Josh Overington of Le Cochon Aveugle to open Myse, Hovingham

Chef Josh Overington and his sommelier wife Victoria ran the Michelin-honoured Le Cochon Aveugle in Walmgate for nine years until its closure last November.
Their sister outlet, the popular pizza and wine bar, Cave du Cochon, also in Walmgate, closed in December.

But the couple have just announced their latest incarnation: Mýse (pronounced ‘meez’) - a restaurant with rooms with the aim of celebrating North Yorkshire food.

The couple say Mýse, the Anglo-Saxon word for ‘eating at the table’, will draw on the area’s rich history and put the chef's spin on traditional Yorkshire cooking.

The restaurant is scheduled to open in June and will be based in the former Malt Shovel/Hovingham Inn - a renovated 19th-century inn - in Hovingham's main street.

Joshua says, “Mýse is an opportunity for us to finally realise our restaurant dream. We loved our time at Le Cochon Aveugle and think back on it fondly, but outgrew the space.

"This is our chance to create something more ambitious and a reflection on our incredible Yorkshire surroundings.

Josh Overington York chef (Image: Supplied)

"I grew up here and it has been home to Victoria for ten years, so we wanted to create a welcoming, homely spot, each dish a nod to dinners that my Yorkshire grandmother would cook for me, but elevated and refined.”

Since closing their York restaurants the couple had been running a 'dine at home' business.

Later on this year, Joshua and Victoria will be opening three renovated bedrooms at Mýse, meaning guests stay overnight following dinner at the restaurant.

Similar to Le Cochon Aveugle, Mýse will be offering a tasting menu.

Joshua has provided a flavour of what to expect with a sample menu. "Dinner will start with a light broth of spring herbs and mussel followed by raw razor clam, forced Yorkshire rhubarb umeboshi and elderflower, and a duck liver and walnut pie.

"Seeded sourdough baked in-house will be served with cultured butter and chicken drippings, with dishes to follow including hand-dived Orkney scallop baked in its shell with sea urchin; sweetcorn husk custard with kernel velouté and hedgehog mushrooms; and day boat red mullet cooked over juniper with a sauce made from its livers.

A Josh Overington creation at Myse (Image: Supplied)

"The menu will celebrate locally reared meat: Swaledale lamb saddle and belly with farm trimmings from the local Rocket & Russet Farm and an anchovy garum sauce; and ‘Savoury Ducks’: a playful take on faggots. Sweeter dishes will take the form of palate-cleansing candied raspberries; a goat’s milk ice cream with caramelised honey, raspberry juice and cicely; day-old bread with house-made preserves; and a flaxseed caramel to end on a sweet note."

The wine list will be curated by Keeling Andrew & Co, the wine importers from the team behind Noble Rot, working closely with sommelier Victoria.

Victoria Overington (Image: Supplied)

The evening tasting menu will cost £110pp, with shorter lunch menus available on Saturdays and Sundays at £80pp. The wine pairing will cost an additional £85pp and a non-alcoholic pairing will cost £65pp, and at lunchtime, £60pp and £45pp respectively.

The couple's two Walmgate restaurants have not stayed empty - Le Cochon Aveugle is now a Korean restaurant called Little Asia, while the Cave du Cochon is The Wright Place, selling coffee, baked goods, pizza and wine, under the helm of married couple and ex-Cochon staff, former restaurant manager Steph Wright and Cochon sous chef Lui Wright.