A Lyme Regis chef has spoken of her excitement ahead of opening a wild food bakery as well as taking part in a week-long residency at a London restaurant.

Harriet Mansell plans to open the bakery at her Michelin Guide restaurant Robyn Wylde within the next couple of weeks, providing a selection of sweet and savoury bakes and breads.

Her move to produce artisan breads and pastries will allow her business to evolve as the cost-of-living crisis has hit, especially with the impact of rising energy bills and soaring food costs during a period that the restaurant stops serving its evening menu for a short period of time.

Harriet said: “We’re really excited, we’re going to take it slow and steady and we’re really proud. We’re not going to do it all in one big bang.”

The bakery will supply her other Lyme Regis restaurant and wine bar, Lilac, as well as offering baked goods to passers-by.

The artisan bakes will stick to the Robin Wylde ethos, containing locally sourced and foraged ingredients including wild mustard, wild garlic and dandelion roots.

The chef described the flavours as ‘an explosion of whatever is in season.’

She said: “We forage sustainably and make sure we never forage more than we need, allowing people to see the flavours that exist in our corner of the world – transporting the senses.

“There are so many different plants and flavours, especially from a sensory perspective.”

Meanwhile, the chef will take on a week-long residency at Carousel restaurant in Fitzrovia from February 28- March 4 in collaboration with the Botanist.

Carousel showcases an ever-changing line-up of talented chefs with a new guest chef joining them every week.

Harriet said: “They got in touch a couple of years ago but due to lockdown restrictions, plans were scuppered.”

She plans to ‘take a slice of the West Country to London.’

Her love of natural and locally sourced ingredients comes from childhood.

She said: “I went to a primary school that was quite open to learning about the natural world.”

Later on into her twenties, she worked at NOMA in Copenhagen, allowing her to discover more about the flavours of the natural world, and discover wild local ingredients by foraging and to follow the seasons.

Harriet competed alongside the country's finest chefs on BBC’s Great British Menu and has worked around the world in renowned restaurants and Michelin star kitchens, including cooking for the Qatari Royal Family in the Seychelles and the Murdoch family in the Caribbean.