Last month renowned Sheffield city centre restaurant Silversmiths re-opened its doors under new ownership.
The venue, which famously went on to win numerous awards after being featured on Gordon Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares programme under its previous guise at The Runaway Girl, was bought by local businessmen Rick Bailey and Matt Ray earlier this year.
The partners – who are promising “a bright and secure future for one of Yorkshire’s highest quality eateries” – have enlisted the help of the restaurant’s original owner Justin Rowntree to ensure they install the highest quality team in the kitchen. The new owners have taken that advice and appointed Ashley Bagshaw as the new Silversmiths head chef.
Matt Ray told Exposed: “Silversmiths has built an unrivalled reputation as one of Yorkshire’s finest restaurants. We bring nearly 30 years experience in the hospitality and leisure industry and, with the help of Ashley Bagshaw and his team, are now looking forward to a bright future for this renowned eatery.”
We got in touch with Silversmiths general manager Paul Handley, who told us what’s changed in a new era for the restaurant…
What can we expect from the new-look Silversmiths?
We intend to ensure Silversmiths reaches its true potential and establishes itself as one of Yorkshire’s premier independent fine dining brands – somewhere Sheffield can be really proud of. We’re keen to make Silversmiths accessible and welcoming to more food lovers in the region and we’re about to launch the ‘pre-theatre menu’ and ‘Simply British menu’. These offer more competitively priced dishes than you might have once found at the restaurant but there is no compromise in quality.
We’re also very keen to become a hub for business. We want to develop and accommodate regular networking events and be an attractive venue to hire for anything from launches to business meetings. Here we have the added attraction of a stunning private dining space upstairs, so we’d like to develop the private hire and corporate dining side of our business. We want to become popular with people looking for somewhere of quality to relax after work. Sheffield has often struggled to develop an after-work dining and bar scene – we want to become a catalyst for the area.
Have any big changes been made to the building itself?
We’ve given Silversmiths a complete refurbishment. We’ve increased the number of covers and gone for a classy, airy feel that’s sympathetic to the building’s heritage.
How about the inspiration behind the menu?
We’re very excited to have appointed Ashley Bagshaw as the new Silversmiths head chef. The 23-year-old is already tipped for greatness and has presided over some of the area’s most renowned kitchens since he got his first chef de partie position at Sheffield’s Wig & Pen in 2011. By 2015 he was already head chef at West 10 in Ranmoor before successfully retaining the two rosette rating of Froggatt’s Chequers in the Peak District. We’re expecting great things from him.
How would you describe the restaurant’s ethos?
We want to create a true destination venue that will attract diners from across the region. We’ve always felt Silversmiths was a great brand but as a restaurant it never seemed to quite achieve its full potential. We believe our experience puts us in a unique position to make it an amazing asset.
What role do you see it playing in the Sheffield food scene going forward?
We want to develop a restaurant the people of Sheffield can truly be proud of. We want to make Silversmiths one of the very best fine dining brands in the region and in the country. We want to champion local suppliers, use nothing but fresh produce and serve nothing but the highest quality food in the highest quality surroundings.
111 Arundel Street // silversmithsrestaurant.co.uk
