Popular chef Barrington Douglas is back in the kitchen – just months after closing his Huddersfield town centre restaurant.

Barrington, who pulled down the shutters on Discovery Bay in June after 12 years has been recruited by Cannon Hall Farm where he joins culinary champions Tim Bilton and Chris Mellor feeding visitors to the award-winning visitor attraction.

The farm boasts two eateries, The White Bull Restaurant and the Hungry Llama Restaurant. Tim previously had The Butchers Arms and more recently The Spiced Pear at Hepworth. Chris has worked at The Farmers Boy in Shepley.

Speaking about his latest “signing”, farm director Robert Nicholson said: “Barrington has come to work for us on a full-time basis. He wants a more normal life after working crazy hours in his restaurant for a lot of years.”

Barrington will provide his Caribbean-inspired fare including curried chicken pies and ready meals for the restaurants and farm shop.

He joked: “I have been doing some Caribbean cooking demonstrations at Cannon Hall. It seems they think I show some promise!”

Barrington Douglas launches his Jerk Pork Pie at Tesco, Viaduct Street, Huddersfield
Barrington Douglas launches his Jerk Pork Pie at Tesco, Viaduct Street, Huddersfield

His most recent appearance was at Cannon Hall Food Festival last month.

Robert said: “We do the traditional stuff really well, but we see an opportunity with Barrington’s fusion cooking to offer a more rounded menu. He has a track record of adding a twist to traditional products so we are hoping he will do the same here.”

Explaining his decision to close Discovery Bay earlier this year, Barrington said that putting in 90-hour weeks had taken a toll.

Barrington, who has appeared on TV alongside celebrity chefs Marco Pierre White, Gordon Ramsay and Gary Rhodes will still join Great British Bake Off star Nadiya Hussain on October 15 at the Flavours Food Festival at Elsecar, South Yorkshire.

Cannon Hall’s farm shop has twice featured in the White Rose “Taste of Yorkshire” competition and won the Best Beef Butcher in Britain Award in 2009. It was a category runner-up in the Yorkshire Pork Pie and Sausage Championship 2014.