Three tried and tested places on Teesside to visit during Veganuary

At the start of a new year, everyone starts to eat a little greener, some even go full vegan for the month that is dubbed, Veganuary. Although I'm far from a Vegan, I've tried some delicious places on Teesside that specialise in fully plant-based cuisine. For anyone trying Veganuary this year, it might be wise to check these places out to try some yummy food and get some ideas to cook up yourself. Although no meat will be dished up at these places, your carnivore friends should definitely visit with you as they won't miss not having it on their plate with the culinary delights they'll be served at these three places.

First on the list is Alkaline Kitchen, a fully vegan health cafe located on Middlesbrough's up-and-coming Albert Street. Opened early last year, the cafe offers innovative food which is oil-free, preservative-free, gluten-free, soy-free and refined sugar-free. I've been on two occasions now and the food is always colourful, full of goodness and delicious. Offering a varied menu from lunch until teatime, everything about the food options is creative and exciting. There is so much goodness on the plate and it all works so well together. If you're looking to try something unlike anything you've had before, this is definitely the place to go.

Next up is The Waiting Room situated in Eaglescliffe right next to the station, not far from Preston Park. I've written about this place before as I've been a few times now and although I haven't been for a while, I'm eager to get back. The Waiting Room is promoted as a vegetarian restaurant, however, the staff here are happy to make most dishes vegan where possible, so vegans will have lots of choices when they visit.

Here you get some fantastic food that feels homemade and cosy. As it is all made with vegetables, everything you eat feels filling and good for you, although some dishes can be quite hearty. What I love about this place is that their menu changes depending on the season, although some dishes such as the enchilada stay year-round. Even from season to season they change up what they offer so often if you go back you probably won't recognise the menu.

Now it's time for dessert with Ellephant Vegan Bakery, a fairly new business established in 2019. Elle and her partner Alex whip up some amazing vegan treats from cupcakes and cookies to pizza rolls and quiche. Now with a unit in Stockton, they sell their products at farmer's markets and events across the region and take orders to collect. Their cakes are literally to die for, so rich and moist. You won't be able to tell they are vegan. 

There are plenty more vegan spots in the area and also places that cater heavily to people on a plant-based diet. With the popularity of this way of eating on the up, I can only see more places offering more delicious vegan grub. Do you have a favourite spot in Teesside for vegan/vegetarian food?

Trying alternative parmos at the Prickly Pear Bistro, Middlesbrough

Today I've got my first food review as This Northerner, and I'm pleased to say it's a good one.  Last night, I went for tea with my friend to a fairly new restaurant which is a based out of town in a local business centre. The Prickly Pear Bistro, located in the TAD Centre in Middlesbrough, has not been open very long and has already made my hit list of places to try. I've been following their Instagram closely over the past couple of weeks and I was excited when an opportunity to visit recently came up.

We went to the restaurant straight from work and it was relatively quiet until around 6.30pm. The space itself is beautifully decorated with lots of greenery, wooden beams and well-placed lighting.

As well as its normal menu, the Prickly Pear Bistro has a separate menu that displays its 35 different parmos which take inspiration from locations across the world. There's even a map on the back which shows you the place each parmo hails from. Among the countries which inspire the humble Teesside delicacy to step it up are the USA, China, Italy, Greece and Japan.

For any readers outside of Teesside, the parmo is a Middlesbrough staple which involves deep-frying a chicken breast covered in breadcrumbs, slathering it in bechamel sauce then covering it with cheese and sitting it under the grill to make it oozy and gooey. They are so delicious but so very bad for you.

After much deliberation, I decided to go for the Tropicana inspired by Hawaii, which is topped with ham and pineapple, whilst my friend chose the Mac Attack, taking inspiration from the UK, which was topped with macaroni cheese and bacon.

I try to be quite cautious when it comes to picking items from a menu as I've had some terrible meals when I was trying to be adventurous, so I was worried about my choice. I've never had any other parmo than just an original and I thought the extra toppings may have ruined it. How wrong I was.

When it arrived the portion size was massive and it was accompanied by chips and a decent-sized salad. Although a bit pricy for a regular-sized parmo at £13.50, you really did get value for money with the quality and quantity of food. On request, we were provided with garlic sauce, although it was a shame to learn this was an extra 50p. When I dug into my parmo, I was so pleased with my choice. The chicken was fresh and perfectly cooked and it was topped with thick ham, bechamel sauce, two pineapple rings and heapings of cheese.

I'm already a fan of pineapple on pizza, so pineapple on parmo seemed like the obvious next step. Oh my, it was so tasty. The combination all worked so well together. I don't know if I can go back to a normal parmo ever again. The parmo topped with macaroni cheese that my friend ordered was also delicious, so I'm told, although I didn't actually get a bite! It definitely looks like one I would order myself in the future.

Although a bit out of the way, I would recommend a visit to The Prickly Pear Bistro. Although the menu is heavy on the parmo-front, there are a few other options that should keep everyone happy. With so much choice, I'm already planning my next visit and whilst I do, I'm whittling down the parmo that I want to try next.

Getting crafty at the Make and Mend Festival

I've always thought of myself as quite a creative person; trying to find the best solution to a problem or making something look pretty. Although I wasn't really into crafts when I was younger, as I've grown up and got my own space, I'm always keen to do a bit of D.I.Y. Last month, I was invited to go along to the first-ever Make and Mend Festival, set up by two lovely ladies with a passion for creativity and mindfulness.

Held at Preston Hall Museum, the event brought together craft lovers from across the Tees Valley to take part in a number of workshops where we created some gorgeous and hand-crafted goodies. We were down on the morning to take advantage of the three different workshops we'd been booked on to. First up was glass engraving held in a classroom down the Victorian Street.

Led by Bloom in Art, the class allowed each participant to make either a pendant or a key ring. We each had to think of something that meant a lot to us, or that we want to be reminded of on a daily basis. I chose to etch 'Explore', as I love to travel and I want to do it a lot more. The process involved adding sticker stencils to you piece of glass, covering it in an acid paste and leaving it for around 15 minutes until the glass around your stencil had gone cloudy and your words remain clear and smooth. Once the acid was washed off, it revealed your design and we followed this up by drilling out a hole to then attach to our chosen fixing.

It was a very creative class which involved mediums I'd never used and methods I had never done. Although it was great to create my keyring, I don't think I'll be breaking in glass etching anytime soon. 

After this, we had some lunch from The Sitting Room in Guisborough's pop-up stall. They offered a number of gorgeous salads to be accompanied by meat or halloumi. I chose the tabbouleh with bulgar wheat, tomato, onion, parsley and mint, and the spicy tomato, onion and chickpea salad with a side of grilled halloumi and a dollop of mint yoghurt. It was so delicious and filling. I followed this up with a cheeky brownie but I ate this too quick to snap a picture.

After our lunch, we had a little bit of time before our next session which we used to wander around and have a nosy at what everyone else was doing. A few of the classes we spotted were brush lettering, floral painting and papercutting which all looked very interesting. Our second class of the day was embroidery which was led by Make and Mend's own Rachel. We all had the chance to embroider our own hoop which was pre-marked out with the words 'choose happy'. Rooting through Rachel's box of threads, all of our hoops came out very different due to the varied colours we chose. As I'd already done a bit of embroidery, this was familiar to me but it was great to be able to do more and practise the stitches I'd already learnt.

The final class of the day took place in the conservatory which was unfortunately like a sauna as it was an extremely hot day. Nevertheless, we got stuck into making terrariums with Hoes & Ditches. As I'm not very green-fingered, it was great to have the chance to put together my terrarium adding stones, soil, picking the plants I wanted and then adding the finishing touches with pebbles and moss. I was really proud of my final effort which wasn't as hard to put together as I first thought.

I was extremely pleased to have been invited along to Make and Mend festival to try out all the exciting classes. There was a great turnout of advanced crafters and beginners, all wanting to learn new skills. Holding this in Preston Hall Museum was a fantastic idea and the venue worked wonderfully for what they needed. This was the first event that Make and Mend had run, and I'm hopeful they will organise others so I can try more crafts. If you want to keep up to date with Make and Mend, see if they decide to run further events or purchase one of their craft kits, follow them on Facebook or keep an eye on their website.

Eating around the World with The Butterfly Quarter | Middlesbrough

One of my favourite things to do is go out and try new restaurants. I'm sure I may have said that once, or twice... This week one of Middlesbrough's healthy restaurants decided it was time to change up and become a cocktail and tapas venue. I have to say, I'm very happy about that. My friend Rachel and I love tapas, antipasto and charcuterie boards and we're pretty much on a mission to try all of them in Teesside. We've already been to Alchemy & Co., Lost Property and No.34, but we're always looking for something new so we were very excited to try The Butterfly Quarter.

The Butterfly Quarter is a quaint and striking space with an industrial edge. When we sat down we were given two menus each, one full of cocktails and the other laden with tapas options. We were in heaven. On the tapas menu, there was a deal which gave you three plates and a glass of wine for £15. We instantly knew this was the one for us and got to selecting six options for us to share. We chose Bruschetta Di Pomodori (Italy), Croquetas De Jamon (Spain), Arancini (Italy), Patatas Bravas (Spain), Funghi All'aglio (Italy), Mozzarella In Crosta (Italy) and as another extra we chose bread with three dips; Moroccan hummus, red pepper romesco and aubergine mutabai. As we'd chosen the special deal, our three choices each came on a wooden board with our bread as a cheeky little extra.

Each of the dishes were super delicious. My favourite was the Croquetas, followed closely by the Patatas Bravas and the Bruschetta. Oh, and the Mozzarella sticks and their dip was delicious too. We tried our best to clear our boards and did a pretty good job but we maybe aimed too high when we ordered the bread too.

Whilst we were there, they had an acoustic artist who really added a lovely vibe to the night without overpowering conversation. The staff at The Butterfly Quarter were friendly and very accommodating considering they were just getting used to the new elements as well.

There are quite a few local places coming around to the idea of tapas, but I think The Butterfly Quarter have really set a high standard and I would definitely be back again. If not to eat tapas, to definitely work through their cocktail menu.

Lunching at Five Houses, Crathorne

I’ve been a bit of a stranger to the food scene here in Teesside. Christmas really takes a toll on the number of times you’re able to go out for food in the New Year with a lack of funds and an overstretched waistline. Also, January was the first attempt at Veganuary for me, so we didn’t venture out much for food. When February rolled in, we were eager to get out.

I’m a lover of shopping local and getting package-free wherever possible. I pop to Stokesley every Saturday to get my fruit and vegetables from the friendly greengrocers all without plastic. So whenever I hear about a new farmers market or farm shop, I want to visit. 

One that’s been around for a few months now that I haven’t yet been able to visit is Five Houses in Crathorne. Opened by the brains behind Kitson and Sons Butchers, Five Houses hosts a shop filled with fruit and vegetables, fresh pies and plenty of quality meat. On top of all this, they have a wonderful cafe where they use all their produce to make some delicious meals.

I wanted to write this post after my first visit with Matt, but a week on and I still hadn’t put fingers to keys... and then I went again. This time with my Mum, Sister and Nephew. If anything, I think this means I have more of a solid view on this local cafe.

Each time I visited was on a Saturday and on both occasions it was pleasantly busy. We were found a seat in quick time as the turnover of visitors was pretty speedy. To place an order, rather than having people to take your order at the table, you have to go up to the counter which is filled with attractive, tempting cakes. The menu has some classic English favourites, changing specials and numerous alternative dishes for meat eaters and veggies to enjoy.

On my first visit, I chose the steak pie which was the best decision. Although we were waiting 40 minutes for our food on this occasion, which was a disappointment, the pie made up for it and made me forget all about our wait. The meat was just perfect and the pasty was wonderfully crispy.

Matt chose the steak sandwich which I then had on my second trip. The meat again was lovely and tender, and there was a lot of it. The only downside of this sandwich for me is the caramelised onions made it a little too sweet for me but the salty chips and salad were a good compliment to this.

The staff were very accommodating to other requests such as change of sides and making special sandwiches for toddlers. The cafe is very relaxed and at no point do you feel rushed to let other guests in. It's a lovely place to go for a meal with your family as well as a great venue for a catch up with friends for breakfast or lunch.

I really enjoyed visiting Five Houses and would go back in a flash. If you are going there, I recommend getting a pie. Even if you take one away, you have to have one! I've now had three in two weeks, let's not talk about it, shall we. I will refrain from going back this weekend...

Trying out the latest cut at Tomahawk Steakhouse, Potto

If you're from in and around Teesside you will have heard of the new restaurant in town, Tomahawk Steakhouse. What used to be The Dog and Gun in Potto has now been taken over and transformed into a modern, trendy steakhouse specialising in meat. Established by the people behind the Lotus Lounge, Tomahawk has now been open for seven months, so I thought it was about time I tried it out.

Organised by my fellow food-lover Rachel, we decided to go for the Early-Bird Menu which was fantastic value for money. I went for two courses at £13.50 whilst Rachel opted for all three at £15.95.

On arrival into the car park, we were greeted by two life-sized fake cows which confirmed to us that we were in the right place. The layout of the restaurant is very much the same as it was when it was The Dog and Gun but it seems much more modern with lots of clean colours and wooden furniture.

After a quick browse at the menu, it was time to order. Rachel chose the Salt and Pepper Squid to start which she thoroughly enjoyed. For our main course and dessert, we happened upon the same options; 8oz 28-day Himalayan salt dry-aged rump steak followed by Vanilla Creme Brûlée.

Although I'm not a fan of pink meat, I decided to have my steak cooked medium as the past few times that I've gone for medium to well, I haven't enjoyed it. When it came it was pretty pink in the middle but it tasted great. The steak was really flavourful and I paired it with a Diane sauce which was very rich. The chips and salad that accompanied it were perfect too.

Next up was dessert and having only had Creme Brûlée once before so I'm not able to tell what's a good one and what isn't, but this was pretty tasty. The little shortbread biscuit that came with it was good for breaking through the sickly sweet topping.

Overall I had a really great time at Tomahawk. The interior is elegant, the staff are very friendly and the food is really fantastic quality and full of flavour. If you're looking for a new spot to try in the North East, this should definitely be on your list.

Taking on the challenge at Man vs Food Grill House, Middlesbrough

I've been extremely lucky to be invited to try out a couple of exciting restaurants and bars recently including Sunderland FC's Riverside Brasserie and the Potting Shed in Northallerton. Another invite popped into my inbox last week which was for the new Man vs Food Grill House opening in Middlesbrough. With locations already in South Shields, Newcastle and Consett, Middlesbrough was just another string to its bow lower down in the country. Boasting massive portions, extreme challenges and amazing meat, it was time to try...

I popped down after work the day before it's official opening with my friend Kirsty. Having booked the earliest slot, the restaurant was relatively quiet when we arrived but soon enough it was full of excited people ready to get their first try of this exciting new venue.

The menu is pretty vast with options from burgers to full sandwiches, meat platters and parmos. With so much choice it was hard to decide what we were going to try. After quite a time browsing the menu, I decided on the brisket pickle 'bad boy sandwich' whilst Kirsty chose the pulled beef. When they arrived we were both pleasantly surprised by the sheer size of the portion we were being served.

My sandwich was piled high with meat, pickles, coleslaw and chips, and with this, I got a portion of chips and a side of pit beans. Kirsty's pulled beef was in a neat little dish topped with hot peri-peri sauce accompanied by fries and coleslaw.

There was no way I was going to be able to pick up my sandwich and eat it conventionally. I did try, but it was not possible, so I went at it with a knife and fork. It was very tasty but also super filling and when I couldn't eat anymore, I still had quite a bit left. The side of pit beans was very tasty, like bbq-style baked beans. Kirsty enjoyed her pulled beef, but again the mass of food beat her.

We were seriously feeling full at this point having taken on our main meal and failed miserably. We did, however, feel like the amazing-sounding dessert menu deserved to be taken on. Filled with cheesecakes and waffles, the dessert menu is the stuff dreams are made of. We decided on a cheesecake each and then made the decision to have half of each others. I chose the Nutella whilst Kirsty went for Aero mint chocolate. Again the size of these desserts was ginormous. There was no way we were going to finish half let alone a full portion. We had a good few bites and decided the rest had to be boxed up to come home. Our favourite was definitely the Nutella one as the Aero just wasn't chocolatey enough for us.

Although this restaurant might be considered an expensive choice, the portions they serve are seriously worth it. With quality meat and exceptional sides, it really is a place to consider for a meal out with friends or family. Just make sure to order less and share! Especially with desserts, unless you want more for later...

Going Vegetarian at The Waiting Room, Eaglescliffe

For two birthdays on the trot now I've visited The Waiting Room and on both occasions, the food has been delicious. The Waiting Room is a vegetarian restaurant located a stones away throw from Eaglescliffe train station. 

Its menu changes seasonally and is always full of amazing creative items that won't make you miss having meat for the night. We visited on Friday night and this year sat in the back conservatory area. With its reclaimed cinema seating and eclectic decor, this area sits away from the main eating area at the front, giving you a feeling of privacy.

Having already surveyed the menu before we visited, I was pretty sure of my choices. For our starters I picked the hazelnut, mushroom and parsley pate and Matt chose the goats cheese, spice red onion and almond baklava. Both were very nice, but I kind of wish I'd picked Matt's dish as mine was a lot of hazelnut and not as mushroom flavour as I'd hoped. 

For our mains, I wanted to go with something that I knew I would enjoy. Last year I decided to go for items that sounded nice and were a bit of a different meal for me, but I ended up being disappointed as I'd gone too far out of my comfort zone.

On our most recent visit, I chose the infamous and highly-recommended puy chilli wholemeal enchilada and Matt went for the roast garlic, courgette and spinach buckwheat galette with an organic poached egg.

When mine arrived it was massive! It tasted amazing, so full of flavour and heat from the chilli. I didn't manage to finish it all but they kindly packed it up for me to enjoy the next day (which I did). Matt thought his dish was gorgeous with a good mix of flavours and the addition of the egg on top really tied it all together.

Although we were both bursting at the seams, for a birthday meal it would be rude to not get dessert. Matt went for his regular, sticky toffee pudding, and I chose the chocolate pecan brownie. The sticky toffee pudding did not disappoint and the brownie was super decadent and gorgeous with the ice cream.

Overall I really enjoy visiting The Waiting Room. There is always something different to try and as I'm a fussy meat eater, I know I'm always going to enjoy all the vegetables!

Have you visited The Waiting Room?

Dining at the Lotus Lounge, Yarm

How exciting is winning a competition? Getting pulled out of the hat to win something for nothing is a pretty epic feeling and I did just that last month on Facebook. Lotus Lounge randomly selected me to go for a two-course dinner with a plus one with a bottle of wine thrown in for good measure.

Before going for our meal, neither myself or Matt knew much about Lotus Lounge as a restaurant. It's a pretty well known establishment as a bar, but as for food, I wasn't convinced. When we walked into have our meal to where I thought we might be sat downstairs in the bar, we were then shown upstairs to a part I never knew existed. Upstairs was clearly where the majority of the Lotus Lounge's food is served, if not all, as it was bright, full of tables, boasting its own bar.

It was quiet when we arrived around 6.30pm on a Saturday, but as we ate more people filtered through. When offered the wine menu, we both had a nosy but not knowing anything about wine or really liking it, we were at the mercy of the waitress but in conversation, I did mention I like Prosecco and asked if it was an option. At first, she said that it wasn't part of what we'd won, but then when she went away to get our wine she came back with a bottle which was a lovely surprise.

We both decided to have a main and a dessert and funnily enough, we picked the same for both. For our main meal, we decided on the 8oz sirloin steak which was accompanied by chips, salad and a red wine and thyme butter. I also had a Bearnaise sauce whilst Matt had Poivre. I thought the steak was delicious. It was super tasty and I loved everything that went with it.

For our dessert, we chose the chocolate pudding with peanut butter ice cream. The pudding itself was very cake-like but came away very smoothly and with the ice cream it was divine. The only let down was the plate, or rather the slate which was a bit awkward to eat from.

At the end of the meal, I briefly spoke to the lady I'd been chatting to on Facebook to arrange my visit and she was lovely, as were all the staff. I'm really pleased I had the chance to visit the Lotus Lounge as it wouldn't have been first on my list to try for food but now I'd happily go back.

Have you tried the Lotus Lounge for food?

Taking tea with Valerie - Patisserie Valerie afternoon tea, Durham

Among my friends and family, I'm known as someone who goes out for food quite often. Anywhere someone is interested in going, I've probably been and can give an in-depth review, or direct them to my blog (#pageviews). So when Christmas rolled around, Matt's Uncle decided it would be a great idea to buy us an afternoon tea for two at Patisserie Valerie, which has not long opened in Middlesbrough. Having only ever been for cake and a warmed croissant sandwich, I couldn't wait to try their afternoon tea.

After an especially busy period at work, I took a random Friday off and we ventured to Durham for the day to redeem our afternoon tea. From where we'd parked, we walked up the stairs to ground level and Patisserie Valerie was staring us right in the face.

We ventured to the cafe around 2.30pm, after a wander around the town, trying to spot the Marvel Avengers cast, and were seated immediately. Our afternoon tea didn't take long to come out and it looked packed with yummy treats.

We switched out a few of the sandwiches and were left with chicken, sun-dried tomato and pesto, egg mayonnaise and ham and mustard. As an extra in this afternoon tea, we both had a small, warm, vegetable quiche which was a lovely addition. Having worked our way through the sandwiches, which were very fresh and tasty, we were on to the scone level.

We had a plain and a fruit scone accompanied by four different mini pots of jam, clotted cream and butter. The scones were the perfect mix of firm, yet soft, and when accompanied by unlimited cups of tea, were great.

Finally, we reached the top level, the cake! It was a bit disappointing that we only had one of each type of cake, apart from the chocolate eclair, which meant we had to split the small servings of cake. I tried the chocolate and the carrot which were both very nice.

Overall for a 'chain' cafe, this afternoon tea was of a very high standard. Patisserie Valerie pride themselves on their top-notch cakes and their afternoon tea didn't falter on creativity or quality. For £25 for two, this afternoon tea is very reasonable and could be taken whenever you fancy it.

Pretending I'm in the Caribbean at Middlesbrough's new restaurant -Turtle Bay

In Middlesbrough at the minute, we are starting to get some fab places to eat and drink popping up. It makes my heart happy knowing I have so much more choice now. With all the independents making waves on the food scene, it's nice to see chain restaurants starting to catch up with the introduction of Patisserie Valerie and even a Krispie Kreme stall!

There have been many rumours about further venues opening up including Bistrot Pierre, a french restaurant and an ice bar in the new snow centre which will be situated in Middlehaven but the one that I've been looking forward to is Turtle Bay. You'll be glad to hear that you haven't got long to wait at all to enjoy the flavours of the Caribbean, it opens tomorrow (Sunday 23rd April)!

Myself and a selection of other North East bloggers and media got a chance to visit Turtle Bay to experience the food and cocktails ahead of its opening.

One big mistake a few of us made, that we quickly realised when visiting Turtle Bay was that we had decided to drive. Turtle Bay's cocktail menu is laden with delicious choices for everyone using 40 different rums, my favourite spirit! With a two for one happy hour lasting all day (with the exclusion of 7pm-10pm) everyone will have the perfect excuse to try out copious cocktails. Next time I'll just make sure I'm not driving!

After sampling some drinks and hearing more about Middlesbrough's newest restaurant and stand-alone bar, including the fact they serve over 50 authentic Caribbean dishes, have created 50 new local jobs and have the capacity of 231 seats, we sat down to sample some grub!

The restaurant inside is absolutely stunning, everywhere is bright with colour adorned with posters, millions of lights and quirky Caribbean signage. You can't help but to stare at the restaurant as you are waiting for food to be served, well that's what I did anyway.

Once we were all seated, we began with two platters full of vegetarian and meat starters including sweetcorn fritter, okra fries, beef ribs and jerk chicken wings. All of the different elements were lovely and introduced our palettes to the spice that was going to be coming our way over the next few courses!

Next up was the curries. We had a vegan curry which may have been the spiciest thing I've ever tasted, apart from when I put too much chilli in my own cooking... It was full of tonnes of good stuff like sweet potato, spinach and kidney beans. We also had a beef and potato curry which I think quickly became the table's favourite.

When them two dishes were devoured another two came along. This time we were on to the meat. They provided the table with a whole jerk chicken which was beautifully chargrilled and drizzled with a lovely chutney and some beef ribs. I'd never tried beef ribs before and I always say I don't like ribs, but these were super tasty. The meat fell off the bone and when paired with their watermelon chow it was so good.

Just when we thought that we couldn't stomach another main meal, they came out with the bobby dazzler. A meal made just for that night, they only went and made up a jerk parmo. Oh my, it was delicious. The chicken was super thin and the cheese and bechamel ratio was just right. We were all so disappointed that we wouldn't get to taste it again.

Now completely satisfied with our mains, it was time to see the desserts. Sat with mostly girls who were obsessed with sweet things, this was always going to be the most anticipated course. The selection board included rum and raisin bread pudding, chocolate brownie, passionfruit cheesecake, grilled pineapple and banana & toffee cheesecake. Everyone quickly starting taking forkfuls of each dessert. My favourite by a mile was the rum and raisin bread pudding. I've never had bread and butter pudding in my life, but oh this was something. It was super tasty and just melted in your mouth. With some ice cream, I think this is going to be one of my favourite desserts.

After all the food it was time to say our farewells and get excited about our return.

I hope that I've successfully made your mouth water and that you are ready to book your visit to Turtle Bay. I know that I am already looking the next occasion I can drink all the rum and eat all the jerk-spiced dishes.

If you're not from Middlesbrough, Turtle Bay have restaurants across the country, have a nosy at their website to find one close to you.