Somewhere just beyond the edge of the Peak District, tucked into a bend of the River Goyt, Torr Vale Mill became the setting for the very first Open Fire Dining Club.
Guests arrived along the narrow road that drops into the valley, the old cotton mill rising out of the trees. Fires were already lit in the courtyard beneath the rockface, grills warming up while the first drinks were poured.
This was the beginning of the series — an idea built around leaving the city for a night, sitting down at long tables and cooking everything over fire.
The collaboration
At the centre of Open Fire Dining Club is Tartuffe. Ruby Fryman and Gary Weir’s Side Street bistro has built a reputation for playful, precise cooking centred around rotisserie and flame — recently recognised in Observer Food Monthly as part of a new wave of restaurants reshaping fire-led cooking in Britain.
For the first dinner they invited Jamie Pickles of Stow.
Pickles’ cooking has the same natural affinity for fire — ingredient-driven, quietly technical and always focused on letting the produce speak. The two kitchens worked side-by-side throughout the evening, building a menu designed specifically for the grills.
The welcome
Guests gathered in the courtyard as the grills came up to temperature, drinks in hand while the first plates began to circulate.
The opening serve was Carlingford oysters with fermented rhubarb mignonette — sharp, saline and a perfect way to start the evening.
Alongside them came Tartuffe’s First Word, a bright mix of Chartreuse, pine, Fernet Branca and bubbles that set the tone for the night.
Drinks throughout the evening were led by Laphroaig, the legendary Islay distillery known for its unmistakable smoky character. A smoky Paloma built around the whisky carried the early part of the evening, its citrus cutting through the freshness of the opening dishes while the fires settled into their rhythm.
Cooking over fire
From there the menu began to move deeper into the grills.
Burnt brassica with wild garlic mole and goat’s curd.
Stone bass ceviche bright with gooseberry and cucumber.
Then the fire really started to take over.
Wood pigeon yakitori cooked over blackcurrant wood.
Barbecued lion’s mane mushrooms with cured duck yolk and pecorino.
Grilled monkfish with crab and clam beurre blanc.
Smoke drifted steadily through the courtyard as the evening moved deeper into the fire.
The centrepiece
The heart of the menu was Tartuffe’s Cumbrian poulet rôti, grilled and braised slowly over the coals.
It arrived with potatoes baked directly in the embers, crème fraîche, herbs and Isle of Wight tomato niçoise — the kind of dish designed to be shared across the table.
As the evening drew towards its close, guests were poured a dram of Laphroaig 10 Year Old, the whisky’s peat smoke echoing the flavour of the grills that had carried the meal.
