Restaurant manager Mo Gherras crowdfunds for Dorset pub with rooms

Restaurant manager Mo Gherras is set to launch a new pub with rooms in Sherborne, Dorset, supported by crowdfunding and focused on rustic, high-quality cuisine.

The 17th-century Cross Keys comprises 75 covers of dining space and four bedrooms, while dining will have a focus on the produce available in the surrounding Dorset countryside, with a particular focus on braises.

Gherras, who previously worked at one-Michelin-starred the Royal Oak in Paley Street, Berkshire, alongside chef Dominic Chapman, told The Caterer: "You can't please everyone with medium rare, it's too rare or too blue, but if it's cooked through and it's amazingly tender and flavoursome, people love that."

The crowdfunding, which offers a range of rewards from weekday lunches to naming one of the boutique-style hotel rooms, is designed to supplement the existing capital behind the project. The site is due to launch in May.