A CREDITON-born chef has made a success of his career but is staying loyal to his roots.

Tim Bouget, 42, who now runs the Ode restaurant in Shaldon, on the Teign Estuary, with his wife Clare, went to Hayward's Primary School and Queen Eliza- beth's Community College.

He went on to train as a chef, and over the next 20 years he cooked for Luciano Pavarotti, U2, designers Donna Karan and Sir Paul Smith, Lord Snowdon, Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro.

Tim, who buys his duck and chicken from Creedy Carver Ltd at Upton Hellions, has also worked alongside several of the world's finest chefs.

After training in the UK with three-Michelin-starred Michel Roux, Louis Outier and Gaulteiro Marchesi, he accepted executive positions with luxury hotels around the world.

Last year, he and Clare, inspired by their travels, opened their own restaurant in Shaldon.

Tim explained: “My grandmother, who is now 87, still lives in Crediton.

“She ran the post office at Fordton and my late father was the sub postmaster there for many years.

“Her mother was headmistress of Hookway School and her father was the first golf pro at the club in Crediton, although it was not called Downes as that had not been created.”

Tim's family moved from Fordton into Crediton, where he attended the old school in Searle Street before moving on to Hayward's.

The Bougets then moved to Cheriton Fitzpaine, from where he used to take the school bus to Queen Elizabeth's.

Tim's father had a business in Exeter, and the family finally moved to the city, where Tim attended Hele's School.

He said: “I had a part-time washing up job, and that got me interested in the catering industry as a career.

“I went to Exeter College on a two-year catering course, and then got a job as a commis-chef at the Grosvenor House in London.”

Tim and Clare have lived and worked in Barbados, South Africa, Egypt, Los Angeles and Bali.

Tim said: “All the positions were in beautiful hotels but we decided we wanted to do something ourselves.

“We bought the freehold of a three-storey Georgian house in Shaldon and completely renovated it.”

The Bougets are in the Michelin and AA guides and hope to earn a place soon in the Good Food Guide.

Tim added: “We've been affected by the credit crunch, but we won't compromise on what we do. We'll cut our waste not our costs.”