The 73-year-old from Gants Hill started as a kitchen porter in October 1975.
He soon worked his way up to become a chef and went on to cook on British Rail’s Intercity Motorail fleet in 1991, then cooking for Avanti West Coast train operator.
Yousuf fondly remembers the day celebrity chef Jamie Oliver came on board.
“He wrote a thankyou letter to me on a serviette which was brought into the galley,” he recalled. “That was an honour getting thanks from a chef like him.”
Yousuf arrived at his landmark 50 years at the same station where his railway career began.
“The industry has changed a lot over the years,” he said. “But I don’t plan to stop cooking yet.”
