Rind: Cheese expert Mathew Carver to open new 40-seater pizza restaurant in the Yorkshire Dales

Mr Carver, who runs The Cheese Bar, Pick & Cheese and The Cheese Barge in the capital, is to open Rind next to award-winning cheese shop, The Courtyard Dairy near Settle in North Yorkshire.

It is hoped the 40-seater restaurant will be open by late October, with work currently taking place on the site.

Mr Carver said he had been talked into the venture by friend and long-term supplier, Andy Swinscoe, who is the founder of The Courtyard Dairy.

Housed in an old falconry centre, Rind will sit next door to the cheese shop and offer visitors’ views of Ingleborough.

“As a business we champion British cheese and work directly with lots of small cheesemakers and farms, sourcing all the cheese direct. Andy is widely regarded as one of the Gods of British cheese, the work he has done is incredible.

“He was building this extension of this incredible new space and said ‘I would really like you guys to take it on and do something with it’. I came up, had a look at it and just fell in love with it. The views are incredible and Andy is the perfect person to work with.”

Rind will offer seasonal British cheese-topped pizzas, cheese boards and a list of natural wines to customers, with its menu revolving around a wood-fired oven at the heart of the restaurant.

The menu will feature a half Lancashire, half Wensleydale pizza – a nod to the neighbouring counties’ historic rivalry – as well as making good use of The Courtyard Dairy’s array of locally sourced small-producer cheeses.

Mr Carver said key members of his senior team will be moving from London to Yorkshire to help launch the restaurant. He said he anticipates investing around £250,000 in opening the restaurant, which will have pizza as the cornerstone of its menu.

"I want to give customers really great food at a really affordable price. I don’t know this area incredibly well but I think there isn’t an awful lot of restaurants that offer casual dining – well-executed food and really great produce at an accessible price point.”