Weaver's Restaurant West Lane, Haworth. Tel: (01535) 643822 Lucy Rushworth has cooked up quite a reputation for her home-baked cakes.
So much so that a friend asked her a special favour. "She asked whether I would make 120 chocolate brownies for the guests instead of a wedding cake," she says. "I was very flattered."
Raised in Haworth, Lucy lived with her family above Weaver's restaurant in West Lane.
The popular eaterie, with its charming rustic interior, has been in the family for 29 years. It was originally run by Lucy's parents Colin and June, and is now managed by Lucy, her brother Tim, and sister Sally.
Tim works as head chef, Lucy specialises in desserts, while Sally works in the front-of-house. "I also work front-of-house in the evening, after cooking during the day," says Lucy, a former pupil of Bingley Grammar School.
She loves her job, but it was not what she set out to do.
"I wanted to work with horses. I have had my own horses since I was 12 and that was my dream," she says. "I wanted to work at a riding or racing stables, or a livery yard."
She did have a stab at it, but abandoned her plans for a career in the business. "It was the prospect of years away from home - I was only 16 and not ready for that, and surviving on very low pay. Plus, I had three horses to look after."
She was in a dilemma over exactly what to do, so enrolled on a course in business administration at Keighley College. "I thought I could use what I learned to help dad with the business side of the restaurant," she says.
Her plans "all went out of the window" she says, when she became pregnant. She left college, returning when her daughter, Eden, was two, to study beauty therapy.
"I was working part-time in the restaurant, doing the prep, making starters and baking," recalls Lucy, 31, who lives in Keighley. "Then the dessert chef left and I took over her job.
"I had always liked baking - when I was about 13 I used to make cakes and sell them to neighbours to earn a bit of pocket money."
She loves her job in the restaurant, renowned for its cosy decor and friendly atmosphere.
She spends her days cooking desserts including chocolate and almond tart, Yorkshire rhubarb creme brulee, sticky toffee pudding and caramelised pear bake with custard. "I make all the ice creams and sorbets too," says Lucy, who, amazingly, is allergic to dairy and citrus products. "I make a lot of dairy-free puddings."
Main dishes include griddled Dales-bred beef fillet; chestnut and mushroom pastry; and pan-fried Gressingham duck breast.
Eden, now 11, is taking after her mum in her love of horses. She has her own pony, Junior.
Lucy's first pony, a fell pony called Queenie, is still going strong at 29, and is plainly a much-loved member of the family. "She has no teeth - I have to feed her three times a day," says Lucy, who also owns two other horses, Bonnie and Tyler.
During what little free time she gets, Lucy saddles up. "I ride as often as I can, usually on my day off."
But she is never far from the food mixer. Lucy also runs an outside catering business supplying a number of cafes with brownies, tarts and sticky toffee puddings.
"It is very satisfying to know that people appreciate my cooking," she says. Eden, who often helps her mum in the kicthen at home, appreciates it too. "Her lunch boxes are always full of my food, and I send loads along to school fairs - the teachers usually buy them."
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