The final part of our first Newsham Life story brings everything to the table. James and Will sit down to taste the finished steak, with Will taking his role as judge rather more seriously than expected. From local provenance and simple cooking to a touch of Great British Menu, it’s a fitting end to our first story about the food, people and ideas behind Newsham.

In part two of Where Great Steak Begins, James heads into the Peckish Kitchen Garden to cook. With the dogs pottering around, vegetables growing nearby and the occasional tractor passing, it’s a very Newsham setting for a simple approach to great food: good ingredients, cooked properly.

If you've ever stood in a proper butcher's shop, you'll know it's about far more than buying meat. It's where recommendations are exchanged across the counter, where one cut is chosen over another because it's tasting particularly right now, and where years of knowledge are shared in a conversation that can't be replicated by a label on a packet. That's where this story begins.

August brings the garden and kitchen into their own. From ripe tomatoes and freshly picked herbs to the best of Yorkshire’s seasonal produce, James shares what’s catching his eye right now and inspiring the menus at Peckish as we look towards September.

There is a distinct cadence to a North Yorkshire summer that you only truly learn when your hands are in the soil.

Meet James Ramsden, Culinary Director at Peckish, and discover the thinking behind the menus, the importance of seasonality and the approach to food that's shaping weddings, seasonal events and life around the Newsham table.

To many people, Newsham Road is simply a quiet stretch of countryside road running between Thirsk and Northallerton. But to our family, it means something far greater. Running directly through the heart of our land, it connects every part of our world - from the farm and wedding venue to our hospitality ventures in town - ultimately becoming the inspiration behind the Newsham name itself.

Tucked quietly into the countryside just outside Thirsk sits one of North Yorkshire’s most unexpected landmarks - a large Buddha statue overlooking the rolling landscape from the heart of our family farm. What began as a deeply personal tribute unexpectedly became a place of comfort, stillness and reflection for thousands of people during the Covid lockdown years.