Head chef Bancha Poomcha-Em at the Fusia noodle bar, Centenary Square As a newcomer to Bradford, Bancha PoomchaEm could not have ended up in a more stunning location. His 'office', or rather kitchen, lies in Centenary Square, with views of the City Hall.

"It is wonderful to look out on that, " says the Thai-born chef, who trained in a top Bangkok hotel. Bancha, whose nickname is Don, worked at the city's five star Hotel Oriental, rustling up traditional dishes and fare from across the globe.

"I enjoyed cooking food for people from all over the world - I'm happy working with any type of food, French, Italian, English, and I liked to see people enjoying their meals."

Don first tried his hand at cooking at an early age, helping his parents in the kitchen. He always knew that he wanted to become a chef, and left to train at a Bangkok college, while also working in the hotel.

In 1991, He moved to Britain, enrolling in a course in hotel management and catering at Hereford Technical College, later moving to Birmingham to continue his studies with a degree in the same subject.

He worked for five years in a Thai restaurant in Birmingham where he was able to experiment with new dishes, and plan and write new menus.

"I like to be a bit adventurous with my food, and try out new tastes and flavours, " he says.

A move to Huddersfield led to a meeting with his wife-to-be Chariya, who is also from Thailand. "She came to work as a waitress and we got on really well. We got married two years ago, " he says.

Don's reputation landed him a job as head chef at Fusia noodle bar, part of Chino Thai which includes a restaurant, the noodle bar and a cocktail bar, in Centenary Square.

At present the noodle bar, Fusia, is open - Chino Thai opens next month for a la carte meals - and Don can be found heading a team of staff rustling up such delights as barbecued ribs, sweetcorn cake, Thai red curry, chicken in black bean sauce and hot and sour soup. There is also a range of desserts. The buffet is so called as it offers a 'fusion' of Chinese and Thai cuisine.

Don - whose speciality is fish in a sweet chilli sauce - is in his element. "We are very busy and it is very exciting. Everyone in the kitchen knows what they have to do, we are very organised, we have a good team."

He is this year pitting his skills against chefs from across the country vying for first place in the South Asian Chef Competition.

Charia also works in Chino Thai, as a waitress.

Off-duty the couple spend their time shopping, visiting the cinema, walking and watching television.

He misses Thailand and would like to go back more often. "I went there last October for three weeks which was great. But I'm so busy I don't get time to go back."

First on the agenda is exploring Yorkshire. "We have been here for more than a year and we haven't done that yet. We want to see more of Yorkshire, the people are so friendly."