their own vegetables. But a visit like this can really inspire them – just look at their faces.”






PUBLISHED :November 2012
TAGS : SPRINGFOODGARDENHOSPITALITY
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food served

monday 
closed all day
tuesday
12 – 14.00 / 17.30 – 21.30 pm
wednesday
12 – 14.00 / 17.30 – 21.30 pm
thursday
12 – 14.00 / 17.30 – 21.30 pm
friday
12 – 14.00 / 17.30 – 21.30 pm
saturday
12 – 14.00 / 17.30 – 21.30 pm
sunday
12 – 16.00 pm
(TUES-SAT 2-4pm: afternoon savouries menu served in the bar area)

BAR OPEN

monday 
closed all day
tuesday
12 - 23.00 pm
wednesday
12 - 23.00 pm
thursday
12 - 23.00 pm
friday
12 - 23.00 pm
saturday
12 - 23.00 PM
sunday
12 - 18.00 PM

WE STRONGLY RECOMMEND PRE-BOOKING FOR THE RESTAURANT HOWEVER, WE DO NOT TAKE RESERVATIONS FOR THE BAR, WHERE GUESTS ARE WELCOME TO ‘WALK-IN’ FOR BOTH DRINKS AND DINING.

We will be closed for our annual spring break from 8th April 2024, re-opening on the evening of 16th April 2024

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01430 810 246
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DIRECTIONS

pipe and glass
west end
south dalton
beverley
east yorkshire
hu17 7pn