DORSET's food experts insist its restaurants still have plenty to savour despite the county being snubbed in the prestigious Michelin Guide for another year.

For a second year running, no eatery in Dorset has been awarded the much coveted Michelin Star but people in the local food industry say this is no reflection on the level of cuisine being served up in the county's thriving establishments.

Sienna in Dorchester was the last restaurant in Dorset to claim the accolade, picking up a Michelin Star for five years before chef Russell Brown decided to call time and hand over to Marcus Wilcox last year.

On taking over the restaurant, Mr Wilcox said that - while he would love to retain the Star - he understood it might be difficult while he established himself at the venue and the establishment was duly not included in last year's Michelin Guide.

It means the 2017 Michelin Guide features no Dorset restaurant for the second year in a row, but the view from the local industry say this is no reflection on the quality of food being served up.

Former Masterchef champion Mat Follas, who now runs Brambles Café and Deli in Poundbury, said: "I think Dorset has got some of the best food in the country to be honest.

"We have got amazing producers.

"I'm just not sure Dorset likes the fuss that comes with Michelin."

He added: "I think there are certainly a few restaurants that are at the level of a Michelin Star but we are a long way from London and don't get looked at too often."

Restaurateur Michelle Hind, who owns the No 4 restaurant on Weymouth's harbourside, said she was in no about the quality of food being produced in local establishments and suggested that if Michelin judges came to sample them they would find plenty up to their exacting standards.

She said: "Just because thy have not been reviewed by anybody from the Michelin Star panel does not mean to say we have not got Michelin Star quality food being produced in our restaurants."

Russell Brown, the last chef to win a Michelin Star in Dorset who now runs his own food-based consultancy, said: "Dorset has some amazing restaurants, pubs, hotels and all sorts of places.

"A Michelin Star was hugely gratifying and beneficial to us but it's not the be all and end all.

"I started cooking in Dorset nearly 20 years ago and the number of restaurants, the quality and the variety of produce is hugely different than it was then."