A NEW venture aiming to cook up a storm in the catering trade for York and North Yorkshire has been backed by a famous television personality.

Chef's Superstore, described as "a one-stop shop for everything that could be wanted by restaurateurs and bar owners" has been launched by Tony McGurrin and Tom Watherston in James Street, York.

Formally opening the premises was renowned chef Rosemary Shrager, who runs a famous cookery school and is a TV chef and a judge on the popular TV show Ladette To Lady.

Tony, a former chef, who with Tom has created two jobs with more to come, said: "It's great that someone like Rosemary wants to be seen supporting something like this.

"We are already the largest glassware supplier in York and increasingly our customers were asking us to provide crockery and cutlery so this is a natural progression."

The novel approach to the superstore is that people can create their own look in the store by using the tables and settings and seeing what their purchases will look like when put together.

Tony said: "In the coming months, we will be moving to bigger premises in the city.

"We have a good working relationship with a number of restaurants, gastro pubs and hotels in North Yorkshire and we anticipate that this will continue and indeed grow. That's because the standard of food being served is superb and the use of local produce is becoming more and more important.

"As a local supplier we feel we can be part of this upward trend and continue to support local suppliers - we source everything we sell locally if possible."

The store specialises in crockery, cutlery, glassware, cookware and bar supplies and also provides napkins, cleaning products, uniforms and signs.

The two men believe that the future of the catering industry in North Yorkshire is strong.

Tony said: "We keep meeting superb new chefs on the scene and have noticed quite a few rising stars.

"We want to play a role in that by offering clients a great way to create the image they want to project."