Forde Ilkley: Leeds MasterChef star Matt Healy 'emotional' as he opens second restaurant in city

Chef Matt Healy, who shot to fame after getting to the final of MasterChef: The Professionals in 2016, opened Forde in Moors Shopping Centre, Ilkley, last Friday (November 22).

The new opening follows the huge success of its Horsforth site, which opened in Town Street in December 2021, and boasts 50 covers and plenty of outdoor seating too.

Keys to the new property were only secured on September 24 and the venue has been under transformation since.

Speaking to the Yorkshire Evening Post, Matt said: “It feels really quite emotional getting it open.

“It didn't feel like it was going to complete for a long time, and then everything just started coming together at the end.

“There were lots of issues along the way, like one room was fully partitioned off, so we had it fully ripped out and fully rewired. And now it looks absolutely stunning.”

Launching with a similar menu to its Horsforth site, Matt said customers can look forward to new dishes added seasonally from raclette and baked camembert to sriracha steaks and honey roast pork loins.

“We’ve got a bigger capacity to be able to offer more, but it's just about finding out what people want,” Matt said.

“We are the custodians of this site and we're here to serve the people of the town, so we take feedback really seriously.

“If somebody wants to see something specific on the menu, then we will work around that, give it our spin, and make it into what people want.

“On a Sunday, we do what we do at Horsforth, because nobody wants anything fancy on a Sunday, they want a roast so we just do a really good Sunday roast.

“But we are still doing primarily small plates, fantastic cocktails and craft beer. My right hand, Pete Hayes, has done the wine list with a local supplier in Fasley.

“So it's very much the same, but it's just a cool little spot. I don't think there's really anything like this around here that offers what we do.”

Matt pledges to ensure his menu also remains affordable in the current economic climate, particularly in the suburbs, and hopes to create a community in Ilkley.

“The most expensive dish on the menu is £19 and I think that's really important.

“I've read articles about a couple of key figures in the restaurant industry that have announced closure and it's really, really sad to see that happening. I really don't like that.

“And I think out here in suburbia, in Ilkley and Horsforth, I think we have to be very, very careful in how we price things. It's got to be affordable.

“People can come in and have a glass of wine and a charcuterie board or they can come in and spend the evening and keep ordering, and that's the sort of local place we want to be.

“It sounds a bit cliche but we want a regular clientele. In Horsforth, we've got loads of regulars, everybody knows everybody and guests come in two to three times a week, and we want to create that same vibe here.”

The successful and busy launch over the weekend has been promising and Matt said he is excited for the future of the Ilkley site.

He said: “We wanted to do it right, rather than rushed. But it was really good, and we got really good feedback.

“There were a few problems, which there are always going to be. We ran out of pans, we were way busier than we expected to be.

“Towards the end of the first dinner service on Friday, we ran out a few out a few bits. That's just teething problems and that's just having a bigger restaurant but by this week, we'll be absolutely fine. We'll be on it, all over it.”

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