SANDBANKS' new Rick Stein restaurant has donated almost £2,000 to Lewis-Manning Hospice from its 'trial openings' in November.

The celebrated chef's new restaurant, which took over the former Cafe Shore premises on Banks Road, invited diners to make donations to the Poole charity rather than pay for their meals during its trial openings in the week leading up to the official launch on November 28.

As well as donations from customers, staff also donated their tips from these events, raising £1,934.85 in total for the Evening Hill hospice which provides free care and support to local people with cancer and other life-limited illnesses.

Maria Tidy, fundraising manager at Lewis-Manning, said, “We were absolutely delighted when a representative from Rick Stein’s got in touch to say they would like to make a donation. They said they choose us, not just because of the close proximity, but also because they had heard wonderful things about Lewis-Manning from various members of the community.

"We invited them in to see the hospice and they kindly invited us along to see the beautiful new restaurant, sample some food and we even got to meet the man himself. To receive donations from customers was lovely but for the staff to then generously give us their tips, we are really very grateful.”

Neil Lewis, the restaurant’s general manager, added: “It was a privilege to help raise money for such a fantastic cause and I’m really proud of our team for donating their tips.”

The 200-seater restaurant, which has extensive views overlooking Poole Harbour, is only Rick's second restaurant outside Cornwall. The internationally renowned chef has pulled the project together with the help of his family. His son Jack runs all the kitchens, while his ex-wife and business partner Jill, along with their son Ed, and daughter-in-law, Kate, have done the interior design. Meanwhile, the youngest son, Charlie has created all the wine lists.