Fresh, quality, affordable food for everyone should be Clint Britz’s mission statement.

Relaxing in the opulent surroundings of Bradford’s Great Victoria hotel, Clint says he has a passion for creating traditional dishes with European influences, prepared from locally-sourced ingredients.

His food, served at functions and in the hotel’s Corniche restaurant, defines ‘made in Yorkshire’. The menu is changed on a monthly basis and the Honey Bun Burger, one of Clint’s most recent concoctions, is a fine example of the diversity of produce we have in this county. Organic flour, used to create the bread, was produced at a local mill, the meat is farmed in Yorkshire and the honey is produced at an apiary in Denholme.

“I like to source local, seasonal ingredients. That is what people want but it’s also good for the area,” says Clint, referring to the support and profile he gives local producers by creating quality food from the ingredients they produce.

Clint’s early interest in cooking developed while helping his mum make meals at home in his native South Africa. “My mum is a really good cook. I used to help her all the time but cooking is different in South Africa. It is outdoors, barbecuing, but she does make some really good puddings!” he says.

He left the al fresco lifestyle behind when he came to visit his father in Leeds 15 years ago.

Back home in South Africa, Clint had ambitions to become a game ranger. “I go on safari a lot but I didn’t get the grades in biology,” he says.

He chose tourism instead, undertaking a hotel service management diploma at Napier University, Edinburgh. His real grounding came working in the kitchen of a real ale and whisky tavern, preparing meals for customers. “It went from there. I realised I really enjoyed it, I was good at it and had the touch,” says Clint.

He continued expanding his knowledge and experience, working in some of Yorkshire’s fine dining restaurants when he returned here, but he yearned to return to his roots.

Clint spent a year preparing meals for guests at a five-star golf resort in South Africa before being head-hunted to work on a cruise ship.

He’d always fancied doing confectionery. “When I was a younger chef I noticed the desserts sections were always forgotten about and I decided that is what I wanted to get to know best. You need a lot of patience and skill with pastry. It has got to be right first time, there is no second chance. It is still my favourite thing in the kitchen,” says Clint.

Following a six-month stint on a cruise liner travelling from America to Japan, Clint took a vacation back in Britain. “But I couldn’t sit around doing nothing,” he says.

He contacted a few chefs, pals he had met during his culinary career, and found work, and love, in a stylish cocktail bar in Leeds. “I met my girlfriend there and decided to stay in England,” says Clint.

Clint’s next move was as sous chef at the Prune Park Inn in Wilsden. His move to sous chef at the Woodlands Hotel in Gildersome introduced him to the Tomahawk hotel group, owners of the Great Victoria in Bradford where, two years ago, he was promoted to head chef, overseeing a team of six chefs.

“I love being able to cook my food and involve all the chefs. Everybody has their part to play,” says Clint.

Creating quality meals to the standard they produce demands hard work and passion. “You can’t take short cuts,” he says.

Culinary magazines keep him in touch with the latest trends and provide inspiration. Customer satisfaction is his greatest reward.

“Bradford needs somewhere like this where people can come and enjoy good, reasonably-priced food with good service. It is a touch of affordable class,” he says.