He has cooked for Oscar winners and soap stars, now Dave Elson is serving golfers in Maryport.

Dave, 50, originally from Leeds, has swapped the glitz and glamour of film and TV sets to become sous chef in The Clubhouse restaurant at Maryport Golf Club.

Chris Johns, who runs The Clubhouse, brought in Dave after the pair worked together at Cockermouth's Trout Hotel for four years.

He said: "My aim is to bring my expertise to Chris and to work together to try to upgrade the menu and take things to the next level.

"We're not going to do anything too unusual, just homemade, simple food which is done well."

Dave, who has more than 35 years experience in catering, spent six years working in the TV and film industry on location catering for the cast and crew.

He was head chef on police drama Heartbeat for two years and covered for full-time chefs on Coronation Street, Emmerdale and The Bill.

He also wined and dined the rich and famous, serving two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank, Kathy Bates and Gerard Butler while American drama film PS I Love You was filming in Ireland.

He said: "I didn't even get a credit, I know because I watched right to the end.

"It's different to cooking in a restaurant because you don't have as much freedom.

"Hilary Swank had a proper rider with dos and don'ts.

"She demanded whatever she wanted and she wanted it now, but she was very nice to my face."

His most acclaimed work was done at The Kaye Arms, near Wakefield, where he won two AA rosettes and got into the good food guide.

He credits his longevity in the industry with a deep-rooted passion for cooking.

"I was very proud of that because it took a lot of hard work," he said.

"My mother taught me to cook when I used to sit next to the stove.

"She said I needed to learn how to look after myself.

"I enjoyed it so much that I started working part-time in restaurants at 14 and did a cookery A-level."