Tom Williams-Hawkes has been named executive chef of the Michael Caines fine dining restaurant at ABode Exeter.

Williams-Hawkes is a young Exeter-born chef who was inspired to go into cooking professionally when as a 15 year old he had the opportunity to do some work experience with Caines in the kitchens of Gidleigh Park.

After spending three years at Exeter Catering College, Tom started a trial with celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay and went on to work under Marcus Wareing at Petrus in London.

This experience prepared him to return to the Westcountry to work and learn from Caines at the two Michelin-starred kitchens of Gidleigh Park.

"My time at Gidleigh Park has been so valuable, learning not just about cooking but about how to run a kitchen," said Williams-Hawkes.

"Michael has inspired me to extract the best from ingredients and to make full use of the wonderful produce that we have here in the Westcountry.

Tom Williams-Hawkes: "Michael has inspired me to extract the best from ingredients and to make full use of the wonderful produce that we have here in the Westcountry."

"Being executive chef at Michael Caines at ABode Exeter is a huge challenge for me.

"We have a large team of chefs and need to produce the best food not just for the restaurant but also for the busy Café Bar and Well House Tavern."

Williams-Hawkes' new summer menu includes starter of salmon confit with raviolo of spinach and parmesan and lavender and parmesan cream sauce and pan-fried Brixham scallops, crispy belly of pork, pea purée with shallot and bacon velouté.

Main courses comprise slow poached brill with scallops, wild mushrooms and chive butter sauce and roast squab pigeon with cannelloni of confit pigeon leg, truffle and wild mushrooms with Madeira sauce.

The dessert menu will feature raspberry and lime souffle with vanilla bourbon ice cream and millefeuilles of chocolate grue with pistachio parfait, equator chocolate fondant and almond foam.

ABode is a growing collection of boutique hotels inspired by Andrew Brownsword and Caines.

Brownsword also owns the Bath Priory, Chelsea's Sydney House and the acclaimed Gidleigh Park.

ABode Exeter was the first of the ABode hotels to launch and marked the beginning of a very exciting collection of affordable and exceptional lifestyle hotels.

ABode now has a presence in Glasgow, Canterbury and Manchester and expects to launch ABode Chester next autumn.

ABode Exeter, historically known as the Royal Clarence, is situated in the very heart of the city within the peaceful grounds of Exeter Cathedral.