A SELF-taught cook who has almost 20,000 social media followers is opening her own cafe.

Marion Love initially set up an Instagram account in 2014 to share images of her home-made cooking.

As her following grew into the thousands she started to take it more seriously and changed the name of the account to 'Grandma's Kitchen' in 2018.

In June, Grandma's Kitchen became a catering business and Ms Love currently cooks for around 150 customers a week, out of the kitchen in her house in Charles Street, Farnworth.

The 48-year-old said: "I started it as a bit of fun at first and I had no intention of starting a business, but it's gone a bit mad really.

"Everyone's always known me for my cooking but I have followers all over the world now. They give me inspiration and they've helped me grow."

Earlier this year, plans were approved to build three shops in Piggott Street, on vacant land next to the New Bury Community Learning Centre.

Once the shops are built, Marion will be renting one of the units, bringing two local businessmen in as partners.

She will open it as the Grandma's Kitchen cafe and its hoped her already established customer base will allow her to hit the ground running.

"It's really exciting," she added. "We're hoping to open it early next year.

"It's great for me but it's also good for people who've followed me for so long to see how much it's grown."

Ms Love currently works at a microelectronics company during the week, with her cooking primarily taking place on the weekend.

The cooking has also allowed her to become a social media influencer.

She said: "I've done some amazing things. I've been to Paris with it and I've met the executive chef at Marriott.

"It's been a great opportunity for me and we're going to be doing some vlogging with Elite Film and Media when we open."

For more information, visit www.facebook.com/GrandmasKitchenUK.