A PRESTON man is cooking up a storm in London where he is getting top reviews and celebrity clientele in his London restaurant.

John Mountain, 35, headed off to the capital ten years ago in search of a career in catering.

He is now dishing up delights for names like television traveller Michael Palin and actor Ray Winston as well as the cast from Eastenders in his 'Mosaica@The factory' resturant, in Wood Green, north London.

John has worked for some well-known names including celebrity chef Anthony Worral Thompson before going it alone and setting up his own eaterie three and a half years ago.

But it hasn't been a picnic for the former Tulketh High School pupil as he had to work long hours in kitchens in the city.

He cut his teeth at a small French restaurant in the capital but knew he could do better. "I realised there were bigger fish to fry and flirted with working for Marco-Pierre White," said John. "But I ended up working with Anthony Worral Thompson for nearly two years."

John soon realised that location was important and moved to a restaurant in trendy Soho where he worked as head chef for Aldo Zilli, entertaining the cream of society, including model Kate Moss, singer Robbie Williams and actor Sean Connery.

John said: "I really wanted my own place, despite being a scrawny little Preston lad."

So John and close friend David Orlowski, now his business partner, scraped together £70,000 from their families and borrowed a further £75,000 from a finance company.

They opened their first restaurant three-and-a-half years ago and are now expanding, due to popular demand.

The new restaurant in Walthamstow called Mosaica@The lock will open at the end of the year employing about 60 people.