JÖRO, Sheffield: Yorkshire restaurant featured in Michelin Guide reveals plans for former paper mill

Since opening in the Krynkl shipping container unit on Shalesmoor, Kelham Island, in December 2016, JÖRO's Nordic/Japanese-inspired food has earned it multiple awards. The restaurant, run by chef Luke French and his wife and business director Stacey Sherwood, holds three AA Rosettes, is included in the prestigious Michelin Guide 2023 and has been named among the UK's top 100 restaurants for four years running.

Now it is set to expand to a new site, between Oughtibridge and Wharncliffe Side, where it will take over an old paper mill in the picturesque Don Valley at the heart of a large new housing development.

Nestled near the banks of the River Don and surrounded by pretty countryside, on the edge of the Peak District and close to More Hall Reservoir, Luke and Stacey say they knew it was the perfect location for them as soon as they saw the mill.

They told sister paper The Star about their plans to open a shop and deli at the delightful old mill building, where people will be able to buy some of the produce made and used by chefs at JÖRO. They also told how there will be two bars and a casual all-day dining terrace area, with visitors able to enjoy breakfast, brunch and some 'really cool all-day eating options'.

The site will feature an outdoor kitchen too, based around live fire cooking, with more plans due to be announced soon ahead of the planned summer opening.

Luke said: "I'm really happy to announce we're partnering with Sky-House Co down at Oughtibridge Mill, where we have some really exciting plans going on, based around something that we're going to tell you a little more about at a later time.

"We will have an outdoor bar and casual all-day dining terrace area. We're going to have a shop and deli on site procuring some really amazing produce that we use here in the restaurant and that's going to be available to the general public.

"We're going to have some breakfast/brunch options and some really cool all-day eating options. There will be two bars actually and an outdoor kitchen, all based around live fire cooking."

Describing what would be on sale at the shop and deli, Luke and Stacey said people would be able to buy 'everyday stuff' along with some of the 'quality produce' used in the kitchen at JÖRO and found in their cupboards at home.

"It will be chef-approved produce, like barrel-aged soy sauce - really special, unique produce but not at bank-breaking prices," they said. "We'll be selling things including teas, coffees, alcohol, including Joro's own wine and gin, bottled cocktails, cured meats, cured trout and fermented hot sauce."

The mill is being transformed by Sky-House Co's designers, the team at CODA Studios, who created JÖRO's home at Krynkl. Luke and Stacey said they hope it will be somewhere the local community can use every day but also a destination that will attract people from further afield, including those looking to explore the beautiful surrounding countryside on foot or by bike.

Describing what attracted them to the setting, Luke, who in 2022 reached the finals of BBC's Great British Menu cooking competition, said: "It's an old paper mill, a beautiful, beautiful site. As soon as we saw it a couple of years ago we were immediately attracted to it and we just couldn't let it go, we had to take it.

"What David and Tony and the guys at Sky-House Co are doing with it is absolutely unbelievable. The location is amazing, it's literally 10 minutes door to door from here to there, so it's not very far at all, just through Oughtibridge out onto Wharncliffe Side.

"We're surrounded by beautiful pine trees. It's great for the kitchen, we're going to be doing lots of foraging around there. More Hall Reservoir and the Peak District is literally two minutes away so it's an amazing location."