A POPULAR village pub, once owned by actor Neil Morrisey, has been awarded an AA Rosette.

The Punch Bowl Inn, North Yorkshire, was recently awarded an AA Rosette for their great quality ingredients, culinary expertise and meticulous attention to detail.

Head chef, Alex Wood is inspired by seasonal flavours and uses these to inform the inspired menu at The Punch Bowl Inn. The village pub takes pride in growing their own, fresh produce at their nearby kitchen garden in Mount St John estate in Felixkirk. The private, walled kitchen garden supplies seasonal produce all year round to the Marton-cum-Grafton pub.

General manager, Paul Neesam, said: “We pride ourselves on the provenance of our food so being recognised with an AA Rosette award is an incredible achievement for us. Alex is an accomplished chef who deserves to be recognised for the incredible dishes he creates, supplemented by produce from our kitchen garden. The hospitality industry has experienced such a tumultuous time so it’s a real honour to be recognised in such a way. We are also hugely grateful to the local community in Marton-cum-Grafton for giving us their support and helping us to achieve this award.”

Once owned jointly by former Men Behaving Badly star Neil Morrisey and TV chef Richard Fox, visitors to The Punch Bowl Inn can tuck into a light lunch menu featuring gourmet sandwiches and light bites such as haddock fishcakes with a lemon and baby caper beurre blanc and Yorkshire Wolds chicken breast with gnocchi.

Morrisey and Fox sold the pub in October 2009 and it is now owned by Provenance Inns whose latest acquisition is The Coach and Horses in Harrogate which is due to open in 2022.

Paul said: “We’re really proud of our Yorkshire heritage and this helps to inspire our offering. We hope that this AA Rosette award encourages more people to come and taste the delights on offer at The Punch Bowl Inn. They can be sure of a proper Yorkshire welcome and some incredible food.”