Ye Old Sun Inn, Colton

After all, you expect a lot more than standard pub grub when it is cooked by the winner of an award like that.

When I saw the website of Ye Old Sun Inn, in Colton, Tadcaster, I expected even more.

It won the award earlier this year for its "outstanding, fresh, creative and inspirational" food and owners Ashley and Kelly McCarthy change the menu every month so the chefs can use the freshest seasonal products available.

All the meat can be traced to source, with little extras such as Mrs Bell's finest cheese, chives from the garden and home-grown spinach listed on the menu.

Their homemade produce is so popular that there is even a spin-off business, Ye Old Deli, selling jams, chutneys, mustards, honey, fresh vegetables (some grown in their own gardens), milk, eggs, Ashley's freshly-baked bread, Yorkshire cheeses, cured meats, oils and dressings, hand-cooked crisps, and much more.

Is your mouth watering already? Mine certainly was.

Ye Old Sun Inn is a large, whitewashed pub surrounded by fields on the main street in Colton. Inside, low ceilings, bright walls and little sun-themed trinkets create a cosy yet airy feel in some parts, with tables dotted around the bar area and smaller rooms around the side.

It was fairly quiet when we arrived on a warm, Thursday evening, so we ordered a pint of Fosters (£2.60) and a gin and tonic (£4.10) then sat down with a small but interesting menu of just eight starters and seven mains.

It was pricier than most pub food, with starters such as sweetcorn fitters, homemade black pudding cakes and spinach and nutmeg roulade ranging from £4.25 to £6.50. Main courses included vegetable jalfrezi, baked haddock and prawns, mango chicken and savoury Whixley ewe cheesecake, and reached up to £16.95.

John chose the chef's soup of the day, which was carrot and coriander (£4.25), followed by Chinese spiced belly pork (£14.50), while I went for snapper and spiced potatoes (£6.25) and Ledston Estate venison loin (£16.95).

We also ordered a large pot of homemade bread (£1.95), made from organic Yorkshire flour milled by Nelly and Philip Trevelyan, of Spauton, Pickering.

The granary loaf arrived swiftly and was served warm with pots of butter and fresh, homemade pesto. Cutting into it and lathering it with melting butter and pesto was a treat indeed.

The starters came soon afterwards and my pan-fried snapper proved tasty and tender, while the "slightly spiced" crispy potatoes were just that, with an accompanying lime wedge which enhanced the flavours nicely. John's soup was thick, creamy and tasty, although perhaps overbearing as a starter.

In no time at all, our mains had arrived, each impeccably presented on stylish white tableware.

John asked for a steak knife instead of the one on the table, as the crackling looked - and proved to be - a challenge. The Chinese spices, garlic and soy flavoured the pork well, but the crackling was too much hard work for him and he soon abandoned it. The meat was served on sautéed pak choi, ginger and spring onion, with a hoi sin and red wine reduction, which won the thumbs-up too.

Meanwhile, my two medallions of wild venison loin were wrapped in cured ham, topped with a delicious Yorkshire Blue crumb and drizzled with a red wine sauce. It was a good-sized delicious portion, but I would have liked more sauce to cover the tender chunks of meat. The waitress had checked that I was okay with medium rare meat when I ordered.

The side vegetables of cauliflower, carrots, asparagus, mange tout and, buttery boiled potatoes were crunchy and generous and the pot of homemade chips was a nice touch too.

Meanwhile, the diners nearby were discussing the merits of the Savoury Whixley ewe cheesecake, which was surprisingly light, they said.

We were already full, but the dessert menu was too impressive to pass up and chef's dinky dessert platter, chocolate millefeuille, elderflower panna cotta and pineapple upside-down pudding attracted lingering glances.

Baked Alaska, at £7.75, was billed as a dessert to share, but that did not put me off, while John chose white chocolate and hazelnut crème brulée (£4.75), over a selection of homemade ice-creams, such Pear Drop, Jaffa Cake, Ginger Curd and Liquorish.

The meringue exterior of the baked Alaska looked and tasted a little burned, but the shortbread base, syrup-soaked sponge, chocolate ice-cream and raspberry sorbet inside were nice enough. I was defeated in the end, but blame John for not sharing. He loved the nutty, creamy flavour of his brulée, but left at least half.

We enjoyed our evening at Ye Old Sun Inn, but probably not as much as we had expected. Despite great presentation and unquestionable good quality, that label of Pub Food Pub of the Year must be hard to live up to.

• Charlotte visited Ye Old Sun Inn on Thursday, May 15
• Ye Old Sun Inn, Colton, Tadcaster, 01904 744261