There was only one place for my new venture
In what will only feel like a few months, I'll be opening my very own restaurant. I've formed my own company, have secured premises in Bridgnorth and next spring, if all goes according to plan, I'll be welcoming many of you for lunch and dinner.
As many of you will know, I worked in Ludlow for the last six and half years, winning a Michelin star at La Becasse before I was 30 and featuring regularly on TV. The time came to move on, however, and I'm delighted that I will remain in Shropshire and that Bridgnorth is about to become my new home.
The new restaurant will have my name above the door and we plan to open early next year. It is a very exciting time for me and all involved with this project.
I announced my decision to leave La Becasse six months before my departure. I received a number of really good job offers and was head-hunted by people who wanted me to move to different parts of the country.
But my heart is in Shropshire and I am delighted to be staying in a county that has become my home. It is where I have lived for the past seven years. I will be able to continue to build on the relationships I have with local food producers, farmers and suppliers and hopefully meet many new ones too.
It took a while to reach my decision and I guess the the defining moment came when I was on my way to dinner with a chef friend, Suree Coates, from the King and Thai restaurant in Broseley.
I drove there with my partner on an early summer's evening and as we passed along the rolling roads between Ludlow and Bridgnorth, surrounded by picturesque countryside, I knew I couldn't leave. My ideas crystalised in that moment and I decided to open my own restaurant right here.
I can't wait to take on the challenge of opening my restaurant in Bridgnorth. I really enjoyed my time in Ludlow and will retain close links with the town and my friends there. But I can't wait to get started on my very own restaurant – it promises to be the most exciting project of my life.
Will Holland is a multi-award winning Shropshire chef who earned a Michelin star before the age of 30. He features on James Martin's Saturday Kitchen and BBC TV's Great British Menu and is busy creating his first restaurant, in Bridgnorth, which opens in spring 2014.
