A CATERING lecturer who has taught at Salisbury College for 28 years is retiring.

Jeff 'The Chef' Maund, 56, of Firsdown, near Winterslow, is giving up teaching to concentrate on his own catering business.

Throughout his time at the college, Jeff taught prospective students how to become fully qualified chefs.

But he has kept himself busy outside the classroom with his own set of projects, including his "If I can cook, so can you" roadshows.

These travel all over the south, getting random members of the audience to produce dishes they have never prepared before and hoping to recruit people into the food industry.

Jeff, a father of three, who hopes to move to Salisbury after he retires, said: " The college has been a second home to me - it has been fantastic.

"I shall miss the students and the staff I worked with for more than twenty years, but this project is becoming so busy that I just had to leave."

Jeff will now focus on his catering business Forking Out, in Portway business centre, which has been running for two years.

The business caters for functions in Salisbury and London, and last year served royalty, after Jeff cooked for a party hosted by the Earl and Countess of Wessex, who thank him personally.