Woodbridge chef heads up restaurant kitchen at age 25

Tom Payne, 25, left, recently became head chef of The Suffolk in Aldeburgh, owned by George Pell

A chef who learned to cook from his mother and grandmother has become head of a kitchen at a highly acclaimed restaurant at the age of 25.

Tom Payne, from Woodbridge, never went to catering college, but said cooking came "naturally" to him after growing up "surrounded by good food".

He recently became head chef at The Suffolk in Aldeburgh and was praised by top food critic Jay Rayner.

Mr Payne said receiving the review was "beautiful".

Writing in The Guardian, Rayner said his dinner was a "sweet celebration, aided by perfect execution".

The young chef told BBC Radio Suffolk he had been inspired by food his whole life.

"My mum was a chef and my nana had a little restaurant and a veg shop, so growing up I've always been surrounded by cooking and good food, and I wanted to jump in and engage with it," he said.

"It's only as you grow up that you start to realise that people just don't cook and they don't know how to cook, and it's not a normal thing to have at home."

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Mr Payne had worked at The Suffolk, run by George Pell, formerly of London's L'Escargot, for a year before his recent promotion.