The Old Brickworks, Wakefield Road, Drighlington. Tel. (0113) 2879132 John Lunn has cooked for royalty – twice.

He rustled up a hearty meal for Prince Charles when the heir to the throne visited Fountains Abbey, where he worked in the visitor centre restaurant, and cooked for the Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson, while creating meals at St James’ Hospital in Leeds.

With an interesting and varied career behind him, John is now kitchen manager at the Old Brickworks in Drighlington, where he has worked for a decade.

He manages a team of six, and cooks too, producing a range of meals at the restaurant, owned by the Brewers’ Fayre chain.

“It is a great atmosphere. We are always busy,” he says. “Every day is different, bringing different challenges.”

Meals are mainly traditional, and include beef and ale pie, cottage pie, tomato and roast vegetable pasta, and Sunday roast.

“We have a special children’s menu, with food such as chicken nuggets, spaghetti bolognese and organic macaroni cheese,” says John. Desserts include chocolate fudge cake, clotted cream cheesecake and bread and butter pudding.

“When the menus change, I join other kitchen managers and we visit other Brewers’ Fayre restaurants across the North to discuss changes,” he says.

There is, he adds, a good atmosphere in the kitchen. “We get on well and there’s a low staff turnover. The team has been here for more than three years.”

He loves getting customer feedback. “We get a lot of positive comments; we have many regulars,” he says.

John, 52, is proud to work at the Old Brickworks, especially after a recent revamp gave it a fresh new look. “It is a privilege to walk in on a morning.”

Cream walls with a variety of lighting effects complement rich red and brown furnishings. “It looks really good. The seating has been arranged so people can choose whether they want privacy or to sit with other people,” adds John, who lives in Birstall.

He has his grandmother to thank for his life-long love of cooking. “She got me interested when I was a child,” he recalls. “She was always baking – her home-made meals and cakes were delicious.”

At school in the Seventies, John was one of only a handful of boys who opted to take a course in catering. “It was a bit daunting as hardly any lads chose it. I was one of the first who did – we got teased quite a bit.”

But he ignored the comments and stuck with it. “I didn’t care what other boys said; I loved it,” he says. John still has that passion today at the Old Brickworks.

Built on the site of a former quarry which became a brickworks in the 1940s, John’s workplace also played a part in his private life. He met his wife, Karen, at the building which is linked to a more recently built Premier Inn. Karen works as lead receptionist at the hotel.

Off-duty, John enjoys walking their dog, Max, and watching the Castleford Tigers.