CELEBRITY chef Rosemary Shrager is to move on from a North Yorkshire cookery school to begin a new project in Kent.

The luxury Swinton Park hotel, near Masham, has appointed high profile chef Stephen Bulmer to become chef director of the school in the new year, following the departure of its current cookery school head chef John Rogers and guest chef Ms Shrager.

The television chef will be leaving the school at the end of the year to embark on a new venture in Kent.

She has been at the cookery school since 2003 and has produced a number of cookery books over the last few years. She has also appeared in a number of hit television series, including Ladette to Lady and Royal Upstairs Downstairs.

In 2008, Swinton Park made the included in the 'Top Ten Cookery Schools' in the Sunday Times.

Stephen Bulmer will take over the helm to continue overseeing the day, weekend and evening courses at the school, which is based in a Georgian stable block next to the castle hotel.

The chef has worked in many of Europe’s top restaurants, including several years as senior chef de cuisine at Raymond Blanc’s Le Manoir aux Quat’ Saisons and at Nobu in London.

He also worked for six years at chef director at the Raymond Blanc Cookery School and appeared on television programmes such as Ready, Steady, Cook and Total Fishing.

Mr Bulmer grew up in North Yorkshire, living in the North Yorkshire Moors and began cooking at The Goathland Hotel.

“Whilst I have been away from Yorkshire for many years, it still feels like I am coming home,” he said.

“I am thrilled to be joining the Swinton Park Cookery School and am very excited about all the new courses and developments we have planned for it.”