The new Pantry Café and Shop in Farnham Memorial Hall is receiving royal treatment under its owner Trevor Cruickshank.

Trevor formerly worked as chef to King Juan Carlos I of Spain and then at Windsor Castle.

He now drives from Haslemere each day to run the café, doing so alongside his businesses Cruikshank’s Catering and Surrey Hill Fudge.

“I’m very efficient with my time,” said Trevor who was persuaded to open the café by the Memorial Hall’s manager Adele O'Sullivan.

“I’d met her when I was catering manager elsewhere and she suggested I take it on. I have never had a regular job like this before, where I have to set an alarm clock in the morning!”

Trevor has run Cruikshank’s Catering for 25 years but started his career with Marriott Hotels, having emigrated to the UK from Canada.

“I did a day release NVQ and then went travelling. I worked for families in Cyprus, then Spanish families which is how I met King Juan Carlos. He said ‘cook for me in the UK’. He had houses over here and he liked parties I can tell you.”

There followed a stint working in Windsor Castle: “That was fun. There are a lot more banquets than the press mention.”

He was running Cruickshank’s Catering on the side and still does so, offering bespoke catering across the area.

Everything is homemade and this love of cooking came from his grandmother who taught him not just the Caribbean recipes of the family’s heritage but all sorts of bread.

“Every Saturday we’d bake bread and we still talk about food together. She loves what I am doing.”

Trevor sells handmade sandwiches, soups, pastries and cakes in the café Monday to Friday, 10am-4pm.

He also sells his own hot sauces and award-winning fudge along with porridge oats from Imbhams Farm, Haslemere. To find out more visit www.cruickshankscatering.com.