Woven together (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Woven together

3:44pm Monday 14th February 2011 in Food & Wine By Sally Clifford

Evidence of Colin Rushworth’s intended career is dotted around his restaurant.

Artefacts relating to Bradford’s textile heritage are showcased on the walls and shelves of his appropriately-named restaurant of Weavers.

Having spent a few years working in the tailoring department at the Bradford department store, Brown, Muff & Co, after studying textiles at Bradford College, Colin decided to take a gap year.

Crucially it led him to set up Weavers, the restaurant he created from the premises of a former café in his birthplace – the tourist haven of Haworth – where weaving was the driving force of the local economy before the famous literary siblings arrived in what is now renowned as Bronte country.

“I didn’t think of cooking until I was 22. I liked textiles and was more into the creative side of things but then I went on a gap year,” says Colin.

Washing up and doing other kitchen chores in kitchens in France and Italy earned him a wage and gave him the inspiration to pursue a culinary career.

“Watching the chefs, I thought it was a job I’d like to do,” recalls Colin. “I realised it was very creative.”

Colin met his wife, Jane, who is also a chef, while they were training. He was at art college at the time and she was at catering college.

Combined, the couple have proved a creative force in the kitchen at Weavers where, for the past 33 years, they have worked side by side along with their daughters, Lucy and Sally, who look after the front of house. Son, Tim, is also in the catering business, teaching cookery.

“It’s nice to have the family around,” says Colin.

For Colin, opening up the restaurant sealed a return to his roots. He was born here but left when he was four to go to Africa with his family.

They moved around, living in London and Nottingham, when they returned to Britain. When he went on to have a young family of his own, Colin returned to Yorkshire.

He brought the knowledge he’d gleaned working in the kitchens of hotels in London and later in hotel management back to his birthplace.

He started out small, investing in a former café premises close to the brow of Haworth’s cobbled Main Street. “We started as a little bistro with one room and we’ve gone from 20 covers to 65,” says Colin.

Investing in a couple of shops either side of the café proved a sensible move for Colin, paving the way for the natural progression of the business into the neighbouring properties.

At a time when some restaurants are struggling to survive thanks to the recession, Colin credits his loyal customers for the survival of Weavers.

Quality is one of the key ingredients to its success. He and Jane try to ensure that they source their produce as locally as possible. Where possible, they grow it themselves, reducing their ‘food miles’ that consumers are increasingly conscious of.

They have two allotments near the restaurant where they grow herbs and vegetables and they utilise the half acre they have at home as a market garden – perfect outdoor space for their hens to cluck around!

They use farmed salmon, ensuring sustainability, and they buy from sea farms “so the fish are swimming all the time, not just sitting about in the water, so they build up muscle,” explains Colin.

Another favourite is the trio of lamb – particularly popular in the spring when lamb comes into season. “We use shoulder, best end chops and kidney,” says Colin.

More than three decades after opening Weavers, Colin’s enthusiasm never wanes. It is evident that he loves his job and the fact that the business is a family affair is a bonus.

“It has never stopped being exciting. As long as you keep progressing with your food and learning new dishes it always makes it fun,” says Colin.