Spreading a little chocolate cheer to the children of Martin House Hospice this Christmas
The children of Martin House Hospice will have a chocolate Santa’s Cave to smash their way through this Christmas Eve.
It’s the annual creation of Ashley McCarthy, award-winning chef/proprietor of Ye Old Sun Inn at Colton, and has taken a whopping 12 kilos of Belgian chocolate and 3 kilos of fondant icing to make; not forgetting 18 hours in the kitchen and patience by the bucket load!
A smiling, but weary Ashley McCarthy said: “It takes a considerable amount of time and ingredients, but is an absolute joy to make each year. The kids at the hospice will be able to smash their way through the cave on Christmas Eve, which is when we’ll be delivering it to them, to find the hundreds of sweets hidden inside.”
Between now and Christmas Eve Ashley’s chocolate masterpiece will be on show at Ye Old Sun, with customers asked to give donations to the hospice while its on display. The money collected will accompany the chocolate creation on Christmas Eve and be presented to the staff and children of Martin House Hospice (Boston Spa).
“It’s such a worthy cause, especially at this time of year, which is all about putting a smile on children’s faces, so I’d encourage people to give generously over the course of the next few weeks, “ says Ashley.
Yorkshire’s Old Sun lights up the Capital
Ashley and Kelly McCarthy added two more awards to their pub’s brimming trophy cabinet this week (November 3rd), with Ye Old Sun Inn at Colton named Local Food Pub of the Year and winning the Front of House Team of the Year category, at the prestigious Publican Food & Drink Awards.
The black tie event is among the industry’s most eagerly awaited occasions and this year was held at London’s Intercontinental on Park Lane. The great and the good of the UK licensed 
trade were on hand to witness Ashley and Kelly pick up their awards.
A delighted Ashley McCarthy, said: “The Publican Food & Drink Awards are like the industry Oscars. Competition to be seen as the best in what you do is fierce, and only the best of the best make it to the finals, so both myself and Kelly are absolutely thrilled to win these two awards. With me overseeing the food side of things and Kelly the bar and front of house operation, the two awards we won are praise in equal measure for all the hard work that goes in to making Ye Old Sun such a fine Yorkshire pub.”
This national recognition follows a run of recent award success for the couple. Just last month Ye Old Sun was named Yorkshire Pub of the Year at the White Rose Awards for Tourism and received the title of Yorkshire Pub of the Year at the Yorkshire Life Awards.
Crowned Yorkshire Pub of the Year
What a week it’s been for Ashley & Kelly McCarthy, with Ye Old Sun Inn named Yorkshire Pub of the Year at the prestigious White Rose Awards for Tourism.
The Awards are a celebration of excellence in the tourism industry and run by tourism agency, Welcome to Yorkshire.
Ashley and Kelly were amongst the 800 or so guests at the Royal Armouries in Leeds last night (Monday October 19) to collect their award.
A delighted Ashley McCarthy said: “To say we’re thrilled at winning this award is an understatement. It’s a reflection of all the hard work and dedication of the team in making Ye Old Sun such a valuable asset to the community.”
This award success comes in a week when the couple are opening their second pub, the White Swan at Wighill. The village local had been shut for two years prior to Ashley & Kelly taking it on and overseeing an extensive refurbishment.
