Why local is the key ingredient for Chesterfield's newest restaurant

The venue, at 15-17 Knifesmithgate, used to be the Money Shop premises and new owners Hannah Milner and Gavin Grainger have spent months transforming the building, before opening to the public late last year.

Hannah explained: “Bottle & Thyme is Gavin’s own design and he has done most of the renovation himself with the help of family members.

“We are an independent family run business and put a great emphasis on sourcing as much as we can from local businesses.

“For example our pottery is handmade by JMJs pottery on Chatsworth Road and we use Chocolate By Design’s (our neighbours across the road!) chocolate dippers to make our hot chocolates and mochas.

“Our aim was to create a cosy and relaxed meeting place for people to enjoy time with their favourite people over a plate of delicious rustic style food.”

Head chef Tom Barnett added that the Bottle & Thyme menu was modern British, based around fresh, locally-sourced ingredients and giving people what they love to eat.

“There’s no point putting red snapper on the menu when people want cod,” he said. “And we keep the menu changing with seasonality and to make it interesting for people coming back.”

There are no shortcuts at Bottle & Thyme, they cure their own salmon on the premises and although they have kept the safe from the building’s former life in finance, there’s not a microwave anywhere in the building.