A CELEBRITY chef has visited Dorchester today to announce the opening of a new restaurant.

Marco Pierre White visited his son's restaurant - Luccio's - in Brewery Square this afternoon as the pair announced they would be opening a second restaurant in Exeter in the next two months.

Luciano, 27, opened his first restaurant in Dorchester in December last year and has praised his inaugural business venture for giving him a learning curve which he can use to take on to his next venue.

He said: "We are excited to be opening a second venue in Exeter and to be taking on another challenge. The last six months working in the restaurant here in Dorchester have taught me so much and the lockdown gave us time to develop our menu and work with staff to create a venue we can be really proud of."

Marco, who has hailed Weymouth Beach as his favourite beach in the country, said: "I am very proud of Luciano opening a second restaurant on the back of the success of the Dorchester site. There is nowhere else nearby that you can eat food of such high quality with a glass of wine for £12.50."

The father-son duo have picked up the keys for the new restaurant - which, like the Dorchester venue, is in a former Carluccio's site - and hope that they will be able to welcome customers from the end of July or beginning of August.

Despite his venture into a second site, Luciano is not looking to build a restaurant empire like his father, and is determined to retain quality in every dish.

He said: "We want to keep the quality in everything that we do and if we do decide to have any further restaurants in the future then we want the core value to continue to be about having the finest ingredients and for us to be proud of every dish we serve."

Luciano added: "Although I am looking forward to opening the new site in Exeter and I will be splitting my time between the two places, Dorchester will always hold a special place in my heart as my first restaurant."