Thomas Mulkerrin is caught up in the buzz of an exciting new venture.

Chatting animatedly, the talented chef is clearly enjoying being at the centre of things, as Bradley's, a swish restaurant in Highgate, Heaton, starts to make a name for itself.

"We are really, really busy, and the feedback has been brilliant," he says, as he runs through his plans to put the eaterie - well-known in a former life as the popular Clark's - firmly on the map.

"We want to achieve a really fantastic, buzzing atmosphere. I want people to love the food and come back for more - that's my mission."

A varied "modern English" menu includes "big-flavoured" home-made soups, and oak roast salmon fish cake for starters, The varied main courses feature daube beef with mustard mash; roast pork belly, apple mash and crackling, and slow roast shoulder of lamb with honey roast celeriac and rosemary jus.

Fish choices feature sea bass, monk fish, smoked haddock, squid and scallops, and vegetarian options include Italian gnocchi (potato and flour dumpling) in a roast tomato sauce with spinach and crème fraiche.

Coconut and date pudding, rich chocolate terrine with cranberry and rum, and home-made ice creams are among the mouthwatering selection of desserts.

Ingredients are, as far as possible, from Yorkshire farmers. "We are sourcing ingredients from farms and fisheries as close to Bradford as possible, and using local companies where we can," says Thomas, 42.

"All our meat comes from a farm near Wetherby, and fish is caught off the East and West coasts. Everything, including bread, is home-made, and a lot of care goes into putting the dishes together."

As a youngster growing up in Ilkley, the former pupil of St Mary's in Menston didn't have catering in mind as a career. "I didn't want to be a chef, I wanted to be a graphic designer," he says. "But when I left school I wasn't sure, so I went to catering college to see whether I liked it."

He did. His first appointment as head chef was at the reputable Paris restaurant in Horsforth, followed by Korks in Otley. "I spent six years at both, and really enjoyed myself."

He moved from The Grove in Ilkley to take the reins at Bradley's. "I cooked similar food at my three previous restaurants - modern English with a Mediterranean influence."

Being in at the deep end of a restaurant opening is something Thomas, who lives in Baildon, is relatively relaxed about.

This could be because he's done it before - more than once. "I've opened a couple of restaurants and although it is very hard work and demands a lot of commitment, it gives you a real buzz. It is great to be in at the start and watch how things develop. Having started from scratch, it is also really satisfying to achieve what you are aiming for."

Bradley's takes its name from Andrew Bradley, the former restaurant manager at Ilkley's Box Tree restaurant, who owns a restaurant of the same name in Huddersfield.

Thomas has no regrets about his choice of career. He hasn't given graphic design a thought for many years. "I'm pleased with the way things turned out - feel I am a designer, but I design in a different way, using food."

  • Bradley's restaurant. 48-50 Highgate, Heaton. Tel: (01274) 499890