The Bib Gourmand award is our way of recognising restaurants that offer good food at a great price. While all Bib Gourmands are unique in style and approach, they share the same spirit of generosity and a commitment to quality cooking. That’s why, in this series, we’re highlighting the MICHELIN Guide Inspectors' Bib of the Month. These restaurants are the bedrock of our selection, providing an affordable dining option that doesn’t skimp on precision, skill or flavour. From cosy pubs to buzzing counters, we’ve got a Bib for you.
This month we’re celebrating The Schelly in Ambleside, a relaxed restaurant from brothers Ryan and Craig Blackburn, who have already shown their fantastic partnership (with Ryan in the kitchen and Craig serving) at the MICHELIN-Starred Old Stamp House. At The Schelly, they offer informal dining based around locally driven sharing plates. We asked one of our Inspectors about why it's such a winning formula.
“Having already been familiar with the brilliant cooking at The Old Stamp House, I was intrigued to see what the Blackburn brothers would bring to this second venture when it opened in 2024 – and what I found was an utter delight! It’s a joyful restaurant that celebrates Cumbria and its produce with a menu full of mouthwatering dishes. Few menus have enticed me quite as much as The Schelly’s, with every dish leaping off the page as something I wanted to order. Each dish did not disappoint when it arrived, executed with the utmost skill and care.”
To learn more about The Schelly, we spoke to Ryan Blackburn about what's made the restaurant such a hit.
Why did you decide to open The Schelly after the success of The Old Stamp House?
The Schelly project came about because the site became available. It’s located directly above the dining areas in The Old Stamp House, and I was also aware that a bar owner was very keen on it. If they had ended up with the site, the noise would have had a massive impact on the experience in The Old Stamp House, so I made a direct approach to the landlords and asked if we could take it, which they agreed to. From that point on, it probably took me about 12 months to finalise what I wanted to do with the site, finally settling on what you see today.
How would you describe your approach to food and cooking?
My food always starts with a conversation with my suppliers. I normally do this on a Monday when the restaurants are closed. It could be with John Watson, the farmer at Yew Tree Farm, Coniston; Jon Stott at Cartmel Valley Game; or even my fish merchants in Cornwall or Hartlepool. Find out what’s consistent, what’s at its best.
I then tend to go for a long walk somewhere in Cumbria, often the coast in the summer months, the forests in autumn and spring, or head up into the fells. I find that this is a great way to clear my mind; it helps me develop dishes and balance the menu for the week to come. During The Schelly’s renovation, I also created a development kitchen (which we’ve christened The Workshop – it's an old tailor’s workshop), in the yard at the rear of The Old Stamp House. I never use it; primarily because I prefer being out in the fresh air for a good walk, which seems to do the trick.
How do you find being a chef in the Lake District? Its produce plays a huge part in your menu.
I grew up here, less than 5 miles from the restaurants, in a tiny community, and this has had a huge impact on me as a chef. I love the sense of community; that’s why we have very few suppliers. All of those we do work with, I have a personal relationship with, and that’s why they dominate the food we serve. There were only 27 children in my whole school, and all of us were either the children of farmers, quarry workers or hospitality staff. Unfortunately, the quarry workers have nearly all gone now, but it’s really important to me that Cumbria stays a working environment and doesn’t just become a playground, dominated purely by tourism.
That’s why I do everything I can to promote local suppliers that are still working the land and producing the amazing local produce we serve. Having such a close relationship with them, I hear first-hand just how difficult this is becoming; they really shouldn’t be taken for granted. The fact that restaurants in Cumbria would choose to serve Wagyu beef from Japan over grass-fed Galloway beef from a regenerative farm in Cumbria completely blows my mind, especially in this day and age, where awareness of sustainability and social responsibility are things that are at the forefront of people's thinking. It makes no sense at all.
What price range can customers expect and how are you able to keep your prices affordable?
Value for money is something that’s very important to me in both restaurants; that’s one of the great things about the close relationship with the local suppliers we have. For example, the pork chop that has become a bit of a signature at The Schelly came about after a conversation with the local butchers in the village, Garside’s. I wanted to know what they could supply us with constantly, and what they would want us to use.
They provide us with a massive 22oz double chop, which is great value for money at £29 and a great sharing plate. The traceability of the source is there as well; it’s as important to Seb and Haley, who run the butchers, as it is to me. Brad, the Head Chef who’s in charge of the Kitchen at The Schelly, speaks every day with Tony from Hodgson’s about the fish they have available, as well, so that way we can remain as keenly priced as possible, with an 800g whole plaice costing £32 for two to share.
Your tagline is ‘fine dining without the faff’. What kind of atmosphere are you trying to create for your guests?
The Bib Gourmand we have was one of the first things mentioned in the planning process. It amazes me that we have so many MICHELIN Stars in Cumbria and no Bibs. Whenever I travel, it’s always the Bib Gourmand restaurants that my wife and I search out and book. I find them exciting and have had many great meals in them in the last few years. Noto in Edinburgh, the Sardine Factory in Looe and most notably North Street Kitchen in Fowey are some of my favourite restaurants in the UK. The flexibility of the menu, along with the high level of ingredients and skill, was something I was keen to try to replicate in Ambleside.
I like to think we have brought something new to the area's dining scene, and we have gained some really good regulars already. People are so busy, they don’t always get time to make plans, which you need to do if you want to eat downstairs at the Stamp House, so the fact that they don’t need to book and can eat at the bar really appeals to people nowadays. As a chef, the ability to cook great ingredients simply without overcomplicating things has been refreshing as well. The food we serve at The Schelly and the way we serve it is the way I like to eat when I go out.
What is the dish to order at The Schelly?
For me, it’s got to be the pork chop, but my wife Gemma would make a strong argument for the potted shrimps and curried cauliflower velouté.
Hero Image: Outside The Schelly in Ambleside, one of the most affordable top-quality restaurants in The MICHELIN Guide. © Phil Rigby
