HE'S famed for his spiky hair, love of British cuisine and legendary saying "if you don't like it, use just a little". However, by mid-August Gary Rhodes will be better known around Christchurch for the two restaurants he is opening in the town.

The top chef has signed an agreement to launch Rhodes South at the historic Christchurch Harbour Hotel (formerly the Avonmouth) and King's Rhodes Bar and Brasserie at the old King's Arms Hotel, soon to reopen as King's.

"Rhodes South's superb harbourside location with the freshest seafood, great local produce and the vision of creating an environmentally friendly restaurant made this project an absolute must for me," he says.

"Add to that the chance to launch King's Rhodes - a stylish brasserie beside historic landmarks as special as Christchurch Priory and the Constable's House - and guests will enjoy the best of both worlds."

Continued from page 21 Aside from preparing to launch Rhodes South, the chef has been taking a culinary tour of India and China, where he was inspired by their use of local produce.

"One thing that I found in China and India was that people work using local food," he explains. "It was local food or nothing, they didn't have stuff coming over from the big cities."

It's a habit Gary believes we're really cottoning on to. "There are a few villages and towns in Britain that are starting to do the same," he explains. "Local food is here, it's happening and on a much greater scale than anybody would think."

According to Gary it's a move back to the days where Britons ate with the seasons and knew where their food came from.

"I grew up in the 1960s and we didn't have all this imported food, it just didn't exist here - or it did but only on a very small scale. It was all about home grown and it was all about visiting that local greengrocer when everything was in season," he explains. "You'd get to know your local green-grocers or your local fishmonger - everything was from our fields or our waters."

While Gary agrees that this sometimes means paying a fraction more for groceries, it is worth doing.

"We tend to worry too much about new phones or trainers for our children, rather than the food they're eating," he says. "We're always shouting that we're a separate island and separate from Europe, so let's eat British. It's time to put our money where our mouths are."

So to help inspire Taste readers to whip up some culinary delights using local ingredients, here are a few recipes from Gary's cookbook, Time To Eat.