THE new warden at Parcevell Hall comes with the best pedigree of all - that of being awarded best cook in 1990.

Beverley Seward, 44, recently took over officially at the hall in Appletreewick after first becoming deputy warden last January.

She has been acting warden since the summer.

Parcevall Hall is the Diocese of Bradford's retreat and conference centre and Mrs Seward will be responsible for its programme of events as well as the management of the house.

In 1990, the former Otley Street and Gargrave School cook was voted Cook of the Year after a rigorous national competition and was presented with the award by the late Princess of Wales.

Prior to that she had been voted second-best school cook in Yorkshire for two years running.

Speaking about her new responsibilities at the hall, Mrs Seward said: "I hope to continue and build on the service that Parcevall Hall provides to the diocese and beyond, and that obviously includes maintaining the high standard of food for which Parcevall is renowned".

Before coming to Parcevall, Beverley was senior monitoring catering inspector for North Yorkshire County Council which included teaching food hygiene for social services.

She is married to Melvin and they have two sons - Martin, 19, and Andrew, 14.