TUCKED away in the heart of Bishops Lydeard is the Daisy Cottage Tea Rooms.

The village is the perfect location for the quaint tea rooms, which are full to the brim with a mix of knick knacks, mismatched china sets and cups and saucers.

It's headed up by Graham Perkins, who until six weeks prior to taking the tea rooms on, had no experience of cooking, other than 'boiling things in a bag', he confesses.

But 15 months on, Graham is managing to expand his culinary skills and said he is loving running the place.

"Before this I was in the army for 30 years and my cooking experience was pretty much limited to just boiling things in a bag," he says.

"I had to leave the army because I have Parkinsons Disease and I was looking to do something different so when this came up I thought it was ideal.

"I did six weeks of work experience with the previous owners to learn the ropes and recipes and I'm so glad I did."

When I go to visit Graham he's busy making a batch of small bread loaves to be served with the soup of the day, and the smell is beautiful.

He adds: "Obviously because we don't open until 10am, people think we probably don't get in here until around 9am but I can be in here at 6am some days and here until 8pm some nights for whatever reason.

"Things like the bread can take a long time to make, especially if it doesn't go right, the bread can be very temperamental, but it's so rewarding if it comes out right.

"I do really enjoy it and I love having a chat with everyone who comes in.

"You can never say when you're going to be busy, every day is different but you can always guarantee as soon as one table starts filling up then the whole place does, so we can be really busy but it is very enjoyable."

As we chat, a steady stream of customers come in, some who are regulars and all enjoy a chat with Graham and Pauline, one of the three other staff members who work with Graham.

So what can visitors look forward to if they pay a visit to the Daisy Cottage Tea Rooms?

"We change the menu three to four times a year," Graham said.

"So at the moment we're serving a lot of soup, and that can change every few days, we've got tomato, Stilton and broccoli, pea and ham, and a few others.

"I also make my own filo pies, tarts, quiches, garlic mushrooms which are really popular and sandwiches and a few other bits.

"In the summer we serve a ploughmans which is really popular too, and I make my own scones and we can do High Teas but people have to pre-book."

The cafe also of course serves teas, coffees and a delicious range of cakes which are made in Bath Place in Taunton.

But one thing that really sets the place apart is the openness of the tearoom.

When you walk in, you can see into the kitchen and can even sit and have a chat to Graham if you want.

He adds: "We wanted it to be somewhere where you didn't feel segregated so we opened the place up and moved the counter so that people can see into the kitchen and so they can see we're not hiding any dirty dishes or anything.

"We've got a comfy armchair at the front so if people want to they can sit in this bit and come and have a chat to us.

"We really enjoy it."