A mouth-watering chocolate dessert helped an East Yorkshire restaurant scoop a coveted award.

Artisan, in Hessle, has earned the title of The Good Food Guide Readers' Restaurant of the Year 2010 for the North East of England, in association with Which? magazine.

And owners Lindsey and Richard Johns reckon their tasty dessert – a firm favourite of customers – had a major role in securing the accolade.

"Our signature dish is our chocolate pot," said Lindsey. "We have had it on the menu since day one. We took it off twice and there was uproar.

"So we don't take it off now, we just amend it a little bit."

Before opening the restaurant in a grade-two listed Georgian townhouse in 2004, Lindsey was a scenes of crime officer for Humberside Police.

Her background means she knows better than most the importance of attention to detail.

Front-of-house Lindsey and chef Richard put in hours of overtime behind the scenes to make the restaurant run smoothly and profitably.

And now it has paid off.

It is the first time an East Yorkshire restaurant has claimed the award, which is voted for by customers.

Lindsey said: "It's a really important award and it's nice to be able to put Hessle on the map.

"It's absolutely amazing, because we are such a small restaurant. I don't think you can get any better recommendation than from your customers.

"It's important for us to make people happy, and we want to say a big thank-you to people who voted for us."

Lindsey and Richard received their award at a ceremony at the British Museum in London.

More than 25,000 people around the country nominated their top local independent restaurant to produce a shortlist of 10 regional winners.

Artisan's husband-and-wife team have been given a plaque to put up in the restaurant, and will be featured in the Good Food Guide 2011, which hits the shops in September.

The restaurant, which produces classical food, attracts loyal customers who have stuck with them through the recession, said Lindsey.

"This year has been up and down from a business point of view," she said. "But we are noticing things picking up a little bit, especially on a corporate level."

Lindsey says the restaurant never compromises on quality.

She said: "We have always stuck to our guns with what we are doing and we try to ensure quality.

"We have got some good relationships with our suppliers and we are always looking for new ones. It's all about finding good produce."

An entry in The Good Food Guide Review 2010 praised Artisan for its selection of mouthwatering dishes.

It read:"There is no pretentiousness or gimmicks – just first-class food."