A popular west Dorset restaurant is celebrating after receiving a rave review from a restaurant critic for The Telegraph and Masterchef.

The Station Kitchen in West Bay, owned by Ross and Claire Moore, was visited by William Sitwell after he had heard good things about the train carriage restaurant and contacted them.

Ross said: “He was a very nice guy and super friendly and so was his partner. He asked lots of questions about the history of the station and the carriage. He even asked why we were called Sausage and Pear. I explained that this was the name of our catering company and also our nicknames.

“After dinner he came into the kitchen and spoke to Claire and I. He said he loved what we had created and was going to bring the whole family back next time he was in Dorset.”

He described The Station Kitchen as ‘a happy place, with great service, and is a breath of fresh air’ and gave an impressive four out of five stars.

The couple were thrilled with the review, but it was touch and go whether they would actually be able to get a copy of it.

Ross added: “When the newspaper went to print, it just so happens that Extinction Rebellion were doing a protest outside the printing factory. This has never happened before and it meant that multiple national newspapers weren’t able to be distributed to most parts of the country, including The Telegraph. This happening the one time we are in it is the embodiment of sods law.

“Not only were our supporters on The Station Kitchen Facebook page happy to help, but after contacting William directly, he duly obliged on sending a copy of the newspaper out to us.

“A very nice guy and we are chuffed with the review.”