TRADITIONALLY January is the time we sign up for the gym, swear off chocolate and recoil at the sight of alcohol.

But my train of thought is why deny yourself things that bring a glow to your soul, in the one month that you most need, and deserve, them?
Which is why one night this week when the wind was howling and causing havoc, and the rain was lashing down, I took myself off to a richly satisfying and comforting bolthole to indulge in one of my favourite pastimes – filling my face.

I even managed to persuade my 13-year-old son Max to abandon his Christmas XBox and join my partner and I. No mean feat, I can tell you.

Gimbals in Sowerby Bridge is one of the foodie jewels in Calderdale's crown, because for the last 12 years, husband-and-wife team Simon and Janet Baker have never rested on their laurels, working tirelessly to create a top menu.

As soon as I walked through the door into Gimbals' bohemian surroundings my stress levels subsided. Subdued lighting, wooden floors, candles and tastefully decorated walls help give a feeling of relaxation and well-being.

It is Janet's attention to detail, along with her real interest in her customers, that I suspect makes people from all over Yorkshire and Lancashire return time and time again to Gimbals.

The menu, which changes once a month, contained lots of my favourite foods (crisp roast belly pork and escalope of calf's liver, for instance) but I was greedy and went for the petite course menu with three (yes, three) small starters, followed by a main, pudding and coffee, all for £24.

I love starters and my three didn't disappoint. Grilled queen scallops with a gratin of prawns, Gruyere, coriander, lemon and garlic, followed by a comforting homemade pea-and-ham soup with minted cream and then my favourite, a chilled salad of soy slow-roasted shredded duck with roasted sesame dressing and cashew nuts.

My partner's warm starter of sweet potato and smoked venison cake with a root ginger onion marmalade melted in the mouth and was enough to make me swoon. His roast partridge breast with potato, marjoram terrine and quince jelly with a confit of shallots silenced him for a whole 10 minutes and was equally appitising.

I needed something tasty but light for my main course, and found it in line-caught seabass fillet on a fricassee of shrimps, tomato concasse, capers and tarragon lemon beurre blanc. Sounds a bit posh and pretentious but it wasn't.

My son, a steak lover, had pan-seared rib eye with Paris browns, shallots and mushrooms with black pepper hollandaise. There wasn't a morsel left on his plate but his biggest comment was saved for the petite chocolate selection that arrived at the end.

In the middle of the table was a double chocolate and orange mousse with hot ginger snaps, profiteroles filled with sweet chestnut puree and double cream topped with hot chocolate sauce and kahlua syrup panna cotta with an almond and cranberry florentine. "That was great, absolutely beautiful," he announced, rubbing his tum.

Our food was washed down with a zingy lemon-and-lime finish wine, Crowded House sauvignon from New Zealand. It's one of the most popular wines on the menu and well worth a try. And Janet, in her typically friendly Yorkshire way, left a bottle of her homemade damson gin on our table for us to try. It accompanied her as she did the rounds on a busy Wednesday evening.

The three of us made our way home happy, content and well and truly stuffed.

Fact File
Name: Gimbals Restaurant
Address: Wharf Street, Sowerby Bridge
Telephone: 01422 839329
Ratings:
Food: *****
Atmosphere: ****
Service: ****
Value: ****

* Have you tried Gimbals? Tell us what you thought by posting a comment below.