FIERY chef Marco Pierre White tucked into haddock and chips on a return trip to a Weymouth fish and chip restaurant.

The restaurateur enjoyed a meal at the Marlboro on Weymouth harbourside after calling into town with two companions – and he left a £5 tip.

Marlboro manager Shaun Hatton said: “It was very busy when he came in.

“He came in with another man and a woman.

“They sat in the restaurant and had haddock and chips, the same as when he visited a few years ago.

“He’s been in two or three times.”

Mr Hatton added: “The waitress recognised him.

“She said that he was quite quiet but very nice and polite.

“He tipped well, £5.

“They left clean plates which is always good.”

Mr White made his name as a top chef but also starred on the popular TV programme Hell’s Kitchen when he earned a reputation for his fiery temper and demands for excellence.

He also visited the Marlboro restaurant in September 2007 when staff described him as a real gent.

Mr Hatton said it was good to see Mr White back.

He said that attracting such return customers showed they must be doing something right.

Mr White, whose son attended school in north Dorset, has also been seen fishing off Weymouth on a charter boat to film an episode for a series about British food.

Other stars to eat at the Marlboro have included musicians from the rock band Ash, who called in after a gig in Weymouth in 2000.

Mr Hatton also travelled around the country with TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall to as part of the celebrity’s Fish Fight series.

He set up a stall outside Parliament with Axminster chef Hugh and fellow chef and restaurateur Jamie Oliver.

Mr White has also called in at the Seagull Café in Trinity Street and at Fish 'n’ Fritz, in Maiden Street in Weymouth on past visits.

Youngest chef to be awarded three Michelin stars

MARCO Pierre White was the youngest chef to be awarded three Michelin stars.

The chef and restaurateur was born in Leeds. He left school without any qualifications and decided to train as a chef.

Mr White, who is now 52, trained in the kitchen at the Hotel St George in Harrogate in north Yorkshire and then at the Box Tree in Ilkley, west Yorkshire. He moved to London aged 16 where he began his classical training as commis chef under Albert and Michael Roux at Le Gavroche.

At 24 he became head chef and joint owner of Harveys. By the age of 33 Mr White had become the youngest chef in England to gain three Michelin stars.