"Did I mention the haddock and chorizo sausage wellington?"

Richard Metcalfe is reeling off a list of imaginatively thought-out dishes served at Shipley's waterside restaurant, The Cut.

"If I didn't mention it, I should have done, because it is so popular - customers love it," he adds.

The dish comes with tomato butter sauce, and is, he assures me, "delicious."

Richard devised the menu, which he describes as "modern English with a European twist", making use of fresh, locally-sourced ingredients. "We buy a lot of food from local suppliers. It is something we are trying to do wherever possible. We have a local butcher, and use the local fruit and vegetable market. Fish comes from a supplier in Huddersfield. "

He adds: "We want to get the right feel throughout the restaurant. If we get the food right, everything else will feel right too."

Ham hock and parsley terrine with home-made pickle, granary bread and poached egg is among the a la carte choices, with butterbean and creamed leek crumble with thyme cream another option.

Mains include roasted red pepper stuffed with olive and red onion risotto and breaded chicken escalope with tomato fondue, mozarella and tagliatelle. Spinach, ricotta and sweet tomato cannelloni topped with toasted pine nuts is one of the vegetarian choices. Desserts include traditional favourites apple crumble with custard and sticky toffee pudding with vanilla ice cream.

Richard runs the stylish yet cosy eaterie, that lies along side the Leeds Liverpool Canal, with his cousin and business partner Jamie Hanson. Also a chef, Jamie is now the public face of the restaurant in a front-of-house role.

"We get on well together," says Richard, 28, "We have different strengths, so we complement each other."

He works in the kitchen alongside commis chef Simon Ramsden. "Simon and I are a good team," says Richard. "I'm reasonably easy-going. I'm not temperamental, although I am a perfectionist. I make my thoughts known and lead by example."

Bradford-born Richard has always loved cooking, and regularly mucked in at home, helping to prepare family meals. "My mum let me help and I always enjoyed it. I liked the way that, with cooking, you are always learning new things. That's why I like this profession - the possibilities are endless."

After leaving school, Richard secured a place on a catering course funded by the charity Barnardo's. He took work experience in a Caribbean restaurant and found himself preparing traditional meals from that part of the world such as saltfish, jerk chicken and Johnny cakes. "It was great. I learned how to gut fish and knead bread," he recalls.

Richard and Jamie, who previously ran The Queen's Hotel in Apperley Bridge, have built up a steady stream of regulars. "Most of them found out about us through word-of-mouth," he says. "A lot of regulars come on a lunchtime - when the weather is warm it is lovely to sit in the courtyard within a stone's throw of the canal."

At home in Farsley, Richard lives with his girlfriend Stephanie, who works in a bar in Leeds. They have bought a house together and are enjoying putting their own stamp on it.

They share the cooking. "She's better than me," Richard confesses. "We eat all sorts - I really like Italian, and I love curries."

The busy chef keeps fit by running and cycling. "I regularly cycle to work which clears my mind and keeps me in good shape. You need to be fit in this job."

  • The Cut, Wharf Street, Shipley. Tel: (01274) 594444