Good Food Story and Ilkley Manor House Festive Dining Event

I love the range of events that I am invited to capture, as well as the array of different and fascinating locations. The Ilkley Manor House Festive Dining Experience in the run up to Christmas 2023 was certainly a highlight of the year for its uniqueness as well as the atmosphere of the event, which would have made even the most hardened Scrooge feel festive!

Festive Dining in Ilkley

For the first time in recent history, the Ilkley Manor House Trust opened the doors of this stunning 14th century building in the middle of the West Yorkshire spa town and laid on a three-course Christmas feast for the lucky diners who managed to book the limited places.

It provided an opportunity for customers to travel through history and understand how Ilkley celebrated Christmas over the centuries, from Tudor times to the modern day, as well as to indulge themselves with gorgeous food courtesy of the local business Good Food Story. As you can imagine, it was a bustling, joyful and incredibly festive event, with the busy kitchen staff crafting edible delights for appreciative diners.

Ilkley Manor House

Ilkley Manor House is a stunning Grade 1 listed building in the heart of Ilkley, with some parts of the house dating back to 1390. It houses a heritage display and art gallery, as well as hosting events all year round.

The building had been set to be demolished in the 1950s before being saved by local cereal business owner Percy Dalton, who gifted it to the community.

Good Food Story

Based just up the road from Ilkley, in Addingham, Good Food Story caters for events using high quality produce from local sources in the Yorkshire Dales. You will find them creating edible masterpieces at some of the most beautiful venues across Yorkshire, including Newby Hall, Skipton Castle and, of course, Ilkley Manor House.

Here's what happened when I headed to the Manor House for one of the festive dining events: