A PUB has joined forces with the chef behind a hugely popular Thai restaurant which closed its doors last year.

Bea Grice was ‘shocked’ after finding out last year that she would have to wind up operations at the Ulverston restaurant – Bea’s Thai – that she ran for eight years.

Adamant on continuing her renowned cooking, she approached the landlady of the Kings Arms in Ulverston, Claire Farrell, to join the team as the second chef.

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Claire, who took over the tavern in 2019, decided to adopt a collaborative approach with Bea and began running a weekly Thai night to showcase some of her cooking.

Bea’s well-established customer base flocked to the King Street pub every Tuesday to sample some of her dishes.

After noticing a demand to run the Thai nights on more than one day a week, the pub bosses have decided to extend the full Thai menu to five days.

Claire said: “Bea came to us a year ago as a second chef and, a month in, we offered her Tuesdays to do her Thai night which has been a real success

“What we were finding is that Tuesdays aren’t that popular for people so we thought it would be a no-brainer to do it through the week.”

The pub will continue to offer its array of traditional British classics as well as a full Thai menu.

“Bea’s really happy about it,” Claire said.

“This is what she enjoys doing and it’s nice we can work collaboratively in this venture.

“She really enjoys working here and it's a nice spacious, venue. She wants to do what she is passionate about which is the Thai food.

“It’s nice for her to be back. There’s no other Thai restaurant in Ulverston, so for her to do what she was doing in her own business is great.”

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Claire described the partnership as a ‘total collaborative approach’ which works for all the team.

She said: “From day one Bea’s food has always been popular, everyone loves her.

“It’s a total collaborative approach and works for both of us. I’ve never worked with anyone that I respect so much. She’s so hard-working and a great person to work with

“People can have the option of Thai or British food – it’s nice to have better choices, and the businesses will complement each other.”

The Thai menu will run from Tuesday until Saturday in lunchtime and dinnertime service, launching on May 24.