ABOUT US

Laughing Gravy is the brainchild of James Knipe (Jim) and Ashley Holdsworth (Ash) and along with the help of their friend and Colleague Al Noble, the restaurant was set up in the basement of the Birchcliffe Centre, in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire in December 1999.

Vegetarians themselves for many years, the "boys" had always had a hankering to open a restaurant that would show how different vegetarian food could be from the "nut loaf" concept. They named it Laughing Gravy for the dog in a Laurel & Hardy film.

Here they began to develop their own particular brand of vegetarian food using only fresh ingredients and cooking everything on the menu fresh on the day.

They also wanted to create something different, a new way of dining in an unhurried and relaxing environment. To this day they still operate on a single sitting, bookings only basis which gives customers time to relax and savour the meal with no time limits. Added to this, they wanted to offer the opportunity to each customer to have EVERYTHING on the menu. This would enable customers to experience the breadth of the whole menu - no choosing - but a portion of each of the four starters and four main courses, followed by several desserts. Including the now famous special recipe cheesecake made with the Chef's secret ingredient. A favourite with all Laughing Gravy customers.

So, their own particular in-house style was born. And now, some years on and the Laughing Gravy restaurant still operates in the same way and there are many who come far and wide to sample and savour the wide ranging flavour base that has become the byword of Laughing Gravy.

Alas for us all here at Laughing Gravy Jim has moved on and now lives and works in Denmark. However we always manage to put him to work briefly when he comes to visit, and you can still find Ashley hard at work in the restaurant each weekend. Ashley is always happy to "talk food" with anyone that asks so, if you visit us at Laughing Gravy and would like to know how things are made, or whether we can cater for particular dietary needs - feel free to ask. Just don't ask what the secret ingredient is in the cheesecake.