LIKE most great chefs, Steven Kiernan credits his culinary skills down to his mother - but not for the reason you'd think.

Born in Dublin and raised in Kilkenny, he has a passion for good, homely food, the kind of food you'd want for breakfast, brunch and lunch.

It's for the reason he credits Silver Pantry's success - and why it's ranked not just the best in Taunton, but also in Somerset on Trip Advisor.

The cafe is named after Steven and wife Victoria's youngest daughter Silver and has been successfully running for almost three years.

Steven has an impressive history of working as senior sous chef and head chef at some of London's, best known celebrity hotels and restaurants including Babylon, Richard Branson's Roof Garden restaurant, and Gordon Ramsay's Bread Street Kitchen.

But a change to the country roads of Somerset doesn't necessarily mean a change in pressure.

Steven said: "We moved down to Somerset in 2012 because London is no place to raise children.

"We literally just stuck in a pin in the map and moved here top Somerset, we'd never even been to Somerset before but we love Taunton.

"We originally opened a deli called Willow Deli after our first daughter and then we were approached to run a cafe here.

"I really enjoy it, it's very different to what I've done before, some of the hotels I was working at in London were proper rock star hotels where you could be paying up to £10,000 per night for the penthouse, but the stress is all relative.

"In some of those hotels there would be up to 25 chefs, here I'm the only one who cooks and then we have Ellie and Daisy taking orders and preparing everything, so when we're full the pressure is on."

Despite cooking dinners for the family from the age of six or seven, it wasn't until a summer job in Kilkenny some years later that Steven thought it was a career he could pursue.

He added: "I had to start cooking, because my mum was a terrible cook so from around six I was making dinner for my family pretty much every night.

"We used to have this Stork cook book which every family all over the world had a copy of and I started making things from that as well like brownies and apple crumbles.

"And it wasn't until very long ago that I actually found out my sister was taking them to school with her and selling them.

"But I didn't really think about it until a summer job, where one of the women there brought me into the kitchen and got me cooking and showing me different things, and then I went on to training college for three years.

"I love all cooking, but I especially love baking and baking at home where there's not so much pressure to be perfect and you can experiment a little."

So why is Silvers Pantry so popular?

"I don't think people want Michelin starred dining anymore, or certainly not as much as they used to.

"I think people are looking for good food with quality ingredients and flavour at a good price.

"We noticed a gap in the market in Taunton, there's no where you can really go for a good breakfast or brunch, I do honestly think we are the best and I always find myself comparing where I go to our breakfasts.

"We've got a great range on our menu and a special board plus lots of cakes and pies."

And if you're stuck for choice, the salted caramel brownies are a must, they're even better than similar ones from Harrods.