THERE are plenty of stories of disaffected young people leaving school with no qualifications and no prospects, but a young chef at the Salty Monk, in Sidford, has proved that with application and hard work even the unqualified can become successful.

Scott Horn left school at 16 and, now 23, he has risen to the position of second chef in the kitchen at the Salty Monk, which has two AA rosettes and was voted B&B of the Year in 2008.

A quiet and unassuming young man, Scott credits his parents with a lot of his success. "It is down to just hard work – like any career, you don't get anywhere unless you work hard. I really enjoy what I do and I'm just lucky I come from parents who have always worked hard and have a good work ethic and I think it has rubbed off on me," he says.

He arrived at the Salty Monk by chance. His father, a carpet fitter, was working at the restaurant and introduced Scott to the owners, Andy and Annette Witheridge, who have refurbished the property – originally a Salt House used by the Benedictine Monks who traded salt at Exeter Cathedral – since they bought it in 1999.

"I started when I was 16 – as soon as I could ride a scooter I came and helped out on Saturdays, washing up and kitchen porter duties. I started my apprenticeship when I finished school in the July. I'm still here now, nearly eight years later," he laughs.

His passion for the job is clear, although he is modest about his talent and says he just loves to learn.

"I'm always learning new things – and there's plenty to learn here," he says. "We do all our own butchery and fish preparation, plus we make our own bread and pastry cases and so on. Andy prides himself on the fact that we don't buy anything in ready-made, so everything – even down to our stocks – we make from scratch.

"We have got a pig coming in today, so I will break it all down and we will butcher our own meat, make our own sausages and then use the bones to make stock. I'm really interested in that sort of thing – you learn so much that way."

Scott lives in Honiton with his girlfriend – he says he does all the cooking at home, too – after saving up for the deposit for their first house together. His attitude to money is also impressive: Scott is a keen advocate of putting money aside for what you want rather than borrowing and Andy, who as well as being the owner is also the head chef, says he uses him as an inspiration for his own children.

"We are so proud of him. He has achieved far more than I ever thought he would when I first took him on. He came to me with every label going and had no self-confidence, but his work ethic is incredible. He's never had a day sick in all the time he's been with me and he has never turned a session down," he says.

"I could never have imagined letting anyone else run the kitchen, but once a week now I take a night off. As I was concerned, my wife, who is also a chef, was the only other person I would trust to run my kitchen, but now we can actually take a night off together. We've been here 13 years and last year was the first time we had a night off together. We always get rave reviews of Scott's food on the nights we're not here and having him here has just worked on so many levels."

Scott says he has no real plans for the future – he is just enjoying working at the Salty Monk and learning from Andy.

"Maybe one day I might have a place of my own, but for the time being I'm just loving what I'm doing. I just want to learn and improve my skills and become a better chef."