AN Inverclyde chef is about to expand her family's food empire by opening up a new restaurant in Gourock and creating 10 new jobs.

Yvonne Purdie, who runs the award winning Cottage Cafe Bistro in Greenock and the food delivery platform Clyde Eats with her sister and business partner Janice Brennan, now has another eaterie lined up.

This time they are taking over the former Fusion, which closed last year after 15-years trading in the town.

Yvonne hopes Yvandi's Kitchen will excite locals thanks to a mix of Mediterranean flavours and traditional dishes.

Yvonne, 49, said: "We have been busy refurbishing the place and putting our final touches to it.

"We are looking at lunches and evening meals with plans to look at brunch.

"This has been on the go since last October and it is finally coming together.

"Gourock is just the perfect location, there is so much happening here, with lots of independent retailers. It was exactly what we were looking for.

"I am very excited about this, it is a real labour of love for me and something I really wanted to do.

"I have put both my name and my husband Andy's together to create Yvandi's Kitchen.

"We want to have a Mediterranean menu but there will be some twists like our beef wellington. We have our head chef in place, Kain Adamson, and we are recruiting our staff."

Trained chef Yvonne has been running the the Cottage Cafe in the Ladyburn Business Centre with her sister Janine for five years.

Together they also launched the hugely successful food platform Clyde Eats, which supports local food establishments.

Yvonne said: "Yvandi's Kitchen is another fantastic opportunity. The food sector is so important to the local economy and provides so many local jobs. We want to continue to build on it."