AN Irish chef is bringing a taste of his home country to a quiet corner of rural Durham.

Kieran Burke, 31, is the chef at the recently re-opened restaurant at the Wardle Bridge Inn, in Holmside, near Consett, run by Maggie and Bill Smith.

He hopes to bring them the same success he achieved at the Victoria Hotel, in Cork, Ireland, where he won the national best food award two years in a row.

Diners can expect an Irish flavour to the menu. Mr Burke, whose wife, Nicola, is from Darlington, said: "For St Patrick's Day, we put on quite a few traditional Irish dishes, like bacon and cabbage and Irish stew.

"I do a lot of fish dishes from Irish recipes and home-made pastries as well."