PICTURES: Man's American diner brings a taste of 'Yankeeshire'

Cooking fanatic Hassan Ahmed will open the Yankeeshire Diner in less than two weeks and get out on the road selling a mix of American and Lancastrian food.

The inspiration for the business owner, who lives with wife, Rima, 45, and has two children, Yasin, 19 and Khalisah, 15, came after a three-week road trip across the USA with three friends more than 30 years ago.

The 54-year-old, who has invested around £45,000 into the new business, said: “The diner means the world to me. It’s a dream come true.”

The former Preston Polytechnic student travelled to America in 1988 where he worked in a summer camp cooking and coaching children's football for three months.

For the last three weeks of his trip Mr Ahmed embarked on a tour across the States with three English friends he met during his time at New Jersey.

The dad-of-two said: “We hired a banger and drove around the USA. The four of us visited some great American diners and I thought ‘this is amazing’. I dreamt of having my own American diner one day.”

Nearly 30 years on from his trip across the Atlantic, Mr Ahmed came up with the idea for his mobile food truck after seeing two shipping containers lying in his back garden when he returned home from a six-year working stint in Abu Dhabi between 2011 and 2017.

Mr Ahmed, of Whitworth, who worked as a personal chef and fitness coach while in the Middle East, said: “I have put my heart, soul and my savings into designing and creating the Yankeeshire Diner foodie truck.

“My recipe fusions do not involve the use of deep fryers or heavy grease. Natural blends are my sugar alternatives and wholegrain substitutes are used wherever possible.”

The menu will include street corner hot dogs, downtown burgers, Belgian waffles, burritos and rice puddings. There will also be mocktails and hot drinks. It will launch on Sunday, March 17 at around noon on the Ashoka car park next to Tesco Express, Market Street, Whitworth.