TWO Bridport friends are set to open their own restaurant in their home town.

Dorshi are long-time friends, Jollyon Carter and Radhika Mohendas. They are set to open their very first restaurant on March 2 in West Dorset.

The duo have travelled much of the UK, selling their hand-made dumplings, hand-pulled noodles, salads and sauces at street food markets, music festivals and restaurant residencies.

Along the way they have won awards and recognition for their distinct use of local Dorset produce and unusual flavours.

So far, Dorset has only been privy to their dishes at a handful of outdoor events and adventurous supper clubs held in conjunction with their long-time collaborators Comins Tea House at Sturminster Newton.

But all this is set to change, and at the beginning of March, Dorshi will open their doors at Bartholomews Hall, just down Chancery Lane in Bridport town centre.

The self-taught chefs will be serving up their re-creations of East Asian food in the form of a seasonal menu and sharing plates alongside a number of carefully selected fine loose-leaf teas, wine, beer and other assorted drinks.

“For us, Dorshi was born from craving the ubiquitous noodle or dumpling joints abundant in our previous lives,” says Jollyon who, having lived abroad for many years, permanently moved back to Bridport in 2011.

Their mutual love of weird and wonderful food, led them to teach themselves to cook, adapting and creating recipes in their spare time.

“The challenge we set ourselves from early on was to not only recreate dishes that were commonplace across many East Asian countries, but to re-imagine and attempt to fully exploit the flavour profiles of local, British ingredients.

“Working backwards, we started to find an abundance of little-known plants and herbs, thoughtful, passionate producers and suppliers who had the same slow-movement ethos as us,” the friends said.

Dorshi are hosting four supper club evenings from March 2-5 to mark their restaurant launch.

There are a limited number of seats available at a one-off introductory offer.

For more details visit dorshi.co.uk or follow them @eatdorshi.