BEAMINSTER MasterChef winner Mat Follas hopes to open his new restaurant The Wild Garlic in his home town in June.

He has agreed terms on the lease for the former The Black Cat bistro in Beaminster Square and hopes to sign for it next week.

In his search for an outlet for his culinary skills The Black Cat was an early frontrunner – although Bridport was a strong contender it would have cost too much, he said.

Mr Follas said: “We looked at quite a few places but it was the location of the Black Cat. We have a house in Beaminster, it’s our nearest town and we know a lot of people there.

“In terms of volume of trade we might have been better to have been in Bridport but the investment and everything else would have been far greater.”

Mr Follas hopes to take on a graduate from Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurant in Cornwall, which gives disadvantaged young people the opportunity to build careers in industry, or to find someone from a local college.

“We are waiting until the ink is on paper for the lease before we approach a couple of colleges,” said Mr Follas.

“I have had a chat with Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen in Cornwall and they have a candidate who might be ready, which would be quite nice.

“He takes young people who need a break and I am keen on supporting that.

“If the opportunity is there, great, if not I’ll probably get a second or third year from Weymouth or Exeter, one who has done a year or two in kitchens.”

If everything goes well the Wild Garlic could have between 30-45 covers. Mr Follas said: “We could probably squeeze it up to about 45 but at opening it will probably be closer to 30. I can probably mark it up depending on who is chefing with me.

“We have some staff. Kitchen porters and front of house are already lined up through word of mouth.

“We know the locals in Beaminster reasonably well – our babysitter is a local girl – and that was another reason for going there.”

He said there is some work to do tidying up the front of the building but inside will primarily be a restaurant with a small bar area.

And will the menu be recognisable to the millions of MasterChef viewers?

Mr Follas said: “There will be elements of it. There are things like my crab thermidor which has to be on the menu, my lavender mousse and my scallops have to be on the menu at opening.

“The rest of it will very much be what’s seasonal.

“June is a great month which is when we are looking to open.

“There’s so much around, elderflower, wild strawberries, mackerel are about, gooseberries. So there are some great dishes we can make with those.”

Meanwhile, Mr Follas is getting some practise in.

On Wednesday the 100 tickets for his chowder night at the Fox and Hounds in Cattistock sold out almost immediately.

On Sunday he will be part of the excitement of the village’s second annual Knob Throwing contest, where he will be joined by one of Heston Blumenthal’s chefs.

Mr Follas added: “I think it is going to be really, really busy. They had 1,500 last year in the rain. I have a sneaking suspicion they are going to be a bit overwhelmed.