ITALIAN PASSION, NORTHERN SOUL

Liv Robinson describes her family journey between Italy and Yorkshire, and how that influenced the opening of her Italian Holmfirth restaurant Devour at the Dyehouse.

Italian Passion

My Grandparents on both sides were first generation Italian immigrants who settled in the UK in the late 1940’s. There was a great deal of poverty in post-war Italy and the UK offered hope and opportunity for a better life. Italian communities formed with a shared cultural background centred around family and friends, food and social interaction. Both sets of Grandparents created businesses in the food industry - one opened a Coffee bar in Huddersfield, the other importing food from Italy and distributing to restaurants and bars up and down the country, which is still running to this day.

My Dad was born here, and my Mum came over from Le Marche in the late 60’s; they too made Yorkshire their home and created a successful business around another inherent Italian cultural element - family. Although the UK was home, Italy was always in their heart. My sister and I were born and raised in Huddersfield – but we’d spend every summer with either of my Grandparents in Emiglia Romana and in Le Marche. I’d soak up the nuances of each region.

If you’re born into a large multi-generational Italian family, your day revolves around food; when you’re eating your breakfast, you’re debating what’s for lunch, when you’re eating your lunch, you’re deciding what’s for dinner and on it goes. There’s a lot of discussion about what tastes good, where do you get the best fresh produce, who makes the best pasta…..

When given the opportunity to move to Italy to study Graphic Design in my late teens I jumped at the opportunity to immerse myself in the culture, the people, the landscape - after all, it was in my blood. I spent six years in Italy until I moved to London with Paul - ironically, a Yorkshireman!

Professionally, I’ve always worked in the creative side for businesses that have enabled me to travel the world - from Africa to Asia, from Europe to North & South America, and I’d take the time to experience new foods. When I look back at the times, places and influences through my formative years, the one inherent constant has always been food. Each time you travel somewhere new you can see globally how food brings people together and creates an authentic warmth to human interaction – that’s what makes life worth living for me.

Northern Soul

Le Marche and our part of Yorkshire share certain similarity in landscape – both have similar terrains of valleys and hills, hiding little spots of beauty just waiting to be discovered. Both have long histories of farming, living off the land, harnessing nature, the coastline and all that brings to shape the people that inhabit both places. The biggest similarity is the people – stubborn, opinionated, unconventional – I like that, and once you get past it there’s a loyalty, warmth, authenticity, generosity and humour – you can’t take yourself too seriously in these places.

We moved back to West Yorkshire and I started a small business with my uncle Joe called Delivita where we’d designed a small outdoor Pizza Oven. Paul & I had often discussed about me opening a bar, a restaurant, a farm shop - nothing tangible at that time. We’d regularly driven past the Woodland Mills site for several years –from the outside it was another run-down industrial mill in the area. Then one day I got a call from Paul – he’d noticed a For Sale sign and taken a closer look – “you need to come and see this!”

That was it! I fell in love with this historic building, left resting from two centuries of industrial decline – the river, the ancient beams, they were just begging to come alive again. That was the spark.

It had to be food related, that was my passion and everything that had influenced me growing up in the UK and in Italy. What if we could recreate a place full of warmth and generosity, like the family run trattorias, the small bustling coffee shops, the artisan street food vendors, the secret places that only locals know. That unique atmosphere, blending the warmth of a family get together with the sparkle of a bustling city - uncompromising, individual and unique. Now, I hadn’t ever worked in hospitality or run a restaurant – I blindly jumped in – it was now or never.

We opened in December 2018 and it’s been a whirlwind. It’s so much a team effort, from the Kitchen Porters to Lucy our GM to Robin who takes care of the grounds. Carl Frost, our Head Chef, comes from a Rosette background and his culinary experience together with my passion for authentic Italian recipes combine into a unique menu of seasonal dishes which is constantly evolving, not necessarily what people would expect from traditional Italian cuisine.

We are fortunate to have so many small individual producers in the Yorkshire region, all supplying great fresh seasonal produce: Sykes House Farm who supply beef for our signature Beef Carpaccio; Samuel Briggs for milk and dairy products for our homemade Gelato; local brewers Three Fiends and Zapato who supply beers for our bar; Darkwoods Coffee who roast our ‘La De Da’ blend… the list goes on.

And let’s not forget our guests – the ‘Devourees’ - who have really made us feel like we’ve become an intrinsic part of the wider Holme Valley community. Our ethos from the start was clear and simple and is something we always refer back to: “Good Food, Great Music, Family and Friends”.

“ O l d S c h o o l I t a l i a w i t h a l i t t l e D e v o u r T w i s t ”

N e s t l e d i n t h e p i c t u r e s q u e a n d h i s t o r i c H o l m e

V a l l e y ; t u c k e d a w a y b e t w e e n a n c i e n t w o o d l a n d a n d t h e g e n t l e e b b a n d f l o w o f t h e w i n d i n g R i v e r

H o l m e l i e s D e v o u r , a s t o n e ’ s t h r o w a w a y f r o m t h e c o b b l e d s t r e e t s o f H o l m f i r t h .